Noreen didn''t argue. The old man had been cranky ever since he started his medication, and his words had a sharp edge.


    Bianca nearlyughed out loud. Noreen didn''t even seem embarrassed. *Her skin really is thick,* she thought with contempt.


    Noreen gathered her things. "You''re almost out of your medicine, right? I''ll bring more tomorrow."


    "Just go!" Halley''s mood soured instantly, and he practically shooed her out the door. The conversation had been going so well, and she had to bring up that bitter medicine. *That girl really knows how to ruin the mood.*


    Seeing Halley''s reaction, Bianca''s lips curled into a mocking smile. It seemed Noreen''s usual tactic of trying to win people over with favors wasn''t working this time. Academician Joyner wasn''t falling for it.


    Noreen paid Bianca no mind, not even ncing at her as she left. Dn followed her out and didn''t return for quite some time.


    Eventually, Seth also stood to leave. Bianca was surprised; she had wanted to talk with the Academician a little longer. But if Seth was leaving, she had no reason to stay. They said their goodbyes and headed out.


    As they left, they saw Dn in the courtyard, talking on the phone. He gave them a nod as they passed and continued his conversation.


    Once they were outside the gates, Bianca asked, "Do you think Dn and Noreen are dating?"


    Seth''s stride faltered for a fraction of a second. "I have no idea," he said coolly.


    Bianca took his indifference as a sign that he no longer paid any attention to Noreen, let alone cared about her love life. The thought was reassuring. The only thing that bothered her was Dn. Of all the people he could have fallen for, why did it have to be Noreen?


    ...


    Once the InnoCore team was


    assembled, the IPO process


    officially began. Noreen finally hadza moment to breathe and went to the hospital to pick up Halley''s prescription. On the way back, a truck suddenly barreled through a red light, heading straight for her car. <fn41f0> Updates are released by find?novel</fn41f0>


    Fortunately, Colby was driving. His reflexes were lightning-fast. He yanked the steering wheel hard, sending their car crashing into the curb, narrowly avoiding a catastrophic collision.


    Noreen, who had been in the back seat reviewing emails on her tablet, was thrown violently against the interior of the car before the side airbag deployed, cushioning the final impact.


    Once the car stopped, Colby immediately checked on her. "Ms. Gilmore, are you alright?"


    "I''m fine."


    Colby let out a sigh of relief.


    They got out of the car to see that


    tofth


    the truck had crashed into a


    concrete barrier further down the road, its chassispletely mangled. Other drivers had already stopped to check on the truck. Colby went to see as well.


    When he returned, his face was grim. "The truck driver was killed on impact."


    Noreen''s legs gave out, and she sank onto the curb, her mind reeling. She couldn''t imagine what would have happened if Colby hadn''t been driving. The


    casualties would not have been limited to just the truck driver.


    Colby called Sophia toe take Noreen to the hospital for a check-up while he stayed behind to deal with the police. By the time Sophi@arrived, the scene had been mostly cleared, but she turned pale when she heard about the driver. "Thank God Colby used to be a professional racer. This could have been so much worse."


    It was Sophia who had insisted on hiring a bodyguard for Noreen after the


    kidnapping in Glenhaven City. She hadbed through the recruiting agencies before finding Colby.


    ***