Chapter 9 Always Been This Way

• Noelle felt hopeless to the point where she had suicidal thoughts as she fished out her phone with trembling hands and scrolled through her contacts.
• Overwhelmed with anxiety, she felt like her heart was in her throat. Who the hell can I call?
• Just when she thought that all hope was lost, her eyes snagged on Clinton’s number. Clinton had taken the initiative to call her again after their brief meeting. Even though Noelle didn’t save his number, it was still in her call log.
• When Steven’s large palm stroked her cheek again, Noelle closed her eyes and dialed his number.
• Please pick up the phone, Mr. White! You must help me out of this or I’ll be dead!
• Meanwhile, at Pierce Group.
• Upon closing an acquisition plan’s document file, Dominic pinched the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. He lifted his hand and noted that the hour hand on his watch was already pointed to ten.
• He got to his feet and switched off his office lights.
• No one would believe that the last person to leave work at Pierce Group would be the president himself.
• Adjoined to the president’s office was his assistant’s office.
• Flashing with an incoming call, the phone on Clinton’s desk was connected to a charger. Unfortunately, his seat had been long vacant.
• What a scatterbrain!
• Dominic grumbled silently before he picked up the phone.
• It was on silent mode and the screen was flashing with the caller ID “Noelle Hooper.”
• This name... sounds rather familiar.
• Dominic wanted to decline the call, but when his thumb moved to do just that, he somehow ended up swiping to answer.
• “Hello?” Noelle’s trembling voice drifted over the phone the moment the call connected.
• However, her phone was rudely snatched away by Steven before she could say anything else.
• “Hello?”
• When Steven placed the phone against his ear, a deep voice belonging to a man resounded from the other end of the line.
• “Speak. Who are you?” Afraid that he was being hoodwinked by Noelle, Steven had grabbed her phone instead. However, there was a long silence on the other end of the line. Steven sneered as he cast an evil glance at an ashen-faced Noelle. Sure enough, this woman was lying. ”Well? Aren’t you going to speak? Who the f**k are you? Are you mute, or have you been scared shitless?”
• “Dominic Pierce!”
• It was just four simple syllables, but Steven had gone completely stiff. He looked at Noelle with a dumb expression before he abruptly hung up the call.
• It really was Dominic Pierce from Pierce Group on the phone!
• And to think that I had actually scolded him!
• Oh my God! Steven smacked his head in frustration, instantly regretting his actions.
• “Hehe...” He suddenly broke into an unusually flattering smile at Noelle, handing her phone back to her using both hands. “Ms. Hooper, a million apologies for what happened just now, I hope...”
• “Can I go now?” Noelle was soaked in her own sweat by now. She didn’t know what had been said over the phone or what had caused the sudden change in Steven’s attitude, but she knew that if she didn’t leave immediately, certain death would await her.
• “Of course! Of course!” Steven earnestly professed, and like a gentleman, he personally opened the door for Noelle. “I’ll send you off, Ms. Hooper.”
• “There’s no need for that!”
• She flatly rejected his offer as she hastened her steps.
• As she was walking at a fast pace, she ran right into a tall figure.
• Noelle was about to apologize, but when she looked up and saw that it was Jackson, her expression instantly changed.
• “Noelle!”
• “Get out of my way!”
• “What are you doing here?” Jackson grabbed her arm. Taking note of her disheveled appearance, he looked at the room behind her, and his eyes instantly grew cold. “Noelle, don’t tell me that you were keeping a man company? Have you really stooped so low? Or... have you always been this way?”
• Recalling the humiliation that he had felt at the wedding because of her, Jackson’s grip tightened on her arm.
• Noelle’s brows scrunched together as pain spread throughout her arm. One by one, she pried his fingers off of her as she sneered. “Mr. Hayes, do you really not know why I’m here?”
• “Should I?”
• “It’s all thanks to your current girlfriend that I was forced to drink with Steven Miller!”
• “Shut up, Noelle! How dare you throw baseless accusations at Estelle? Do you really think that I’d believe you? She even spoke on your behalf this afternoon!”
• He’s angry? Oh, how could I forget? Those two had already slept together and started being all lovey-dovey four years ago.
• “You’re one to talk. Aren’t you here too?” Even as she was angered, Noelle’s lips quirked into a smirk. Her voice was alluring too as it oozed with contempt, and this seemed like the only way to push the man’s buttons.
• “I’m different from you!”
• “Are you?” She reached out and pushed Jackson against the wall behind him, inching closer to him as if in retaliation. She hooked her index finger on his tie as she purred, “Tell me, you act like a saint, but you’ve appeared at a place like this. Could it be that even Estelle can’t satisfy you?”
• “You stay away from me!” Jackson turned his face away in disgust, refusing to look at her. Sadly, his nether regions had a mind of their own, already reacting to her taunts and close proximity.
• “Oh? How far away?” Noelle lifted her chin to look at him deeply. Her fingers inched upwards as they stroked the light stubble on his jaw.
• Once, she had been head over heels for this man. Even though she had to give up half of her life for him, all she wanted was for him to live well.
• Now, he was telling her to stay away from him, but that wasn’t what he had said back then. Hence, all of his tender affection for her was utterly fake. The only thing about her that was even remotely tempting to him, was a certain section of her liver!
• Coldness spread through her veins as though it had wanted to freeze her stiff.
• “Don’t you have any shame, Noelle?”
• Her hands were angrily ripped away by Jackson. She stumbled slightly, the hard shell over her heart cracking a little. She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Instead, devastation peeked out for them.
• “How dare you talk to me about shame, Jackson? You and Estelle...”
• “Shut up! You’re not even worthy of saying her name!”
• Heh... They’re nothing but pair of worthless dogs, but now I’m not even worthy of saying their names?
• Not far away, Steven was surrounded by his bodyguards as they made their way over in a no-nonsense manner.
• “You’re still here, Ms. Hooper?” Steven sized Jackson up before coming to a halt. He had offended Dominic Pierce, so he was racking his brains for a way to make up for his mistake. “Do you need a hand?”
• Noelle glanced at Jackson with bitter resentment in her gaze. “He is bothering me. Get rid of him!”
• As soon as the crowd in the private room had left, Andy Lynch, who had been hiding behind the sofa all this while, massaged his sore waist, quietly slipping away.
• Today was his lucky day. As a senior reporter in Entertainment Weekly, Andy had snuck into the room to spy on Steven’s private affairs. He never expected to discover an even bigger scoop. Noelle Hooper is the God of Fortune, Dominic Pierce’s girlfriend!
• Oh my God! Once this groundbreaking news is released, I’ll reach the pinnacle of my career and who knows? Perhaps I’ll even marry an heiress!
• The next day.
• Inside the president’s office at Pierce Group.
• Dominic’s phone had been ringing incessantly all morning. When it rang again, he picked it up with furrowed brows.
• “Good morning, Mr. Pierce. I’m Jason Jones from People Magazine. Movie star Noelle Hooper admitted to her relationship with you yesterday and she even released an audio recording of your conversation with her. Mr. Pierce, may I know...”
• “People Magazine, you say?” Dominic, who had somehow been dragged into a scandal, asked in an icy tone.
• “Yes, Mr. Pierce. I was just...”
• “Your company is done for!”
• After throwing the phone down, Dominic abruptly stood up with a frosty expression, causing his chair to topple backward.