Ruby was the first to speak when she met L''s eyes. "Hi, Mrs. Morgan."


    Dumbfounded, L felt her eyebrows twitch. She had no idea how to respond, especially because she might be calling Ruby "Mrs. Morgan" in the future.


    She nodded softly and politely replied, "Hi, Ms. Clemence."


    Nicole motioned at L toe over. "Come here, L."


    When she walked closer, she found Nicole and Ruby poring over a photo album. They must have been in the middle of a funny story because L heard their merryughter when she arrived.


    "Where''s Grandpa and Grandma?" L was puzzled to find only the twodies in the living room.


    Nicole answered, "They''re off to y Bridge. Take a look at this photo. Do you still recall what happened here?"


    She pointed at a photo of Noah and L. L was in a clean, white dress, yet Noah suffered bruises all over his face. His clothes were tattered, clearly the aftermath of a fight.


    That photo was taken in the second year L joined the Morgan family when she was a high school junior.


    L had been a beauty since young, but she was reserved and quiet. Boys in middle and high school loved quiet, proper girls like L. Often, they would try to hit her up or write her love letters.


    Yet, L wasn''t popr at all among girls. ording to the girls, she was too full of it and a hypocrite. They gossiped behind her back, but she knew all about it.


    She had tried to get along with the cliques, but it tired her out, and it didn''t help much. She gave up soon after.


    However, once she became


    orphaned after her parents'' sudden deaths, the vicious attacks became overt. After the Morgan family adopted her, Noah once identally saw the bruises on her arm. That was how Noah came to her rescue when her bullies stopped her in an alley. He tried to take down multiple targets, only to be beaten up until he was bruised.


    L summarized it, "There were a lot of bullies. He got hurt trying to protect me,


    but my bullies stopped beating him when they recognized him."


    Because of that, L emerged from the incident unscathed, and Noah only suffered from some surface-rted injuries.


    L asked, "Aunt Nicole, didn''t you go to the school toin about that incident?"


    She asked because she remembered that her bullies didn''t show up to school the next day. The next time she heard about them, they had apparently dropped out of school.


    Once those bullies were gone, peace was restored to L''s high school life.


    Nicole smiled. "Oh, I remember it now. I had nned to go to your school the next day, but Kieran had already called the school principal and the families of the bullies on that very night."


    Noticing L''s shocked pause, Nicole grinned even wider. "Kieran cares a lot about you, you know."


    L turned to Nicole with a smile. "Well, serve those bullies right for bullying their schoolmates. Just imagine what they''re capable of if they were already bullies in school!"


    "Still, Kieran showed that he cared about you because he immediately solved the problem on the same night."


    L pursed her lips while going


    through the timeline in her mind. At the time of the bullying incident, Ruby hadn''t gone abroad yet. She wondered if Kieran had been in love with Ruby at that time.


    Worried that Ruby might


    misunderstand, she tried to exin herself-Kieran was good to her, but she wasn''t very close with the Morgan family members even after two years of living with them due to her quiet nature. Kieran, too, had a cold personality; he couldn''t have developed much feelings for her.


    Kieran must have only acted swiftly for Noah''s sake.