Settling into his seat right next to Jason, Noah glanced at Emma in the back row. He could see the worry in her eyes as she looked at him.
Noah’s lips curled slightly into a reassuring smile.
"I’m fine, Emma..." he said, trying to ease her concern. "Do you want to go back to the office?"
"I’m done with work. I planned to go ho early today..." she replied softly.
Just as Noah was about to offer to drive Emma ho, Jason suddenly cut in.
"Noah, I need to go to the hospital. Could you drop off first before taking Emma to her house?"
Noah was speechless when he heard that.
’Can you stop trying to set up with her? She is only my close friend, nothing more,’ Noah protested through their ntal connection.
’Ah, I didn’t think of it that way, boss,’ Jason said with a brief smile, glancing at him before turning his focus back to the street ahead.
He added, ’It just so happened that the nurse updated on my father’s progress, and I feel I should visit him. I can cancel if you’d prefer...’
’No. It’s fine... We will go to the hospital first.’ Noah silently sighed before he answered Jason loudly. "Sure, man..."
Then he turned again to Emma in the back seat and asked, "Emma, we’re heading to the hospital first, then to your house... Are you okay with that?"
"Yes, sure..." she replied with a slight nod.
...
Then,
After Jason left, Noah asked Emma to sit in the front.
They casually chatted about recent events in Opal City. But not long after, their conversation suddenly faded, and silence settled between them.
Noah continued driving in silence, following the address Emma had given him. He knew Emma no longer lived with her parents; she now owned her own apartnt near Caldwell Construction.
And,
This was the first ti Noah learned where she lived, and also the first ti he was going to her ho. Well, he was only dropping her off.
However, after a few more minutes of silence, Emma asked, "Noah, I didn’t realize you could drive now. When did that happen?"
She still couldn’t believe how skilled he was at driving. Throughout his ti working at Caldwell, he had always insisted he couldn’t drive.
Emma’s question pulled Noah out of his thoughts.
"Recently... I learned when I was in the capital," Noah answered, keeping his eyes on the road.
He felt a bit guilty for not telling the truth. He could now drive thanks to a system reward that granted him advanced driving skills. He never had to learn the conventional way.
"You’re talented, Noah..." Emma smiled, clearly impressed. Her smile widened slightly when he responded with a soft chuckle.
"Oh, right, Noah... take that lane to the basent," she said, pointing to the right.
Once the car ca to a stop at the underground lobby, she glanced at him again.
"Do you want to co up for so coffee?"
Noah was taken aback by her words and accidentally nodded.
"Alright... Noah, you can park over there," she said, her voice excited.
He followed her direction and parked the car. Just as he was about to get out, Zoe’s playful voice echoed in his mind, nearly making him stumble.
’Nice move, sir. Good luck...’
Noah was too tired to respond. He simply stepped out of the car, following Emma toward the elevator.
This was Noah’s first ti visiting a woman’s ho—aside from his sister Alicia’s—and he couldn’t hide the tension simring beneath his calm expression.
He felt oddly nervous, especially as he noticed Emma blushing all the way there.
The mont he stepped inside her house, he struggled not to stare at her flushed cheeks or et her eyes for too long.
"Noah, please have a seat first..." Emma said gently, motioning toward the living area. Her tone was soft, welcoming. "What would you like? A latte? An espresso?"
"Anything you like..." he replied casually, settling into the single sofa.
As he watched her move gracefully around the kitchen to prepare their drinks, his thoughts wandered, dangerously so.
He caught himself imagining things he shouldn’t, and quickly shook his head to chase away the images from his mind.
Trying to distract himself, he pulled out his phone and opened the news.
And just as he expected...
The headlines were a storm. The top story? Lucas Graham. And, of course, his own family, the Morgans!
[Lucas Graham confirms that his daughter will be filing for divorce from Jared Morgan.]
[Morgan Group takes a big hit after negative news about family issues. Their stock falls to its lowest point.]
Almost every article was focused on the fallout between the Morgan and Graham families.
Noah couldn’t lie; it felt satisfying to read it all. Seeing his enemies fall, especially Jared Morgan, filled him with a small sense of justice.
But then, one headline shattered that mont of satisfaction.
His eyes froze on the words.
[The Morgan family has faced difficulties since Anderson Morgan’s death.]
His mood dropped instantly.
Thoughts of his father flooded back, and the ache in his chest was impossible to ignore.
How much longer will he stay in that coma?
Noah’s fingers tightened around the phone as he stared blankly at the screen.
So many questions he wanted to ask his father: Why did his father send him away? Why did he grow up in a small city orphanage with no mory of his past?
And more than anything... Who was his mother?
"Noah, are you okay?"
Emma’s voice cut through the storm in his mind, pulling him out of the upsetting thoughts about his family.
He calmly slipped his phone back into his pocket, forced a smile, and nodded.
"Yeah. I’m fine..."
"Really?" Emma asked again, her eyes searching his face as she set the cup down in front of him. "You looked distressed while staring at your phone. Did sothing happen?"
"Ah... I just read so bad news about the Morgans. It’s draining. Being part of that family..." Noah paused, the words heavy in his throat. "It leaves exhausted..."
He stopped himself, stunned he had even shared that much with her. Pressing his lips together, he said no more.
"I’m sorry, Noah," Emma said softly, her voice low and sincere. "I wish there was sothing I could do to help."
Noah’s gaze lifted to et hers, and for a mont, the tension in his chest eased.
He picked up the latte, his fingers warming around the cup, and gave her a faint, genuine smile.
"This latte is so delicious, and because you made it, it’s more than enough to relax and soothe my stress, Emma. Thank you..."
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