Seth first answered Bianca''s question, exining that he had been worried about her and came over after his meeting wrapped up.


    Seeing them together sent a fresh wave of rage through ire. How could he treat Noreen like this? From the moment he appeared, his gaze had merely brushed past Noreen, never lingering. It was as if he didn''t even know her.


    Seven years of her life, wasted on a dog.


    "Mr. Harcourt, you''re just in time," ire challenged, her voice sharp. "Why don''t you settle this for us? Between these two, who is the real homewrecker?"


    He wanted to stay out of it? Not a chance. ire was determined to drag him into the mess. If he dared to deny their past, she was ready to air every single sacrifice Noreen had made for him over the past seven years.


    Seth''s eyes, cold and hard, locked onto ire in a silent warning.


    But she didn''t back down, meeting his re head-on.


    His gaze flickered past ire, swept nonchntly over Noreen, and then he spoke, his tone so detached it was devoid of any emotion. "Haven''t you heard, Miss Chase? In any rtionship, the one who isn''t loved is the third wheel."


    "Noreen, you shouldn''t have stopped me! I should have ripped their lying mouths off!" ire chugged a bottle of ice water, but it did little to cool the fire raging inside her. She couldn''t believe Seth would say something so heartless. With a single sentence, he had dismissed seven years of Noreen''s devotion. The man had no soul.


    "Another bottle!" she yelled, feeling like she was about to explode.


    "You should drink less cold water," Noreen said, handing her a room-temperature bottle. Her own emotions were muted, distant. When Seth had spoken those words, her heart had sunk, a chilling sensation spreading through her on the hot summer day. Only now was she starting to recover, the emotional storm within her finally calming into a quiet stillness.


    Provost Ferris came to find Noreen personally, apologizing profusely for the "misunderstanding" caused by his staff. He made it clear that she could have any spot she wanted. The staff member who had confronted them earlier was also brought over to offer a formal


    the provost warmly


    apology Finally, the


    invited Noreen to attend the


    graduation ceremony as a guest of


    honor.


    Unable to refuse his earnest invitation, Noreen epted.


    When she arrived, she saw that the front rows were already filled with distinguished guests. Seth and Bianca were among them Provost Ferris escorted Noreen to a seat on his right, essentially the second most important seat in the house. The seat to his other side was upied by Professor William.


    As Noreen took her seat, she nced at Professor William and did a double-take.


    It was the foreign man ire had photographed with Bianca.


    *He* was Professor William?


    Sensing her gaze, William turned and gave her a bright, friendly smile.


    Bianca, who had been speaking with Seth, saw Noreen arrive, and her expression.cooled. When she saw her seated next to the provost, her brow furrowed in annoyance. She couldn''t understand why Provost Ferris was giving Noreen so much attention.


    Just then, the provost approached her. "My apologies, Miss Lowell. I''ve arranged another excellent booth for you. In the future, if yourpany needs anything, please don''t hesitate to ask. We will always amodate you."


    Though annoyed, Bianca maintained a graceful fa?ade. "Thank you for your trouble, Provost Ferris."


    Just before the ceremony began, the final guest of honor arrived. Noreen was looking down, texting ire to calm her down, when someone sat down beside her.


    Before she could look up, a familiar voice teased, "The ceremony is starting. Put your phone away and pay attention."


    Noreen''s head snapped up, her eyes instantly lighting up with pure delight. "Dn!"<fn989a> This text is hosted at f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?</fn989a>