As Noelle reached the doorway, Donovan chased after her and shouted, "Stop right there, Noelle!"


    Noelle had no intention of arguing any further. "There''s no reason for me to say now that your words meant nothing."


    His expression changed slightly as he immediately came up with a lie. "I must have misheard what Xenia said just now, which caused me to misunderstand that you were the one that hurt her."


    He could not afford to take responsibility for what would happen to ke and Lucas if Noelle were to leave now.


    Noelle smirked and asked, "Did you really mishear things? Or did someone deliberately lie to you?"


    Donovan''s tone turned softer. "Does it matter?"


    "Of course it does. You guys always loved to sweep everything under the rug and call it a day, and I''m no longer a fan of that. Everything should be made clear as day," she replied.


    As soon as Noelle finished speaking, ke pulled Xenia forward with him.


    He then red at Xenia and said, "Tell us exactly what you said to Donovan just now. Repeat it, word for word."


    Xenia felt extremely guilty as she nced at Donovan. "Donovan, I never said that it was Noelle who hit me."


    Donovan felt wronged in that instant. Although Xenia had not explicitly stated who had hurt her, her tone suggested that Noelle had done it.


    Donovan thought for a while and then turned back to Noelle. "Well, I was the one who misheard things. Is that good enough?"


    ke exined, "Donovan, you should apologize to Noelle since you misheard the details. "


    Frank walked over and chimed in as well. "That''s right, Donovan. It''s your own mistake to assume that Noelle was wrong. Noelle suffered a lot because of our prejudice against her. We can''t let history repeat itself."


    Donovan looked visibly reluctant to apologize, as he was the eldest brother in the family.


    Noticing his hesitation, Xenia exined, "Donovan did nothing wrong! It was my fault for misleading him and causing all of this misunderstanding. Let me apologize instead."


    Donovan felt relieved when he saw Xenia take responsibility for her actions. He had been rather upset with her before.


    As Xenia put up her usual pitiful act and approached Noelle, Noelle suddenly raised her hand and pped Xenia across the face. Xenia was stunned.


    Noelle casually rubbed her wrist and said, "Since you''re apologizing, it means that you''ve admitted to your mistakes. This p is a little punishment for your own good."


    Xenia shrieked, "For my own good?!"


    "Of course Your vague and


    misleading words can easily cause misunderstandings. It''s not a good habit to have. I''m kindly helping you correct it, so you should be thanking me," Noelle replied. ''


    She then helped Xenia up and continued in a pretentious tone, "It''s best not to talk


    like that again, okay? I really don''t want to punish you."


    Xenia felt a chill running down her


    spine as she stared at Noelle''s gentle expression. She felt that


    Noelle was even more terrifying like this. She could only wonder what Noelle was actually nning.


    Xenia hurriedly turned back to Donovan. "Donovan!"


    Donovan cleared his throat and replied, "Noelle''s right. She even helped you back up. It shows that she still wants to get along with you."


    Xenia was bbergasted. She felt that Noelle''s behavior was anything but trying


    to get along with her. But now that Donovan had spoken, she did not dare to say anything else.


    Noelle let go of Xenia''s hand and deliberately wiped her own hand on Xenia''s clothes.


    Xenia''s face turned red from anger. She could tell that Noelle was doing all of this on purpose and that Noelle was just pretending to return to the Liddells so that she could take everything away from her,


    The group soon returned to the living room, and Gordon approached them. "Mr. Donovan, shall we serve dinner now?"


    Noelle''s gaze turned cold when she saw Gordon, realizing that he had alsoe


    to Yasnia. Gordon noticed her gaze, but he did not dare to meet her eyes.


    As everyone started taking their seats, Noelle saw Xenia casually pulling out a chair, and she immediately sat down on it. "Thanks, Xenia."


    Xenia snapped at her. "That''s my seat!"


    "Is that so? But I just so happen to prefer this seat for dinner." Noelle showed no intention of moving away.