Yvonne really couldn''t understand what was going on in Noah''s head. Cynthia had been gone for days, furious with him, yet he was still in the mood to dine out with his ex-wife and child.


    Bet had said Cynthia wouldn''t just sit back and take it, and Yvonne was almost looking forward to Cynthia teaching Noah a lesson and knocking some sense into him.


    As Bet and Yvonne left the restaurant, Noah was apanying Karina and Nic into a private room upstairs.


    Inside the room was a rectangr table with four chairs.


    Noah sat on one side, while Karina and Nic sat on the other.


    Karina took the menu and carefully selected a spread of dishes she knew Noah and Nic loved, her every move a calcted attempt at intimacy.


    After the food arrived, Karina served Nic, all the whileining, "I''m Nic''s mother, after all. For Yvonne to call me ''Ms. White'' is so impolite. Just what you''d expect from an actress, no manners at all. I never thought Bet would be such a shallow man, only caring about a woman''s pretty face."


    Noah shot her a cold nce, no longer willing to waste his breath on her.


    Getting no response, Karina wisely shut her mouth to avoid further embarrassment.


    Nic ate the food her mother served her while also nibbling on the cake in front of her, her little mouth smeared with a chocte mustache smeared across her upper lip.


    Karina took a napkin and carefully wiped Nic''s mouth. When she looked up, she saw Noah sitting there with a stony expression, his utensils untouched.


    "Why aren''t you eating? Is it not to your liking?" Karina asked, and without waiting for a reply, continued, "Although this is an old, established restaurant, only a few of their signature dishes are any good. If you''re not used to it, I can cook for you at home when we get back."


    Karina''s eyes sparkled as she looked at Noah. After all, she had once seduced him with the simple, domestic intimacy of her cooking a slow seduction that had started in the kitchen and ended in his heart.


    That high-and-mighty Cynthia probably didn''t even know how to cook, so how could she possiblypete?


    Karina looked at Noah expectantly after she finished, but he didn''t even spare her a nce.


    He kept raising his wrist to check his watch, his frustration obvious.


    As the CEO of hispany, Noah, couldn''t be as carefree as Bet. He had returned with people from the Thompson Group, only agiving instra in the evening.


    These past few days, Noah hadn''t been able to contact Cynthia and was already burning with anxiety.


    He had Karina pick up Nic so that he could go home after Nic went back with her.


    But Nic cried and fussed, insisting on having dessert from this particr shop, so Noah had no choice but to bring them here first.


    Nic hadn''t eaten well on the boat today. She gobbled down two pieces of cake and was fed a lot of food by Karina.


    After feeding Nic, Karina started eating herself. Whether intentionally or not, she ate with deliberate slowness.


    Noah''s patience had worn thin.


    He stood up and said to Karina and Nic, "I''ll have the driver take you hometer. I have something to do, so I''m leaving first."


    As Noah turned to leave, Nic suddenly rushed over and hugged his leg.


    "Daddy, don''t go! Nic wants


    Daddy and Mommy to be with me!


    want Daddy and Mommy together, waaah! Nic walled, clinging. Noah''s leg.


    "Nic is still little; she just wants her mommy and daddy with her. not


    re her father How can heret


    grant


    her


    er such a small request?