Chapter 73

In the CEO’s office, Noelle was sitting on Nicolas' lap, holding a pack of beef jerky Bryan had just brought her. While chewing, she recounted the events from school, telling Nicolas everything in detail.

After finishing her story, she became more and more worked up, her cheeks puffing up in anger. She huffed at Nicolas, saying, "Nick, how could they be like that? I didn't do anything to them, and they're still talking behind my back. And Leia too; every time I’m with her, I just feel uncomfortable and annoyed. I just want to hit her!"

Nicolas listened carefully to Noelle’s words and immediately understood the situation. With a mocking smile, he reached out to poke Noelle’s puffed cheek and said in a calm tone, "I was wondering why you were so upset. Turns out it’s that fake girl who got you angry."

"Fake girl?" Noelle was confused. Her large, round eyes fixed on Nicolas, and she asked, "Nick, who’s this fake girl?"

"Who else but Leia?" Nicolas raised an eyebrow. Naturally, he wiped the beef jerky crumbs from Noelle’s mouth and ate them himself, saying, "She always acts innocent while secretly guiding others to attack you, and then later tries to play the nice person and defend you. That’s a classic tactic of these fake, self-righteous types."

"Nick, now that you mention it, Leia really does seem like a fake girl." Noelle, who had always been more about action than subtlety, had rarely dealt with manipulative types. Listening to Nicolas made her feel like she was finally seeing things clearly. "She’s not just pretending; she’s exactly that kind of person."

Just then, Bryan knocked and entered the room, holding a stack of documents. "Mr. Sawyer, we've investigated the situation, and everything is clear here. This explains why Miss Anderson has been isolated by her classmates."

"Hmm, good work." Nicolas took the documents and then instructed, "Order two pasta dishes. We’ll have lunch in the office today."

"Yes, sir."

Before Bryan could leave, Noelle quickly added, "Make sure there's more meat. Thanks."

Nicolas smiled at her. Even when she was this upset, she didn’t forget about her meat cravings. He looked down at Noelle in his arms, his voice light and teasing, "Should I get you an all-meat platter?"

"Yes! I’m going to turn my anger into hunger," Noelle replied, clenching her small fists angrily.

Noelle was straightforward and acted on her feelings. This was the first time she’d been so angry and yet had no idea why, so she needed the meat to calm down.

Naturally, Nicolas indulged her. He turned back to Bryan and said, "Give her more meat."

"Understood."

After Bryan left, Nicolas started looking through the report. After scanning through it, Nicolas sneered and said, "Just as I thought."

"What’s going on?" Noelle had been busy opening a new pack of beef jerky and didn’t pay much attention to the report.

Nicolas wrapped his arms around her, holding the report, and looked over it with her. He said, "You've been wondering why people are so hostile towards you, right? This wouldn’t be happening without Eli’s involvement."

"Eli? How does he fit into this!" Noelle was confused.

Nicolas asked, "Did you meet Eli on the first day of school? And didn't he walk off with Leia right after?"

"Yes, he did. That got around the school."

"Now, a lot of people believe you're the illegitimate daughter of the Anderson family, which is why Eli treats Leia so differently."

Noelle’s cheeks puffed up in frustration again. "How did I become an illegitimate daughter? Eli only took Leia because she was crying. He apologized to me afterward."

But Nicolas sneered again. "What's the point of him apologizing behind your back? The rumors already spread."

Noelle was confused. "But don’t they just spread rumors without asking? They could ask Leia or Eli, and they’d know the truth."

Nicolas said, "These people won’t bother asking Eli, but don’t forget Leia has good relationships with everyone. They could easily ask her."

"Right. If they asked Leia, they’d know the truth." Noelle thought the situation was silly. It was something so simple to verify, yet no one had bothered to do so.

"Unexpectedly." Nicolas knocked on her head, saying, "Silly."

"Ouch!" Noelle rubbed her head and pouted, asking, "Nick, why did you knock my head?"

"Elly, don't think people's behavior is so simple." Nicolas gently massaged her head after the knock and continued, "Leia’s been the Anderson family’s precious daughter for years. Do you think she would let anyone find out that they mistook her for another child? She’d rather everyone believe you’re the fake one and she’s the real one."

Noelle still didn’t fully understand. "But it's the truth. The truth will come out, and she can't keep deceiving people forever."

"Who says she’s deceiving anyone?" Nicolas asked, raising an eyebrow.

Noelle was puzzled, tilting her head. "But everyone believes I’m the illegitimate daughter. Isn’t that Leia lying?"

"Elly, you don’t get it. That’s the art of being fake." Nicolas looked at her with a shrewd smile, like an experienced fox, and explained, "A skilled faker doesn’t need to clarify anything. She misleads people into thinking what she wants them to think. In that department, you’re nowhere near as good as Leia. If people ask her about your relationship with the Anderson family, she can admit you're part of the family but leave out the part about being swapped at birth. That way, everyone will assume you’re the illegitimate daughter, and she won’t need to say more. She’ll let the rumors spread, and others will disparage you in secret."

"No way!" Noelle's eyes widened in realization, nodding. "So that's how it is. Also, to reinforce this image, she'll act like she has a good relationship with Eli."

"Eli’s cold to you, which makes it seem like she's the true Anderson daughter, and you're just the outsider. Even if everything comes out later, she'll just say she didn't say anything. The rumors are all someone else's fault. And take today's pasta incident. Harley was treating you, but she jumped in and interrupted. Then, in front of her friends, she says something vague like, 'I was talking to Harley, and Noelle was there,' which sounds true. But to her friends, it makes it seem like Harley was treating her, and you just butted in. As a friend, would they be upset and want to stand up for her?"

Noelle, upon hearing all this, felt a mixture of realization and anger. She clenched her fists tightly. "Now I get it! She’s clearly twisting things. Leia is so bad; she’s taking things out of context! You can’t twist the truth. How can you turn something bad into something good?"

Nicolas had long known that Leia was not a naive person. Elly, with her straightforward nature, didn’t understand these manipulative games. Without someone watching out for her, she could easily be deceived.

"So mad..." Noelle fumed, wanting to punch something. She turned to Nicolas and asked, "Nick, can I punch Leia? She’s so annoying."

Nicolas responded slowly, his eyes half-lidded, reaching up to press Noelle’s little hair sticking up. "Why not?"

Noelle was irritated but tried to control herself.

Nicolas said, "If you hit Leia, she'll go straight to the Anderson family and tell them. Don’t you want to make a good impression on them? If you really do that, you’ll ruin any chance of improving their opinion of you."

Nick made a valid point. Noelle pouted but secretly glanced at her Nick, asking, "What if I secretly hit her, put her in a bag, and she doesn’t know it’s me?"