No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

Noelle hummed lazily in response. She wasn't interested.

Xenia was alarmed to see Frank not losing his temper.

Frank turned to her and said, "Xenia, just try harder next time. There are still the college entrance exams. I'm sure no one will interrupt you this time."

Xenia clenched her fists. She had blamed her poor grades on the gaming incident and expected the Liddells to compensate her. Yet, an even worse situation happened. How could they think of taking the emerald necklace back? Frank was clearly beginning to treat her differently, so she had to think of a way to stop this!

Their car soon pulled up at a fine dining restaurant.

Noelle stepped out of the car unhappily. She would rather do revisions at home than be forced

to share a meal with Frank and Xenia.

Xenia's eyes lit up when she saw where they were. "You brought us here? You treat Noelle so well! I've been asking you to take me here forever, but you've always said no.

Noelle glanced at the restaurant. In her past life, the establishment had been a very famous member-exclusive restaurant. Because of that, many people flaunted their wealth by being members.

In this life, the restaurant had only recently opened.

Frank sighed. "I was really busy before. Besides, we're here now."

"I'm just here to tag along. I know Noelle's the main star today."

Xenia sneakily snapped a few photos to show it off on her social media later.

Frank glanced at Noelle, surprised to see her calm demeanor, which was completely different

from Xenia's.noveldrama

As they waited for the elevator in the lobby, Noelle suddenly froze when she caught a glimpse of someone on the second floor. It appeared to be Cedric!

She thought she might have been mistaken, but that person's side profile looked just like him. She quickly looked away when she saw that he was with a gorgeous woman. Her heart pounded as she wondered if he hadn't responded to her earlier texts because he was in the middle of a

date.

Noelle didn't know how to feel about it. It wasn't surprising that someone would pursue Cedric, as he was a handsome man with a good job. However, he'd previously told her that he didn't have a girlfriend. Had he gotten one since then?

Noelle was lost in thought as they made their way into a private room. She glanced at her phone again, but there was still no reply. She wondered if he was too occupied to reply.

"What are you thinking about, Noelle? Quick, come here. Donovan's on the phone, and you know how busy he is."

Snapping out of her thoughts, she saw Frank holding up a phone for a video call. The stern man on the screen was her eldest brother, Donovan Liddell.

She walked over quietly and simply greeted, "Donovan." An awkward silence filled the room after her one-word sentence. In the past, she would go out of her way to behave obediently and strike up conversations.

However, in her previous life, Donovan was the one who had kicked her out of the house and cut off her financial support. She was done playing the dutiful younger sister.

Donovan frowned. "Noelle, it's good that your grades have improved recently, but don't get too cocky. Xenia's grades have dropped significantly this time, so you need to help her out more. After all, we're family." Noelle scoffed at how similar he sounded to Frank.

"Frank hired a tutor. She doesn't need my help," she replied impatiently.

"What kind of attitude is that, Noelle? This is not a negotiation. I'm telling you to help Xenia with her grades, understand?"

As the eldest child, Donovan had always been the boss of the family. He'd heard of Noelle's recent changes and how she was beginning to distance herself from the rest of the family.

Noelle slowly raised her head and looked straight at him through the screen. "I refuse." She

wasn't going to do it.

Donovan's expression darkened instantly. "Say that again!"