Chapter 16 Seeing Yuliana Again
C
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In the middle of the night, Matthew watched the young girl who occasionally rubbed against his chest. He endured the restlessness of his body. It was truly a self–inflicted torment.
Yet, he couldn’t bear to let go. He chuckled bitterly to himself. His composure and restraint crumbled into dust when he looked at Noelle.
In the past, it wasn’t as if no woman had tried to seduce him. Even if they were to undress completely in front of him, he couldn’t be bothered to spare them a glance.
He would just leave those people calmly, but at that moment, a mere brush against him had him on the verge of exploding.
Taking deep breaths to calm himself, Matthew had a sleepless night, truly enduring until the break of dawn.
In the morning, when Noelle woke up, there was no one beside her. After freshening up, she descended the stairs, only to find Matthew returning with breakfast in hand.
Reflecting on the events of the previous night, Noelle felt somewhat uneasy in Matthew’s presence. He was seemingly Joblivious to her discomfort.
“Did you sleep well, Elle?”
Noelle choked a bit. It seems like he had drunk to the point of blacking out. It’s better that he has forgotten. It saves me from the awkwardness.
Noelle let go of her worries. She was never the type to dwell on things, so she simply put the previous night’s events behind
her.
She then also greeted him with a smile.
“Good morning, Matty.”
Matthew’s mood visibly improved when he heard that form of address. His good mood lasted until he met up with those few people to descend the mountain together.
Those few people glanced at the energetic Noelle and Matthew, whose eyes held a hint of fatigue. Out of respect for Noelle’s presence, they refrained from saying anything.
They merely teased Matthew with a glance. It seems that someone is really the architect of his own misfortune.
They reached the parking lot at the foot of the mountain, and each of them went their separate ways. Dominic initially planned to shamelessly hitch a ride with Matthew but was promptly whisked away by Zeke.
This fool… He’s actually brave enough to approach an unsatisfied, older man who could be quite terrifying. Zeke saved Dominic out of kindness.
After returning from the resort, the two of them fell back into their usual way of interacting, much to Noelle’s satisfaction.
In the blink of an eye, Noelle’s classes were about to start. During this period, Queena, who had returned from abroad, came to visit Noelle.
Matthew wasn’t home. Noelle spent the afternoon chatting with Queena. Lately, Preston had a sudden surge in social engagements, and Queena found herself being whisked from place to place in tow.”
She didn’t have the time to look after Noelle, but upon learning that Matthew treated Noelle well, she felt reassured.
The two of them chatted away until dinner time. Queena had an evening engagement and had to leave, though she did so reluctantly.
Noelle was a woman of few words, but she had a high tolerance for Queena’s chatty nature. She was willing to listen to her and support her, never leaving her to carry the conversation alone.
If Lorenzo and the others had seen Noelle like that, they would have probably been greatly relieved. They were always worried she might become introverted.
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Apart from those elders, the people closest to Noelle were her subordinates.
People from the Sandback family were not close to her.
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Ever since Zoey passed away, Queena was the first elder to care for her from a motherly perspective all those years. Noelle cherished this deeply and was willing to spend time with her.
When she was with Queena, Noelle would completely let her guard down, becoming indistinguishable from any ordinary young girl.
Matthew could be considered lucky to be associated with Queena. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to stay so close to her.
When faced with others, Noelle still maintained a strong sense of caution.
During this period, the three cousins from the Sandback family had also been in touch with Noelle. They had exchanged contact information the day they saw her off.
However, Noelle was not particularly warm toward them. Often, she would only respond once for every three questions asked. Jason and Nixon were both busy individuals, so if they didn’t receive a response, they wouldn’t bother her further.
Carson was the only one who would constantly bother her with messages whenever he had free time, to which she generally wouldn’t respond.
The day before classes started, Noelle finally allowed herself to leave the house.
She declined Matthew’s offer to accompany her and only allowed the driver to take her to the largest mall. As Noelle stepped out of the car, she looked at the massive sign in front of her. The mall belonged to the Sholl family.
The Sholl family had built their fortune on consumer goods. Their logo was ubiquitous, and they were a household name throughout the country.
Noelle wanted to buy a gift for Matthew, considering she had been staying at his place for quite a while.
–
Matthew had always taken good care of her. As classes were about to start the next day, she spontaneously thought of giving Matthew a gift.
She aimlessly wandered around the mall, unsure of what she wanted to purchase.
As she passed by a high–end boutique, a pair of black gemstone cufflinks displayed in the showcase caught her attention.
Matthew seldom wore suits, but she inexplicably felt that those cufflinks suited his demeanor perfectly.
Noelle walked into the store, asking the staff to bring out the pair of cufflinks. Despite her plain attire, the staff did not show any sign of negligence but instead continued to enthusiastically introduce the product..
“Miss, you have a great eye for detail. These cufflinks just arrived today, and they are the only pair we have.
Of course, the price was also quite steep, being a seven–figure sum.
Noelle found herself increasingly fond of what she was seeing.
She wasn’t exactly sure how much money she had, but she knew she had more than enough to buy that pair of cufflinks. The wealth left to her by her parents, along with what she earned herself, was all managed by a professional.
In the past, she hardly had any expenses, typically using a single card for her daily expenditures.
Just as she was about to ask the staff to pack it up, a hand reached out from behind.
“Hand them over. Let me take a look.”
Noelle turned her head to see Yuliana and two other girls, all of them dressed in high–end fashion. It was Yuliana who had just spoken, seemingly just noticed Noelle.
“Isn’t this my cousin who was chased out of the house? Sorry, but I didn’t notice you earlier, Elle. I also like these cufflinks. Could you let me have them, Elle?”
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A girl nearby chimed in, “What nonsense are you spouting, Liana? She’s been kicked out, so where would she get the money to buy anything? I bet she’s just a country bumpkin here to broaden her horizons.”
The two girls beside Yuliana clearly looked up to her. Although the Daines family wasn’t all that impressive, the fact that she was the granddaughter of the Sandback family was more than enough to draw people toward her.
With a smirk, Noelle watched them. Yuliana had the audacity to speak without even checking the price, or perhaps she was certain that Noelle couldn’t afford expensive items.
At that time, Ryder was the head of the Sandback family. It was unlikely that he would support a foster daughter from another family.
As for the Daines family, it was already quite generous of them to spend a few tens of thousands on clothes for Yuliana. As for items worth millions, even if they sold Yuliana, they still wouldn’t be able to afford them.
The staff looked at Noelle with a troubled expression. Noelle merely responded, “Give them to her.”
After that, she stood aside, seemingly fearful of Yuliana, who lifted her proud face.
“Miss, your total comes to six million six hundred and eighty thousand. Please swipe your card here.”
Yuliana turned her head in shock, her voice split in surprise.
“How much? Six million six hundred and eighty thousand?”
Her two followers were also taken aback. That expensive?
Yuliana turned toward Noelle, her voice shrill.
“Are you playing me?”
“This lady was here first.” The staff nearby couldn’t bear to watch any longer. This lady wanted these cufflinks, and you guys swooped in and snatched them. Now, you can’t even afford them…
Though the latter part wasn’t spoken aloud, the blatant sarcasm in the staff’s eyes said it all.
Noelle had no intention of getting entangled with Yuliana. She asked the staff to wrap things up, swiftly paid with her card, and left. This left Yuliana and her two companions awkwardly rushing out under the gaze of onlookers.
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