No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

At Noelle's lowest point, she had fainted on the streets from hunger. It was then that someone stepped in, earning money for her and giving her a bank card, urging her to leave and start over.

At the time, she hated Xenia with all her heart. She believed Xenia had stolen everything from her, and in her rage, she used the money to plan a kidnapping, intending to kill her.

The plan failed, and Donovan locked her away in a mental hospital. In the end, she was tortured to death by a caregiver arranged by Xenia.

How foolish she had been. She should have just left.

"You're going to hurt yourself like this." Noelle immediately turned and threw a punch, but Cedric caught it mid-air.

She was breathing heavily, her forehead slick with sweat. Then, she paused and asked, "Why are you here?"

Cedric handed her a bottle of water. "Am I not allowed to come to the gym?"

"Why this gym in particular?" Noelle drank some water and wiped the sweat from her brows to keep it out of her eyes.

Cedric reached for a towel to help her wipe the sweat. "Don't move."

Noelle stood still, lowering her eyes to see how close their shadows were.

When Cedric finished, he draped the towel over her head and teased, "You look like an old granny like this!"

Noelle grumbled as she yanked the towel off her head. "You're the old granny."noveldrama

"Why aren't you happy?"

Cedric quickly sensed something was off. Her mood wasn't right, and here she was, venting her frustrations on the punching bag.

His gaze fixed on Noelle's face. "Is it because of what that man said to you yesterday?"

If she was still upset, then maybe yesterday's lesson hadn't been harsh enough. Noelle shook her head. "No, the garbage those disgusting men say doesn't affect me."

She never cared about verbal attacks from strangers.

"Then, tell me, what's really bothering you?"

Noelle hesitated. Even if she told someone about her rebirth, who would believe her? And besides, this was tied to Magnus.

Noelle shook her head after pondering. "I've just had a lot on my plate lately. It's a bit overwhelming."

Cedric didn't press her after seeing that she didn't want to explain further. He stood up. "In that case, I'll spar with you today."

"But you're injured."

Noelle instinctively glanced at his arm, but Cedric was wearing a long-sleeve shirt today, hiding the wound entirely.

Cedric spoke casually, "You want to see?"

With that, he started unbuttoning his shirt, revealing his sharp collarbones.

Noelle quickly grabbed his hand. "What are you doing? Who told you to take your shirt off?"

"How else are you going to see if I don't?"

Noelle's face turned red, and she quickly let go of his hand. "Just change into your workout clothes later, and I'll see it then."

It was late summer, and the weather was still warm. Naturally, anyone working out would be wearing short sleeves. Cedric stood up. "I was just teasing you. You'd have to pay me to watch me take off my shirt."

"And how much are you worth?"

His gaze darkened slightly. "For you, it's free. Want a peek?"

Noelle turned her flushed face away. "No way." She had to admit she couldn't beat him at joking around.

Seeing as she was able to throw a joke back, Cedric felt a bit relieved that she was no longer stuck in her earlier mood. He then headed to the locker room to change.

While he was there, he received a call from Magnus. After listening to him ramble for a bit, Cedric frowned. "Get to the point, or I'm hanging up."

"Wait, don't hang up! Has Noelle asked you for any favors lately?"

Cedric paused thoughtfully. "She has."

"Cedric! I'm your biological brother. You can't agree to her requests and then

blame me later for not giving you face!"

There was no way Magnus was giving up the competition.

Cedric narrowed his eyes. "What did she say to you?"

Magnus immediately realized. "You tricked me!"

Cedric's tone turned serious. "Spit it out."

It had to be something related to why Noelle wasn't in a good mood today.