No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

Noelle was carried out of the area littered with broken shards and placed on the couch.

Cedric tilted his head down to look at her.

"Next time, when I say don't move, don't move. If you're not going to use your brain, don't run around!" he scolded Noelle.

She lowered her head. "Well, I didn't expect to bump into the vase!"

Noelle's face grew warmer, and she was thankful for the blackout. Otherwise, it would have been awkward for him to see how red she had turned.

Cedric was her mentor and friend. Because of her impure thoughts about him, she was suddenly self-conscious about their sudden physical closeness.

Cedric pulled out his phone and made a call, his tone icy. "Find out what caused the outage in this area."

Noelle looked around at the darkness, and her eyes finally landed on Cedric. The only light source there was the faint glow of his phone.

She asked, "Where's Alfred? Didn't he come back with you?"

"He went drinking. He won't be back tonight."

"And you didn't go with him?" Noelle knew that going to bars was a common way for adults to unwind, especially the wealthy. Her brothers at the Liddell family often did it, too, primarily for networking. Cedric's reply was simple. "Too noisy."

Noelle wasn't surprised at his reply. He always seemed to prefer quiet.

Noelle became curious. "I'm curious. You're so reserved, but Alfred is loud and outgoing. How did you two become such close friends?"

Cedric was the polar opposite of Alfred. Logically speaking, it would be hard for them to become good friends.

Cedric thought about it momentarily before responding, "My grandmother always said that I was too quiet. She told me to make friends with someone talkative so I wouldn't become a mute."

His words amused Noelle, and her curiosity deepened. "So, you've known Alfred since you were kids?"

Cedric paused, realizing he had said more than intended. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just envious. It must be nice to have a friend like that." Noelle's voice tinged with melancholy.

It was dark around them, so Cedric couldn't see her expression. He asked, "Didn't you have friends growing up?"

"I did. But after my parents passed away in that car accident, I was sick for a long time and forgot everything about the incident. My mood was unstable back then, and the friends I had slowly drifted away. Not long after that, Xenia was brought into our family. You know the rest. Because of her, I was ostracized at school. I never really had friends after that."

Cedric pursed his lips at the mention of the car accident. His throat bobbed as he asked, "Have you ever remembered anything about the accident all these years?"

"No, and I don't want to. It's too painful."

Noelle's expression showed sorrow. "If it weren't for that accident, my parents wouldn't have died. Xenia wouldn't have entered my life, and my relationship with my brothers might not have become like this." But there was no use thinking about what-ifs.

Cedric looked in the direction where Noelle was. His eyes clouded with emotions too complex to decipher.

"Do you hate the person who caused the accident?" His voice trembled slightly, carrying an unexplainable emotion.

In the dark surroundings, neither couldn't clearly see each other's expressions.

"Of course!" Noelle's reply was firm and cold.

Cedric swallowed hard, his throat tight. "Have you ever thought about finding them?"

"The person responsible ran away. They even found a scapegoat to take the blame. The Liddell family searched for years but came up with nothing."

Noelle wanted to find the real culprit who caused her parents' death.

Cedric's voice reached her again. "If you ever find out who it was..."

"I'll make sure they pay for what they did!" Noelle's voice was filled with unwavering determination. She had made sure that she would find the real culprit behind the accident.

Cedric remained seated on the couch and didn't move. He found it difficult even to breathe.

After a while of silence, Noelle broke it. "When will the power come back on?"