No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

"XenBaby, you're so understanding. Let me teach that bitch a lesson."

Noelle calmly read the message and replied, "You know Xenia: she always resorts to these kinds of tactics."

Rachel stomped her feet in frustration. "I'm so mad! I've already told my close friends the truth, but now Xenia's twisting things. "I'm getting the hotel's security footage from my brother. I'm going to make Xenia eat her words!"

Noelle glanced at her computer screen. "Once we get the footage, I'll post it."

She didn't want Rachel to get involved any further. Since Xenia was trying the same old tricks again, it was time to put an end to it. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that Xenia wasn't that stupid. Why would she publicly lie when she knew there was proof?

Soon, Rachel messaged her. "Bad news. My brother just told me the footage got deleted."

"It looks like Xenia came prepared," Noelle replied. She had suspected something was off, and now it was confirmed.

"What do we do now? We both know what happened at the party and now, that bitchy Xenia is spreading lies online. Should we have Frank step in? His words would be more credible." Noelle smirked. "Frank wouldn't do that."

She knew that if Frank intervened, it would only make things worse for Xenia. He was too biased to help.

Rachel asked, "What are we supposed to do? Are we just going to let Xenia keep slandering you?"

Noelle's gaze turned cold. "No, we don't."

She logged out of the game, grabbed a USB drive, and quickly got to work on the keyboard. She hacked into the hotel's surveillance system and recovered the deleted footage. Hotels usually keep backup copies of deleted footage, but it took some time to dig them out.

While restoring the footage, she forwarded the video to Frank with a message. "Is Xenia insane?"

Frank called her immediately. "I just found out about this, too. Xenia didn't mean any harm. She just wants to reconcile with you."

"Is this her idea of reconciliation? She's spreading lies, Frank. Are you blind? You always talk about family, but a family that stabs you in the back? I can't deal with tha

She hung up before Frank could respond. She had hoped that by distancing herself from the Liddell family, she could live her own life. However, they just wouldn't leave her alone. She had no choice but to fight back.

Frank sighed, clutching his stomach as he descended the stairs. He had drunk a lot the previous night, and now his stomach was in knots.

He turned to the butler, Gordon. "Tell Xenia to come down and see me."

A few moments later, Xenia hurried down the stairs. "Frank, what's up?"

Frank looked up and said, "The things you said in your stream were misleading. Don't do it again."

Xenia was a little reluctant. "Frank, I was just trying to get Noelle to come back. I didn't mean anything bad by it."

Frank's patience wore thin from his stomach pain. He snapped, "Just do as I say."

Xenia lowered her head. "Okay, Frank. My stream isn't finished yet, so I'll go back to my room."

Frank nodded, barely able to keep his eyes open from the pain.

Xenia noticed his discomfort but didn't think much of it. She turned and went back to her room to continue her livestream.

A cold realization settled in as Franknoveldrama

watched her walk away. He remembered the times when Noelle would stop whatever she was doing to take care of him when his stomach hurt. She would make him medicinal congee and stay with him until he felt better.

Now that she was gone, the house felt emptier. He couldn't get used to the meals, and his stomach often hurt. He pressed his hand to his face, feeling a pang of regret

It wasn't that Noelle needed the Liddell family; it was that the Liddell family needed her.