<b>Chapter </b>272
Before long, people started trickling out from inside the terminal.
Noreen kept her head down, busy texting ire back.
Not far away, three people hurried outside. Leading the way was Henry Brooke, also engrossed in his phone, responding to a message from Bianca.
“Justnded. Free tonight? Want to grab dinner?”
He’d barely hit send when he mmed straight into someone.
The collision was so forceful that Noreen’s phone flew from her hand and crashed to the floor, dying a dramatic, untimely death.
She scrambled to pick it up, only to find the screen ck and unresponsive. Just as she opened her mouth to speak-
The man who’d collided with her coolly turned to his assistant. “Rece it for her.”
He didn’t bother with an apology, just strode away without looking back.
Noreen was stunned by his rudeness, a disbelievingugh escaping her lips. “Wow. Money really does make the world go ‘round, huh?”
Henry paused mid–step and nced over his shoulder, giving Noreen a thorough, almost appraising look–the kind that made her skin crawl.
Finally, he gave a slight, sardonic smile. “Money is impressive, isn’t it?”
On the ride back, Noreen recounted the whole airport incident to ire.
“You’re way too polite,” ire huffed from the passenger seat, gesturing wildly. “If it were me, I’d have kicked him right in the face. Let’s see how smug he’d look then! Come on, I’m the Combat Queen! I’d have wiped the floor with that jerk!”
Noreen couldn’t help butugh, ire’s dramatics instantly lifting her mood. “So, Combat Queen, where are we celebrating tonight?”
“I want a feast! We have to celebrate you properly!”
“Deal. I’m at your mercy! You can pick any restaurant in all of Rivercrest City!”
ire put on her best starry–eyed face. “Ms. Gilmore, you’re so generous! Need a sidekick?”
Noreen ended up taking ire to ‘Stratus‘–the most exclusive restaurant in Rivercrest City.
As the name suggests, it was perched on the top floor of Stratus International za, the city’s tallest skyscraper, soaring 458 meters above the ground. The sweeping windows of its panoramic dining room offered breathtaking views of Rivercrest’s famous sea of clouds–at least during the day. At night, the city lights reced the clouds, glittering far below.
Noreen had made a reservation in advance. But as soon as she sat down, she noticed the man at the
12:24
next table looked annoyingly familiar.
Wasn’t that the arrogant rich guy from the airport?
Small world.
She leaned in and whispered her discovery to ire.
ire, curiosity piqued, snuck a few nces before giving her verdict. “Well, at least he looks halfway decent.”
Noreen didn’t want to talk about him anymore–it might spoil her appetite.
Instead, the two friends caught up over dinner, swapping stories andughing between bites.
For the past three months, ire had been deep in training–horseback riding, archery, wirework, and wielding a mean staff. Even the stunt coordinator had praised her fight scenes for their fluidity.
Noreen could tell ire genuinely loved acting. No matter how grueling the training, she neverined.
As for Noreen, her own career was practically taking off; ire didn’t worry about her in the slightest.
What she was more curious about was Noreen’s love life.
Noreen hesitated, then said, “I don’t really want to spend the time getting to know someone new. It’s like writing an essay–you’re almost finished, but then the teacher rips it up and tells you to start over because your handwriting’s messy. You remember the beginning, sure, but you’re too worn out to rewrite it. You’ve already poured everything into that one essay, right up to thest line, and now you have to start from scratch.”
“Honestly, being alone makes me feel more grounded.”
ire listened, her eyes softening with sympathy. “You’re like someone who’s been bitten by a snake–now you’re terrified of every rope you see. Seth is such a bastard!”
She gripped her fork, looking like she was ready to toss that jerk right off the top of the 458–meter building. <fn299e> Follow current nov?ls on find(?)ovel</fn299e>