No longer a pushover

Chapter 9 Noelle straightened her back, remembering when she first learned that Xenia's father had saved her life. When Donovan brought Xenia home, she did not object and even treated her like a real sister.

Yet, over time, she watched as Xenia slowly stole her brothers away from her. That realization was the turning point and the reason their relationship had soured so much.

"Noelle, listen to yourself!" Frank shouted. "Nobody's asking for your life. We just want you to get along with Xenia! Is that really so hard? How long are you going to keep up this attitude?" "I'm not being difficult," Noelle muttered.

When she heard Frank speak, all the questions and anger that had built up in her heart suddenly seemed pointless. She had tried explaining herself in her past life, but it did not help. Hence, she refused to let her brothers' opinions affect her emotions this time. Silently, she packed her textbooks into her bag and said softly, "If there's nothing else, I'll go to my room now." Frank sat on the couch, looking frustrated. "Noelle, if you agree to join the team now, we can forget everything you've done wrong." Noelle found his words amusing. In fact, she found everything she had done in her past life to be a joke. With that, she headed upstairs without looking back, her steps more determined than ever.

Frank lit a cigarette, clearly irritated. Soon, Gordon approached cautiously and said, "Mr. Frank, if Ms. Liddell doesn't want to join, it's not the end of the world. At least Ms. Quigley is still here." Frank frowned. "It's not the same." "Mr. Frank, if I may... Ms. Liddell hasn't asked about any of you once when you've all been away these past few days. Her indifference is concerning." Frank immediately extinguished his cigarette and drove away from the mansion. Noelle watched him leave from her window, assuming that he was heading to the training camp.

After showering, she reviewed her practice problems one last time. She was determined to escape this place.

Noelle had unknowingly stayed up until dawn. She hurriedly packed her bag, grabbed a sandwich from the kitchen, and rushed out.

Frank was the first downstairs and caught a glimpse of her leaving. He frowned and asked, "Why is she up so early?" The housekeeper replied, "Ms. Liddell has been taking public transport since Monday. She was late for school before because Ms. Quigley was discussing team matters with you all. Since then, she has refused to use Aiden's services." Frank's expression grew complicated. Just then, Blake cdownstairs, questioning, "Seriously? She's making such a big deal over almost being late? Who's she trying to impress?" Lucas yawned as he joined them. "Frank, Noelle's just putting on a show to make you feel guilty. If you give in now, she'll only get worse." Frank remained silent, feeling that Noelle deserved to learn her lesson. After all, they had given her chances, but she had thrown them all away.

Xenia overheard their conversation, and her eyes gleamed with satisfaction before she cheerfully bounced downstairs. "Good morning, Frank, Blake, and Lucas! Let's have breakfast together!" Frank's mood lifted at Xenia's cheery demeanor. He was relieved that at least one sister was turning out right.

After her all-nighter, Noelle struggled to stay awake at school. Nevertheless, she remained focused in class and was determined not to miss any important points.

During the lesson, the teacher called on Xenia to answer a question, but she stumbled through her response without success. The teacher sighed and said, "Xenia, you've been quite distracted lately. If you don't catch up, you'll have trouble answering your papers later." Xenia's face reddened. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again." One of her minions quickly jumped in, saying, "Miss, Noelle's been studying hard lately. She probably knows the answer!" All eyes turned to Noelle. Most people in the room expected her to fail since her grades were usually worse than Xenia's. However, Noelle stood and answered the question confidently.

The teacher looked pleasantly surprised. "That's correct! Noelle's been putting in a lot of effort lately. Everyone should follow her example and stay focused." Xenia glared at Noelle from the corner of her eye, furious that gaming practice had cost her this moment. She could not believe that Noelle had stolen her spotlight. She would have to catch up quickly. Meanwhile, Noelle felt a small surge of happiness after receiving such praise.

After school, Noelle headed straight hinstead of going to the infirmary, not wanting to risk Frank discovering her routine. As expected, Gordon kept watching her closely, making her uncomfortable. After dinner, she retreated to her room and locked the door, finally able to relax. While working on her homework, her hand hovered over her phone hesitantly.

She wondered if she should inform Cedric that she would not be at the infirmary that day. Then again, it was not like he was expecting her. She was always the one who insisted on going there.

Still undecided about texting him, Noelle set her phone aside and thought she would just tell him later. She soon found herself nodding off from exhaustion as she started her homework.