No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

Noelle hadn't chosen Firestorm to spite anyone. She simply didn't want to remain tied to Starlight and stay under the Liddell family's control. "Alright. Enough," Frank intervened to try to mediate.

He turned to Lucas. "Still, what you said and did before was hurtful. You should apologize to Noelle."

Lucas hesitated. "Fine. I'll apologize. But she can't join Team Celestial or sign a contract with Firestorm!"noveldrama

He believed that Noelle did those intentionally to make him angry. He was willing to apologize, but he couldn't allow her to continue doing that.

Frank sighed with relief and walked over to stand before Noelle. "Noelle, I don't think it's a good idea for you to sign with another streaming platform, too. This industry is messy, and I'm worried about you. Joining Lucas' company would be the best choice. Don't you think so?"

Noelle's gaze was steady as she firmly said, "Who I sign with is my decision."

"But I'm worried, Noelle. Lucas knows his mistakes and promises it won't happen again. So please, stop being so upset."

Noelle's lips curled into a faint smile. "I'm not." It was them that couldn't let her go. She turned to leave, not wanting to continue talking to them.

Lucas watched Noelle's retreating back and felt unhappy. "Frank, look at her attitude! I already said that I would apologize. What more does she want?"

"Lucas, you created this mess. Figure out how to clean it up yourself and get Noelle's forgiveness."

Lucas fell silent. He didn't know what else he could do. It was Noelle who played him first, and he had already planned to forgive her. So what gives her the right not to forgive him?

Lucas' gaze followed Noelle as she walked into the crowd. Many people greeted her and even posed for pictures together.

The composed woman she had become felt like a stranger to him. She had changed drastically.

Meanwhile, Xenia stood on the sidelines. Her jealousy simmered as she watched Noelle be the center of everyone's attention.

She had painstakingly dressed up for the day and hoped to impress everyone, yet all the attention was on Noelle.

Xenia glanced at the wine glass in her hand and devised an idea. Then, she walked to Noelle. She smiled before saying, "Noelle, there you are!"

Noelle turned to see Xenia approaching her while holding a glass of red wine.

Her intuition flared when she saw the look on Xenia's face. She sensed that Xenia was scheming something.

Her experience from her previous life had taught her that every time she saw that expression on Xenia's face, it would result in her misery.

It seemed that Noelle's bold appearance had touched a nerve of Xenia's, so she was back to her old tricks.

Xenia appeared innocent as she stood beside Noelle and addressed the group of famous people around them. "Hello, everyone. I'm Xenia, Noelle's younger sister."

Michael sarcastically said, "Oh, so you're the one who took Noelle's place in Team Luminark and almost lost the repechage."

The smile on Xenia's face wavered. She forced a restrained smile, almost like a grimace, and said, "I admit my gaming skills aren't as good as Noelle's. But she didn't want to join the team back then, so I stepped in. If she's willing to return, I'm more than happy to give up my spot." Noelle's lips curled into a cold smile. "There's no need for you to give up any spot."

She refused to look at Xenia's face any longer. Holding a drink, she turned to grab some fruit on the table.

"Noelle, wait." Xenia trailed after Noelle and "accidentally" stepped on the hem of the latter's dress. She stumbled forward, and her wine glass tilted, causing the red wine to splash directly at Noelle.