“Sis!” he called out to her softly, then glanced nervously at the young man standing next to the girl, who was dressed well and had a handsome face.
Where had he seen this guy before?
Ah, yes!
It was Master Stephen!!!
The girls in their class often talked about the top-ranked guys at the neighboring art university. At number one was Master Stephen of the Prince family, the future heir who was not yet twenty-three years old and worth billions.
How did his sister manage to climb up such a social ladder so quickly?
Nora’s gaze turned icily cold. She wore a long white down jacket that accentuated her pale face.
She looked around at this shabby house and opened her red lips slightly before laughing lightly. “You guys really made it hard for me to find you.”
“We moved,” Malaya stuttered with an embarrassed smile as she walked up to Nora. Just as she tried reaching out for Nora’s arm, Nora sidestepped away from her.
Her hand could only awkwardly hang in mid-air while avoiding eye contact with Nora’s gaze. She explained softly with lowered head, “We thought you were just angry for a moment and would come back.”
“You know all our stuff got confiscated too. We slept in nearby parks last night; how could I bear letting you sleep there too?”
“I heard you have friends in Onistead and dorms at school; it’s better than sleeping in parks after all since your health has always been poor since childhood.”
She spoke convincingly with tears streaming down her cheeks like someone who would rather sacrifice herself than let children suffer but unfortunately Malaya probably didn’t know that they stayed overnight yesterday at one of Master Stephen’s properties which happened to be a hotel.
And Nora begged him to help find her family members; he immediately went looking through every small hotel or inn throughout Onistead.
The registration form filled out by George was sent directly to Nora last night.
In the morning, she went to the hostel to ask the owner. The owner told her that her father had contacted a nearby agency and gave Nora that agency’s phone number. Following the guidance of the agency manager, Nora found out that they had rented a house and moved without telling her.
As she opened the door just now, looking at their faces with unrelenting joy still present, it seemed as if they were discussing a bright future together as a family. But she didn’t feel like she was part of their plan.
Nora felt herself stupid. When lying in hospital bed, she thought about coming back and apologizing to them since they were family. Little did she know that they didn’t consider her as such.
To deceive her, Malaya even came up with such an absurd reason for moving without telling Nora. Stephen stood at the door feeling embarrassed for Malaya while secretly holding onto Nora’s hand.
“Nora, let’s not talk about this anymore since you’re still recovering,” he gently reminded Malaya while trying to ease up on things by changing topics from earlier.
Malaya finally showed some concern on her face upon hearing about Nora being sick. “Nora, you’re sick?”
She was feeling slightly relieved inside but still upset with them not informing her beforehand about their move. “Yes, I am sick! I spent yesterday in hospital and you guys… why didn’t you tell me anything before moving?”
Sean felt guilty for his actions and apologized first, “Sis, I’m sorry we forgot yesterday because we were busy settling down.”
However, Malaya couldn’t keep quiet what was really on her mind, “It’s good nothing happened or else how much money would be wasted staying in hospital.”
George frowned deeply upon hearing those words from Malaya. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Don’t be mad at your mom; it wasn’t intentional. Who is this young man? Looks like a good guy, your boyfriend?”
Ever since he saw Stephen walk into their home with Nora earlier, George couldn’t help but notice him too. Although Stephen appeared low-key, his clothes were all designer brands and his wristwatch looked like an expensive Swiss watch which George himself had been eyeing for quite some time now.
It was obvious that he came from a wealthy family.
Nora had finally done something to satisfy him. If the forces behind this young man were willing to lend him a hand, then it was not impossible for the Lawrence family to rise again.
For his own interests, he had to please Nora now.
The desire in his eyes was so obvious. Master Stephen, who grew up in a big family and witnessed many cases of scheming for inheritance, could easily guess George’s motives.
But now that his uncle was in charge of the Prince family, he had no real power. He feared Mr. Lawrence would be disappointed once he found out the truth.
Nora didn’t answer her father’s words and remained upset with her mother Malaya’s preference for boys over girls deep down inside.
She could forgive her mother for not informing her about moving out first but only thinking about money when she found out Nora was sick and hospitalized? Was this still the same loving mother from before?
Suddenly Nora felt like there wasn’t anything worth clinging onto in this household anymore. She turned around and grabbed Stephen’s hand with watery eyes shining bright.
“Master Stephen, let’s go.”
Seeing the faint glimmer of tears in her eyes made Master Stephen even more heartbroken as he gently supported her arm while they left together.
He always knew that Nora would be willing to be with him because of his wealth alone. But when he saw how little affection she received from her parents except when they needed something from her, Master Stephen suddenly understood why Nora wanted so badly to marry into a wealthy family – it was an escape from being controlled by them all the time.
He wanted to be there as a support system for Nora – even if their families opposed their relationship.
“Where are you going? You just got back!”
Malaya called after them once she realized what happened but unfortunately Nora didn’t look back at all as she left.
She continued on pretending sweetly, “You’re not feeling well, so you need plenty of rest! When I finish cleaning up here at home, you can bring him back here for dinner.”
Bring Master Stephen home for dinner?
Ha!
As soon as Nora left, Malaya breathed a sigh of relief; there were only two rooms available and if Nora came back, then there wouldn’t be any place left for Sean.