<h4>Chapter 159: The Despicable Act of Spying</h4>


    Charles raised an eyebrow slightly, a flicker of an unreadable emotion passing through his eyes before it quickly vanished. "E, is there something you want to talk to me about?"


    E smiled softly. "Charles, thank you for always taking care of me. I sincerely wish you and Nora happiness, and may you have a beautiful life together with lots of children. I truly hope you find happiness."


    Charles chuckled warmly. "Thank you for the well wishes, E. I know you’re kind-hearted, so rest assured, I’m genuinely with Nora out of love, not just because she’s pregnant. I married her because I care for her deeply."


    E paused, carefully observing Charles.


    There was no trace of awkwardness or reluctance in Charles’ demeanor. He continued, "We actually broke up once before, but on the day she nned to go to the hospital to terminate the pregnancy, she had a minor car ident. I happened to be passing by and couldn’t bear to let her go through more pain."


    E was surprised—could things really be that coincidental?


    But then again, just like how she had been drugged and Eric had happened to be there to save her, life did have a strange way of working out sometimes.


    She made a mental note to look into Nora’s background, hoping that Nora’s feelings for Charles were genuine.


    "That’s good to hear. The baby’s already a few months along, so when are you nning the wedding? Don’t forget to send me an invitation!"


    "Don’t worry, we’ll make sure your wallet takes a hit!"


    "Hmph, do you think I can’t afford a little red envelope for you?"


    "Of course, you can. You’re too smart to be poor!"


    "Hahaha..."


    After some light-hearted banter, E left feeling very happy.


    Having talked with Charles for so long, she was relieved to see that he was genuinely happy and at ease, with no sign of reluctance. She could finally breathe easier, knowing that the man who had once harbored unrequited love for her in a previous life had now found a good ending.


    As Charles watched E’s retreating figure, he shook his head with a smile. "That girl..."


    Suddenly, he caught sight of Nora standing by the bathroom door. She stepped out, her face tear-streaked in the soft, dim light.


    rmed, Charles quickly went over to her, gently wiping the tears from her face. "What’s wrong? Why are you crying all of a sudden? Are you jealous?"


    Nora yfully pushed him. "I’m not jealous... I’m just so happy to know that you married me out of love. Before... I thought you only married me because of the baby!"


    Charles chuckled softly, his expression full of tenderness. Although he had been initially displeased with Nora’s frequent visits to his mother, after getting to know her better, he realized that Nora was truly a good woman.


    When she had the car ident, it had terrified him, making him realize that he could indeed ept Nora, and that love could be nurtured over time.


    From then on, E would only be his sister, and Nora would be the love of his life.


    The next morning, E and Chloe had breakfast together before heading off to school, E feeling a mix of emotions.


    The twelfth-grade curriculum was packed and intense, with a mountain of homework every day. However, E often cked off, onlypleting half of her assignments, which frequently annoyed her teachers.


    But since she consistently scored in the top five of her ss on every quiz, the teachers gradually became ustomed to herziness and stopped giving her a hard time.


    To E, the homework felt too mundane, a waste of time, though she knew this was her unique perspective.


    After chatting with Eric for half an hour the previous night and then watching movies for another two hours, E felt a bit sleepy. The math teacher’s voice, droning on about numbers, sounded like a luby, and soon enough, E found herself dozing off on her desk.


    The math teacher was so angry that he practically jumped up in frustration, immediately calling E to the front of the ss to solve what he considered a difficult math problem.


    To his surprise, the moment E stood in front of the board, she gave the problem a quick nce, grabbed the chalk, and swiftly solved it.


    After finishing, E turned to the teacher and said, "Teacher, next time you call me up, please give me something more challenging, okay?"


    The math teacher’s mouth twitched in shock, as if he were looking at some kind of prodigy. Just a short while ago, E’s math skills were terrible, often cing her near the bottom of the ss in every test!


    But now, she had suddenly be incredibly skilled! The teacher was both stunned and delighted—stunned by how quickly E had improved, and delighted to have another genius in his ss.


    "E, that was awesome! I’m totally in awe of you!" Chloe whispered excitedly as E returned to her seat.


    E smiled, and when she looked up, she noticed Damien giving her a thumbs-up from across the room.


    Her ssmates were all looking at her with admiration, amazed that she had solved the problem so effortlessly. It was as if she were a genius!


    E felt quite pleased with herself when her phone suddenly vibrated. She discreetly took it out and read the message: "Meet me at the back hill of the school after ss."


    The sender was, of course, Eric.


    E’s heart skipped a beat. He had actuallye to the back hill of her school?


    The clock showed 4:50—just ten minutes until the end of ss—but every minute seemed to drag on as she eagerly anticipated seeing him.


    She made sure to inform Chloe that Eric was picking her up, so she wouldn’t be heading home with her.


    When the clock finally struck five, E remained seated, calmly waiting for most of the students to leave before she leisurely gathered her things and made her way out.


    Excited, she hurried down the stairs, her heart practically floating at the thought of seeing Eric soon.


    Suddenly, someone blocked her path.


    E’s expression darkened instantly. Why did this person always have to appear when she least wanted to see him?


    Standing before her was none other than Brandon.


    E had already decided to stop attending Brandon’s art ss, and thankfully, he hadn’t tried to force her back.


    "E!" Brandon called softly. The hallway was quiet now that all the students had left.


    "What do you want?" E asked coldly, giving him a sidelong nce. With security cameras around, she wasn’t too worried about Brandon doing anything rash.


    "I... I have something for you," Brandon stammered, his face flushing as he opened his hand to reveal a USB drive.


    E raised an eyebrow. Something she wanted?


    She hadn’t expressed any interest in anything, nor had she asked anyone for anything.


    "I don’t want anything from you," E replied coolly.


    Given that Brandon was now with Hannah, who knew whether he was sincere or not? Which side was he even on? It didn’t matter to E—she had no intention of epting anything from him.


    "If you want to get back at Hannah... this USB contains everything you need to ruin her," Brandon whispered, lowering his voice. "It’s... videos of me and her... being intimate."


    E felt a wave of nausea rising in her throat. The audacity of this scumbag—he had recorded intimate videos of himself with Hannah?