The next morning, Noah stirred awake at his usual. Except for one thing that definitely wasn't per usual: as soon as he opened his eyes, his gaze fell on Eliana, sleeping peacefully in his arms.If he had been capable of stopping the flow of time, he would have captured the seconds in the palm of his hand and stopped it, right there and then.But unfortunately, he did not have this power… nor had he forgotten what his grandpa had told him yesterday about the changes he wanted around the house.It was a good thing that he had already told the chef about what they wanted for breakfast, so that he could have a few more minutes with Eliana.But he noticed the clock placed on her beside, and it was already eight. He knew he had to wake Eliana up, otherwise, they were going to be late._________An hour and a half later, they were just finishing up their breakfast of a colorful platter of freshly sliced seasonal fruits, including watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, berries, and kiwi, garnish
All the eyes turned to Eliana, and she started to speak in a cheerful tone to cover up her discomfort;“I just wanted to say, how thankful I am that you both could come here today. I have admired your work for a long time, and I can’t wait to see what you have in mind for us. So thank you for taking out time from your busy schedules, it is such an honor…”Eliana stopped speaking abruptly; feeling like she was just rambling on. She then smiled, trying to mask her self- consciousness, which was rising rapidly because of the tense silence. Finally, Eva turned to Eliana, giving her a polite, if somewhat distracted, smile."Thank you, Miss Frost." Her sharp eyes quickly darted back to Noah before she added, "It is no problem at all, in fact, I'm quite excited to be here…”Eliana felt herself getting awkward due to how bold and straightforward Eva was. Meanwhile, Edward didn't remove his eyes from Noah for even a second and said with a crooked smile,“You’re so lucky, Mr. Turner. Eliana is
Ed stood in the middle of Eliana's closet, hands on his hips, surveying the rows of clothes with a critical eye. He scrunched his nose as if her clothes had done something to offend him on a personal level, while he muttered under his breath. “Darling, no, no, no… this won’t do at all.”He grabbed a plain, long white linen dress off the rack, holding it up as if it was something infectious that might contaminate him next. “This? Really?" Eliana cringed as he tossed the dress aside as he stood by the door, wringing her hands. The dress landed onto the growing pile of clothes on the floor, where nearly ninety percent of her wardrobe now lay discarded. "And this? Please, tell me this was a gift…" He sighed, chucking another plain, shapeless brown dress without waiting for a response.Eliana’s face flushed with embarrassment. She crossed her arms, trying to shield herself from his ruthless critique, but each garment he rejected felt like a personal insult. And yet, she couldn't sa
Noah lifted his eyes, and in that instant, Eliana quickly looked away, unable to face the intensity in his gaze. Her heart raced as she tried to compose herself, forcing herself to focus on anything else to distract her mind. Her eyes finally landed on the striped silk tie he was wearing. It was a little lopsided, feeling the urge to fix it for him, she took a step forward. In the meantime, Eva, who was standing beside Noah, turned towards him after finishing a conversation with her assistant. She noticed the crooked tie too and, with a confident stride, stepped in front of him. Eliana stopped in her tracks, as if she had frozen in time, watching the scene in front of her. Eva reached up, her long fingers expertly adjusting the fabric. She brought face close to Noah's, seemingly absorbed in her task. Noah, noticing her proximity, assumed that she was simply focused on making sure he looked presentable. He tilted his chin up slightly, giving her more space. Eliana's gaze snapped
No sooner had Eliana heard this question, it seemed to break the dam of her patience and she began to spill everything. “I– I was paying attention, Noah! But I’ve been feeling... strange. Jealous, almost. I mean, since the moment they both started to roam around you and the way they were smiling and staring while talking to you, I felt this... this jealousy. And then, when Eva stepped in to fix your tie, I felt this strange, burning sensation in my chest, like... like acidity… but it wasn’t that! It was like something—”She stopped mid -sentence when she noticed Noah’s expression. His lips were twitching, like he was clearly trying to hold in his laughter but failing miserably. The moment she saw him pressing his lips together, his shoulders shaking slightly, he also burst out laughing, unable to contain it any longer.Feeling offended and embarrassed, she glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. “What are you laughing about? Is this funny to you?” Noah, still chuckling, p
Viola wasn't expecting this reply from Noah at all. She was perfectly sure that now… when Noah is already getting everything from his inheritance in his own hands, just like they had told him, he would take no time to divorce his wife. Or at least, make her stay back at her parents'; in Viola’s eyes, there was no reason for him to stick to that Frost family anymore. After all, they didn't even lie in the top ten percent of the elites of the country, and his wife… Viola had already done a background check on her, and she wasn't particularly wealthy, either.Apart from this, Viola already had a plan in her mind regarding this, so how could she just let Noah fulfill all his wishes over the graves of her own desires?He had already done enough to trouble them, and had been making them follow his words, knowing very well that they didn't have any other option apart from obeying him right now. But Viola wasn't a naive player either, who would just lose from a noob like Noah!After all, i
As soon as the staff left, Noah turned towards Eliana, taking a deep breath. This was it, his opportunity to come clean about his life. There would be no better time than this, and even if there was supposed to be a more perfect window of time, Noah didn't have the luxury to wait for it to arrive.He had to tell her about the other members of his family apart from his grandfather, whom she had already met, as well as the history of his family.After that, they also needed to go to the market to buy something for this welcome quest… otherwise he knew his aunt very well.Because even though she was saying that it was his own house where he was returning and he can bring anyone there, at any time, but the moment he would step through the door empty handed, Viola would be the first one to taunt him and the person accompanying him there.But it wasn't the major problem on his mind, because he also knew no matter whatever the person is going to bring for her, she was going to taunt them an
Noah heard Stuart's voice and he realized the blunders he had made, one by one, in great detail.“If the sky falling off can be considered as a situation, then consider I am stuck in one of those–”“What happened now?” Stuart asked, getting curious and slightly worried. But before he could have asked anything or prodded him further, Noah spoke up. “I somehow told Eliana the truth, and at the same time, I realized that I haven't gifted her any jewelry or any gift for that matter till now–”“You told her about the family?”Stuart spoke, getting stuck at the first sentence about telling Eliana the truth. As soon as he completed the his question, Noah answered immediately. “Not about the family… I told her that I love her–”“What do you mean?”Stuart asked, getting more confused than ever. Noah didn't realize his confusion and added;“Yes, I have somehow slipped up about the matter and told her that I love her–”“Noah, wait a minute, isn't she your wife already?”Finally, Stuart had ca
Noah was sitting in the garden, trying desperately to calm himself as he had been feeling a little uneasy because of the way things had unfolded.He had spent most of his life away from home, this is why, he knew the value of family. He had also met several people who were dark to the very core, but for some reason, he thought that Liam was different…Noah had a feeling that everything he had been doing so far, was just because something that he thought would always remain his, had been snatched from him in the middle of all the succession drama… and especially because of Noah himself.So it was a logical thing that he hated him from the core of his heart… but he had also seen his affection towards their grandpa. He was lost in his thoughts, staring off into the distance… when he noticed some disturbance near the ivy vines, lurking by the southernmost boundary of the garden.He rose from his seat and started walking towards the boundary; and Ben snapped to attention.He had been stan
“Killed him? Dad!! You are saying you killed him… wasn't his death an accident? Then how is it possible that you are the reason behind–”Liam didn't even realize that he had started to interrogate his father under the effect of his anxiety on hearing the last words spoken by him.Till now, he had been thinking that they were standing on the right side of the situation as well as the history that was yet to be written. He really believed that they were the oppressed ones who had always been discriminated against, trying to fight for their rights which had unjustly been snatched from them.But after hearing his father's nonchalant response, he wasn't able to think straight anymore. He was ready to go to any extent to get what really belonged to him, but killing someone was something he could never imagine doing… nor was he able to digest the fact that his father was a murderer.But before he could have completed his statement, Otis interrupted his rambling. “Yes! It was an accident, a
Sabreena hesitated in the doorway, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment as she clutched a large bouquet of white lilies. She took a deep breath before stepping into the living room, her eyes darting around nervously and scanning the faces: her brother was looking at her with confusion, while Olivia’s gaze was sharp, Eliana’s gently curious, and Noah was stoic and calm; although his calm demeanor wasn't exactly helpful in taming her anxiety.Finally, with a forced smile, she spoke up. “Oh, come on, Olivia…” She started awkwardly, the bouquet trembling slightly in her hands. “How long are you going to hold on to some… some small incident from ages ago? Why would I insult him? I… actually, I have come to thank No- I mean, Mr. Kingsley.”Eliana shot her mother an amused glance, while Noah remained silent, his face unreadable as Sabreena took a few steps forward, extending the bouquet of lilies towards him. Olivia crossed her arms and cut in sharply, “Well, I can’t exactly let it go
Liam threw down the glass vase which was placed on the side table in his room, sending it crashing to the floor, as soon as he noticed his parents trying to enter his room once again.It had been four days since his return- or to be honest, the rather rude way in which he had been thrown out, not just from the party but from the city itself. The security had unceremoniously dumped them on the first flight back to Edinburgh, without caring which class tickets were available. And apart from declaring in front of his parents that he had failed miserably, he hadn't given any specific details to his parents. Instead, he had locked himself in his room, boycotting everything: from eating properly to speaking to his parents.In fact, since last night, he had not even touched the food, even for once… and this was making both Otis and Viola more and more tense with every passing second.Even though they were aware that the deal had slipped out of Liam's hands, they were still trying to keep th
“What? Richard Jensen was there too?!” Eliana’s voice burst out in surprise from Noah's phone speaker, her lovely face filling the screen of their video call as she heard the entire story from his mouth. She leaned closer, her eyes wide with disbelief, while Noah glanced into the screen as he replied while preparing to go to bed. “Oh yeah! And he had plenty to say against me at first, calling me a scammer and whatnot. But as soon as Grandpa Omar and Norm showed up, he went quiet and practically disappeared into the crowd, fearing for his own safety.”Eliana burst into laughter, covering her mouth. “After what happened last time, I can’t believe he had the nerve to show up and then also splash mud on you! I mean, did he get the guts?”Noah chuckled. “Apparently, he bribed the event organizers for an invitation. And I guess he was really feeling frustrated after our last meeting, and thinking that he had nothing more to lose now, just vented out all his anger. His little scam was
“I understand, Grandpa Omar, that you’re not much of a drinker.”Noah continued with a steady voice, meeting some raised eyebrows from the people gathered around there. He continued, knowing that his words were surely having some effect, since Norm and Omar were looking at him with curiosity now, instead of suspicion. “I am also aware that you, Grandfather Norm and my grandfather have planned to visit Edencrest Estate together after the signing of the deal, and finally share the bottle of wine purchased so long ago. That is why I have ensured that the other bottle has safely been delivered at your residence, as the homage to that promise.”He glanced at the broken necklace on the floor, and everyone else's eyes followed; to the place where Sienna had thrown it after snapping the string and causing the pearls to scatter in all directions. “And I apologize for the condition of the necklace. It was a vintage heirloom, and though it was meant to be my gift to Eleanor, I shall make sure
Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Noah blinked before responding. “Of course,” he said smoothly. “I am happy to answer any questions you might have to help you see that I’m speaking the truth.”Blaine folded his arms, looking Noah up and down, an expression of irritation on his face. Clearly, he thought it was nothing more than a waste of his time to entertain him, but he had no other choice. “Fine! Then show me what you have brought as a gift for my niece. If you are truly the heir of the Kingsleys, you would know better than to show up empty handed, wouldn’t you?”Noah inclined his head, unbothered by Blaine’s mocking tone. “Certainly, uncle. I’ll show you the gifts I have brought.” Turning slightly, he motioned to one of his guards, who stepped forward, handing him a wine bottle wrapped in elegant packaging. Noah held it, his fingers lightly wrapping around the bottle— the vintage wine he had personally unearthed that morning.He extended the bottle toward Blaine. “This
Sienna’s eyes narrowed with suspicion as she looked at the scene in front of her. Just this morning, this idiot Noah had been roaming around the city, trying to get access into a high- end bank.And now, he was supposedly surrounded by an army of guards? Something was really fishy…Just then, her eyes landed on the man at the front of the group, and recognition flashed in her eyes. She clenched her fists, it was him! The same gullible bodyguard from the bank earlier that morning; the one whom she had already fed lots of half- truths and mostly lies about Noah, painting him as a dangerous criminal.She had tried to make sure that he wouldn't slip away by any means, but he had. And now she knows how! Feeling a pang of betrayal and anger, she couldn't hold herself back from commenting;“Oh! I see, he has managed to fool you all too! And now you’re siding with him?” Her laugh was bitter, remembering the way this guard had promised her that he would call the police on Noah and that the
At the time when Noah had entered the venue, hardly anyone had noticed him in the middle of VIP guests, each more prestigious than the last.As long as he had an invite and the security had allowed him in, only a fool would waste their time questioning a nobody instead of making the most of this opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the most important people in the world. However, as Liam and Sienna started to mock and humiliate Noah out loud in the open, a crowd slowly started to form around them.The guests started to point him out specifically, murmuring about the possibility of him being a con man and still dodging the security arrangements at this venue.Meanwhile, Noah was standing at his place, completely unfazed by their speculations and instead maintained his calm with a smile that didn't even budge for a single moment.“And do you mind telling me, when will she become your wife? Because as far as I know, my sister in law was already married to someone else. So I'm assum