“This is what happens when you provoke Elizabeth,” he said coldly, pulling me out of the office.
Once outside, Jackson let me go. He turned away and lit a cigarette. “Elizabeth, go back first. I have to work overtime at the hospital later.”
I could only manage a single sound, “Mm.”
That night, Jackson held me tightly, then muttered in his sleep, “Noelle…”
I tensed and pulled away, staring at the man who was still as handsome as ever after ten years.
I remembered him protecting me when I was bullied, breaking thirty-three ribs for me and risking his life to save me in the snowy mountains.
I remembered him skipping his international conference and flying halfway across the world to bring me brown sugar water when I had a stomachache.
Jackson was still kind in my memory, but he didn’t realize he no longer loved me. I stayed awake all night, then messaged the dean of Arcanum Sanctum Research Academy: [Director Bentley, I accept your invitation and will join the “Sky Dome Project” team in a month.]
After that day, Jackson and I quietly kept our distance, seeing each other less often, until the academy’s annual awards ceremony, where we were invited on stage as a “model research couple.”
Everyone called us a perfect couple. Then a young man ran onto the stage and hit Jackson. “Jackson! You liar! If you don’t love Noelle, why did you give her hope?”
People looked over. The man seemed to be a passionate admirer of Noelle, sneering with contempt in his eyes. “Remember the lab fire? She burned half her leg saving you and the scar is still there!”
Noelle lifted her skirt, showing the shocking scar. Jackson, beside her, gasped.
“That award-winning work? She did it all, working nonstop for a month before submitting it. Your academic title came from networking and pleading with officials. Jackson, your success today is because of Noelle, not you or your wife!”
The room erupted in chaos. I spoke calmly, “She was only hoping. Jackson never asked her to do it. If Noelle is using this to blackmail him, she’s trying to ruin our family and take his place!”
The man was outraged, about to speak, but Noelle held him back, crying, “Stop! Elizabeth is right. I shouldn’t have imagined things about Jackson. It was my own choice. I love without expecting anything in return.”
The man nearly cried, “Noelle, you’re too noble. Jackson doesn’t deserve you.”