Although Seth had already prepared himself to be pushed away by Noreen time and again, he still needed some time to process and ept it.


    Jude held back for a long moment before asking, "So how long are you nning to hide?"


    Seth didn''t answer immediately.


    After a long while, Jude heard him whisper almost inaudibly, "I don''t know."


    Because he was facing a dead end.


    ...


    As Noreen expected, even after calling Jude, she still didn''t hear back from Seth.


    He was clearly avoiding her.


    Noreen was already busy with work, and with him acting like this, she couldn''t be bothered to chase him down.


    He could hide for a while, but not forever.


    Besides, his absence brought her a sense of peace.


    When Sophia Cole sent over Winrich''s public announcement for Noreen''s final


    review, she also updated her on Madeline''s situation.


    A crowd of reporters had been waiting for Madeline at the airport in Northcrest, but Felix had used the Quigley family''s connections.


    He pressured the media on one hand while protecting Madeline on the other, ensuring not a single photo was taken.


    All the negative news about Madeline online had also been scrubbed clean.


    Meanwhile, the rumors about ire having a ''sugar daddy'' continued to circte wildly.


    Even though Noreen had Winrich''s legal department issue a statement rifying that she was the ''sugar daddy'' mentioned in the post, the rumors persisted.


    Gossip mongers were like that; they always preferred to believe the most sensational news. It seemed to give them some strange kind of psychological bnce.


    That''s why Noreen had Sophia prepare a new announcement, waiting for the right moment to release it.


    Sophia added, "That Madeline hasn''t been idle either. Since returning to Northcrest, she''s been trying every possible way to make aeback, and Felix is pulling strings for her everywhere. Although Winrich has warned many people in the industry, Madeline''s circle is ultimately in Northcrest. If Felix is determined to protect her, hereback is only a matter of time. After all, ourwork is in Rivercrest City, not Northcrest. Our reach doesn''t extend that far."


    After hearing Sophia''s report, Noreen gently tapped her fingers on the desk.


    So what if it was Northcrest?


    Did Madeline think she was the only one with connections there?


    Noreen ended the call with Sophia


    and was just about to pull up Wilbur''s number in her conta when his call came through.


    Noreen answered almost instantly. "I was just about to call you. You beat me to it."


    "Looks like we''re on the same wavelength," Wilbur said in his usual devil-may-care tone.


    "Did you need something?" Noreen asked first.


    "I have something good to share with you. Sent it to your email. Check it out."


    Noreen casually opened her email.


    A momentter, she asked Wilbur, surprised, "How did you get this?"


    "I have my ways," Wilbur said,


    again. "By the


    whats, Wilbur said,


    I want to calf way


    me about?"


    Looking at the contents of the email,


    Noreen''s tone became cheerful, it''s


    nothing now''s al


    dinnertime


    want to grab a bite together?"


    Wilbur was about to say yes.


    But then Noreen added, "ire said she''s craving tarts from Portside City."


    Wilbur paused. "You two go ahead. I have other ns."


    "Alright, we''ll eat together some other time then."


    Noreen didn''t press further, just assuming Wilbur genuinely had ns.


    After hanging up, Noreen forwarded the contents of the email to Sophia and ire.


    ire replied instantly.


    A long string of exmation points.