Chapter 225 Dwelling on the Past?
Pain coursed through him as if he'd been stabbed by something sharp. The middle-aged man stirred to a fitful wakefulness and bellowed in anger.
The young man standing nearby, Frank, instantly turned to glare toward Nora. "How dare you injure him? Do you have any idea who he is? Believe it or not, he can make you disappear from the face of the Earth!"
Nora held back a scoff, and her lips curled ever so slightly. As she was about to speak, she realized the young man looked familiar. With a slight frown creasing her elegant brows, she ventured, "Aren't you Allen's son, Frank?"
Frank paused, his intimidating demeanor softening slightly as he looked up at Nora, “Do you know me?"
He was indeed Frank, the son of the household's head butler. The recognition sparked in Nora's eyes as she introduced herself with a hint of movement within those dark pupils, "I'm Nora."
Surprise flickered across Frank's features at the mention of her name. "You're truly Nora? Did you get cosmetic surgery? And from which clinic? You look like a celebrity!"
He had heard from his father about Nora, how she had changed so much during the years she was absent, and how things had been turned upside down in the Smith Family upon her return. And now, seeing her with his own eyes, he understood how she truly became a different person.
Nora couldn't help but laugh lightly at the mention of cosmetic surgery. It was true that before, under her stepmother's oppressive shadow, she had been timid and dressed plainly, losing herself in the process. She had undoubtedly changed, which explained why these people could hardly recognize her now.
Noticing the middle-aged man still leering at her, Nora's gaze grew colder. "Frank, is this man a friend of yours?"
Frank snapped out of his reverie, "Let me introduce you. This is Raymond from Ace Pharmaceuticals. We were discussing a potential long-term partnership."
Ace Pharmaceuticals was a respectable business in Houston. However, Raymond was less than impressive. He couldn't be the main person in charge. He’s probably just a manager or some other petty officer. It was only those in lower positions who tended to be so brazen.
With a frosty expression, Nora cautioned, "Frank, this man's character is questionable. I advise you to reconsider partnering with him."
Raymond, having spent the earlier part of the interaction eyeing Nora with less than honorable intention, bristled at her words. "Who are you calling low-class? How dare you show such disrespect?"
Nora had no interest in conversing with a drunk who lacked the decency to act accordingly and turned to leave. "Frank, I'll be going now."
"Hey, don't you walk away from me! Stand right there, did you hear me?" Raymond staggered to follow her, but Frank quickly steadied him, cautioning, "You've had too much to drink."
Raymond, bleary-eyed, asked Frank, "You know her?"
Frank replied with certainty, "Yes, we know each other."
‘Business Proposition’
Ray squinted his bleary eyes, "Frank if you want to seal the deal with my company, find a way to get that woman to spend a night with me."
Frank was momentarily startled.
Ray tempted him further, "Frank, just get her to accompany me once, and I'll sign off all of next quarter's business with you on the spot."
Hearing that, a gleam appeared in Frank's eyes. After a short pause, his gaze shifted as he calculated, "Deal."
'Rumor has it Nora's got three kids of unknown origin. She must need money. So, if he offers her enough, surely, she'll willingly sleep with the guy, right?' Frank thought.
Nora was a bit distracted. She hadn't forgotten about clearing her mother's name.
Her stepmother had hinted that her father's butler, Allen, might have evidence proving that her mother had taken her father's place in jail years ago.
Should she find an opportunity to get close to Allen and his family? But then she thought of her grandmother and hesitated.
Her mother had passed away while her stepmother was incarcerated for her crimes, and she was leading a stable life now. Should she dig up the past and send her father to prison?
After all, that man was her biological father, her grandmother's son.
Back at the dinner party, Noe was following Aaron's orders, preparing to look for her. Seeing her return, he went back to his seat.
Aaron, noticing her uneasy expression, his dark eyes slightly narrowed, "Why were you gone so long?"
Nora snapped back to reality and shook her head, "Nothing, I just ran into an acquaintance."
"An acquaintance, do I know them?" Aaron inquired.
"You don't."
"Who was it, exactly?" Aaron was insistent on getting an answer.
Nora was somewhat exasperated, "Thomas, you're being nosy."
Aaron's brow arched in displeasure. 'Did she just find him annoying? Was he unworthy of knowing about the people in her life?'
Quinn, who had been eavesdropping with a glint of curiosity in her apricot eyes, chimed in. "Nora, what did you just call Ron? Thomas? That's a unique name. Does it mean something?"
Nora glanced at Aaron, "He broke his leg, and I saved him. He was helpless at that time, like my fourth son. He even told me he had amnesia, so I just started calling him Thomas."
Quinn absorbed the information, a look of surprise flashing in her eyes. "Wait, your fourth son? Nora, do you have three kids?"
Nora nodded, "Yes, triplets."
Quinn's mouth dropped open in shock, struggling to comprehend, "Nora, you were married?"
"Yes."
"And now you're divorced?"
"Right." Nora accepted the situation with composure.
Quinn looked at her for a long time before breaking into applause.
"It looks like Ron must truly be in love with you."
‘Is that so?’ Nora's eyes flickered, her gaze resting on the man's handsome face.
Aaron sat with elegant casualness; his expression seemingly undisturbed. But who knew what he was truly thinking?
"Nora, let's exchange contact information. We should hang out more," Quinn suggested to Nora.
Nora nodded and happily swapped contact numbers with Quinn. Aaron, who had appeared nonchalant, now furrowed his brows. He couldn't shake the ominous feeling that the naive little bunny was about to be led astray by a cunning fox.
He kind of regretted inviting Nora to lunch that day.
When the lunch was over, Nora needed to go back to the lab. As Aaron accompanied her to the car, he told her, "Don't bother with her unless you have to."
Nora had just waved goodbye to Quinn outside the window, and curiously, she asked, "Why? Do you have some sort of scandalous secret with her?"
A flicker of irritation crossed Aaron's brow, "If you admit you're jealous, I'll tell you about the secret between her and me."
"You're so childish," said Nora flatly.
Aaron chuckled and nodded, "Okay." With that single word, he stopped talking and turned to his laptop to work.
But Nora's curiosity was piqued, and she couldn't help but ask, "What's the secret between you two?"
"No comment," was all Aaron said.
Nora held back her frustration trying to keep her lips sealed shut.
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