No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

Raymond shot a glance at the man standing next to Noelle. He had heard the two had already broken up. In response to Raymond's reply, Noelle nodded politely and walked past Cedric without hesitation.

However, Cedric's eyes darkened as he watched Raymond approach. His voice was low and carried a hint of threat. "Stay away from her."

"But didn't you two break up?" Raymond raised a brow.

"I haven't agreed to it yet," Cedric replied coldly, his lips tightening. He narrowed his eyes and added, "You'd better not do anything you'll regret."

Raymond did not respond, but his gaze held a clear challenge. He did not even bother to finish his cigarette before turning around and heading back into the private lounge.

Cedric clicked his tongue softly. He could not believe he had just warned some clueless kid. The feeling that washed over him was hard to describe.

...

Meanwhile, Noelle had just come out of the restroom after splashing cold water on her face. As she walked back down the hallway, she saw Cedric still standing there. She took a deep breath and made her way over to him.

Without looking directly at him, she passed by, but Cedric spoke up. "There's a dinner tonight for the Al project. Want to come? There's a new development coming up-something to do with prosthetics."

Noelle froze for a second when she heard the word "prosthetics," as it reminded her of Wyatt. In her past life, she successfully developed Al-powered prosthetics, which became incredibly popular.

She had only mentioned the idea to Cedric once, but apparently, he had moved fast. Then again, with Maple Enterprise backed by Alfred and Cedric, money and resources were never a problem.

Noelle gave a small nod and pulled out her phone to text Grace, telling her to go ahead and eat without her. Then, she followed Cedric to a private lounge at the end of the hallway.

As soon as they walked in, she noticed Laura was there, too. The air in the room shifted, and the atmosphere turned noticeably tense.

Everyone who was present knew about Laura and Cedric's history, so when Cedric walked in with a young woman by his side, eyebrows were definitely raised.noveldrama

Laura stood up immediately and greeted Noelle with a sweet but pointed smile. "Ms. Liddell, what a surprise to see you here."

Nearby, a wealthy heir named

Tommy Chapman laughed and said, "Mr. Greene, that's cold, man. Ms. Merlock is already here, and you go off to bring in another girl? Aren't you afraid she'll get jealous?"

Everyone chuckled along, feeding the tension in the room. Laura's smile

deepened as she glanced at Noelle, clearly feeling victorious.

Noelle's smile grew just as bright. "Maybe I came at a bad time?"

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She tilted her head and looked at Cedric, flashing a smile that made his jaw clench. Right now, he absolutely did not want to see her smile That smile had hidden daggers-it hurt more than if she had just yelled at him.

Laura quickly tried to smooth things over. "No, you're right on time. There are some folks here who invest in pro-gaming teams. Since you're so good at gaming, maybe you' consider going pro someday?"

"I'm not looking to join a pro team at the moment," Noelle replied calmly.

"That's a shame. This kind of opportunity doesn't come around often. Sticking to your college team might limit your future."

Noelle looked straight at her. "The manager of Team Celestial had tried to recruit me before, too, but I turned them down. Everyone's got their own path."

Laura quickly walked over to Cedric's side and chirped, "Ced, come on, have a seat. Everyone's been waiting for you."

Noelle turned to leave, but Cedric caught her wrist before she could go. He lowered his head and asked gently, "Are you mad?"

The room went dead silent. Everyone stared at the two in shock, not quite believing what they saw.

Noelle's smile only widened. "I'm not mad."

Tommy could not help but ask, "Ms. Liddell, are you and Mr. Greene... close?"

Noelle glanced at him with a fake smile. "Not really."

Cedric did not move, still staring down at her. His brow twitched as he turned toward Tommy and said flatly, "She's mine. So watch what you say."

Noelle's cheeks flushed, thinking, "What the hell did he mean by 'she's mine'?"