Why?
She had been in this family for over ten years. Was everything she had done in vain?
Why was everyone so nice to Nicole as soon as she returned? The hatred inside her surged like the
billowing sea, but she could only try to keep a smile on her face.
“Why did you come back so late, Norah?” Samuel asked with concern. It made Norah feel better, as
she knew that Samuel genuinely cared for her.
Thinking of this, she raised her chin and said, “I went shopping and had a drink with Snow and Raine
after school. That’s why I am late. Had I known that you guys would be back today, I would have come
back earlier.”
Nicole scoffed. Norah did not look like she wanted to return home when she ingratiated herself with
Snow and Raine.
“Come have dinner together.” Gloria smiled and beckoned Norah to sit down.
But what Gloria said made Norah feel as if she was just a guest. She glanced at the long table again.
There were two people on the left and two on the right, and she was superfluous. Biting her lip, she sat
down next to Samuel.
As everyone began to dig in, Samuel brought up what happened at school.
“Stanley, have you looked at the high school forum? Nicole is now the most popular girl at school.”
“Seriously?” Gloria’s eyes were filled with elation.
“Nicole has just enrolled, and she is already so famous?” Spencer nodded.
“It is true. There is something that you don’t know; Austin was so embarrassed and furious because he
got rejected when confessing to Nicole.”
Gloria did not know that until now.
“No wonder. Austin deserves it then.” How dare he disturb her daughter? He really needed some good
spanking.
Norah immediately had something to say at the mention of this.
“Mom, it was indeed Austin’s fault, but Nicole should not have overreacted. Even with Mr. Ellison’s
help, they would inevitably see each other at school, and there were bound to be unpleasant
encounters.”
Norah seemed to care about her, but she was blaming Nicole verbally. Nicole could not help but put
down her cutlery and looked at Norah.
“It won’t happen again. Austin came to our class today and apologized to me.”
“Apologized?” Gloria was surprised.
“That arrogant kid of the Woods family apologized to you?”
The news caught everyone by surprise. After all, no one was in the same class as Nicole, and naturally,
no one knew about it.
“Yeah, he apologized and even asked me to be his boss. I didn’t agree,” Nicole said nonchalantly as if
she was talking about someone else.
“What did you say?”
“Austin asked you to be his boss?” Both Samuel and Norah were wide-eyed.
Austin was a school bully who stirred up trouble with a few underlings every day. It was unimaginable
that such a person would ask Nicole to be his boss. What was going on?
Norah was in Class A and had no idea that Nicole had made such a huge splash at Class B today. She
bit her lip. Even after exposing what happened at school, not only did she fail to keep Nicole in check,
she had also caused Nicole to earn the admiration of her brothers.
Samuel was the first to express his compliment.
“No wonder Austin asked you to be his boss. Your over-the-shoulder move yesterday was so badass.”
“Yeah, have you studied martial arts before, Nicole?” Spencer also asked out of curiosity. Gloria had
never known that Nicole was skilled in martial arts. She could not help but look at Nicole.
“Did you learn martial arts before?”
Since everyone was so curious, Nicole decided to tell the truth.
“Well, I won a martial arts championship during my ninth grade in junior high school.”
“Martial arts champion?” The twin brothers were even more surprised. They could not help but glance
at each other.
The two of them were still playing games when they were in their tenth grade. In contrast, their sister
had won the martial arts championship. Norah was filled with jealousy.
“The bar must be low for the martial arts championship in the countryside.”
Nicole scoffed and cocked an eyebrow.
“It was a national martial arts championship.”
“Oh my God!” Samuel’s serious admiration instantly turned to adoration.
“Nicole, you are seriously badass! Can you teach me when you have time?”
Samuel’s eyes were filled with Nicole. Now the last person who ever paid attention to Norah was gone.
Because of this, Norah looked sullenly at Nicole. Damn the hillbilly. Was Nicole showing off in front of
her?
Nicole noticed the look in Norah’s eyes and deliberately agreed to Samuel’s request.
“Yeah, why not? If you are willing, feel free to find me.”
Norah clenched her hands, her nails almost sinking into the flesh when she saw Nicole’s triumphant
look.
But no one was paying attention to her. Samuel and Spencer were curious to know the process of
Nicole learning martial arts, while Gloria looked concerned when she heard about her injuries during
the practice.
Meanwhile, Stanley listened on, occasionally refilling her glass with water.
Everyone at the table had excluded her.
Norah lost her appetite. After taking a few bites, she said, “I am going upstairs.”
“Okay,” Samuel said without looking at her, much to her surprise. Norah was even more furious this
time. She stomped her feet and went upstairs at once. While everyone was chattering at the table,
Stanley noticed Nora’s unhappiness.
Something told him something was wrong with Norah’s expression when she left.
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