Chapter 13

"Lila told me. Grace just woke up, but Lila couldn't leave, so she asked me to come find you."

After making sure she was okay, Noah took the initiative to go settle the damages with the café owner.

Typical summer weather—sunny one minute, pouring rain the next. As they stepped outside, Samantha finally noticed the downpour had turned heavy.

Noah held an umbrella over her, shielding her from the wind and rain the whole walk to the car. It took them ten minutes to get to the parking lot. She slipped into the passenger seat, and only then did he fold the umbrella and get in next to her.

"You..." she bit her lip, clearly feeling a little guilty.

Noah had angled the umbrella to keep her dry, leaving the whole right side of him completely soaked. She hadn't realized it out in the rain, but inside the car, it was obvious. She hurried to grab some tissues from the dashboard to help dry him off.

She dabbed carefully from his shoulder to his waist, trying to absorb as much water as she could. His pants were wet too, and without thinking she leaned over to start drying those as well.

Suddenly, Noah caught her wrist. His palm was warm—warmer than it should've been. Samantha froze.

Looking up at him, she was surprised to see his starlit eyes were deeper than usual, unreadable. His intense gaze caught her off guard, but she pulled her hand free and continued wiping.

"Samantha..." he said, his voice rough, catching her attention again.

Startled, she looked at him. "What's wrong? Are you sick? Your voice sounds hoarse and your hand feels really hot. Are you running a fever?"

She reached up in concern, trying to check his forehead.

Noah grabbed her hand again. "I'm fine."

"Then why won't you let me finish? You're soaked. If you don't dry off, you'll catch something."

She spoke with more firmness now, clearly determined.

He gave a soft, helpless smile. "Sit back down. I'm driving."

His gentle reminder made her unexpectedly laugh.

Her small smile seemed to catch him off guard, too. His gaze softened, curious. "I thought you'd be in a really bad mood right now."

"I was."

But his sudden appearance had flipped everything. Just knowing he had her back, her frustrations over Monica had all but melted away.

"Thanks," she said with a grateful smile. That umbrella he popped open just in time? Kinda made her want to cheer.

"Don't ever go see Evan alone again," Noah said, eyes on the road, voice casual like it was just an afterthought.

Did he think she'd...?

"I wasn't—I mean..."

"Relax." He cut in, calm. "I don't think you did anything wrong. I just think if you're gonna call someone out, I'd rather be there with you."

His glance held a quiet sharpness, as if he already knew why she met with Evan.

"You figured out Evan was behind the letter too?"

"I'm not really into guessing games, so... no. We tracked his IP." Noah said simply.

"I'm sorry. This all dragged you into trouble."If it hadn't been for her, he wouldn't have been maliciously reported by Evan, which nearly spiraled everything out of control. The worst part? He was constantly on edge, one wrong move and his whole reputation could've gone up in flames.

Samantha lowered her head, guilt heavy in her chest. She didn't have the courage to meet his eyes.

The car suddenly came to a stop.

Startled, she looked up and realized they were already at the parking lot outside the apartment. Noah leaned over and unbuckled her seatbelt for her, his deep voice calm and steady, "It's okay. We both got dragged in."

Before she could respond, he had already stepped out into the rain, then came around and helped her open the door.

So... he really didn't mind?

She looked up at him and said half-jokingly, "Then hurry up and get me involved in something big too!"

She didn't think it was that funny, but for some reason, Noah suddenly laughed out loud.

"I mean it," she emphasized, a bit embarrassed.

He nodded slowly. "Once things settle down, I'll really need your help with something."

"Okay," she replied without hesitation.

Even though he was saying he'd need her, for some odd reason, Samantha felt relieved.

Maybe he was right—deep down, she still hadn't completely let Noah in. Maybe she thought it'd be safer if they didn't owe each other too much.

Back at the apartment, she made a pot of tea. Without waiting for Noah to finish his shower and come downstairs, she quietly slipped out.

He'd already done so much for Evelyn these past few days—he deserved a break.

Not to mention, it was probably best that he didn't show up at the hospital.

She had expected there might be a few reporters lurking, but not this many. The neurology ward hallway was practically packed. Thankfully, they were decent enough to keep quiet, just eagerly watching for anyone linked to Noah.

Evelyn had been moved from ICU to a regular room, and if Samantha wanted to see her, she'd have to walk right through that crowd.

She kept her head down, slipping quietly past cluster after cluster of reporters. Just as she was nearly at the room, someone glanced her way.

"It's Mrs. Avery!"

Another sharp-eyed reporter quickly picked up on who she was.

Samantha had to admit—those reporters didn't miss a thing. In seconds, they closed in, completely surrounding her.

A barrage of questions came flying from every direction, all about Noah.

She'd never dealt with this kind of pressure before. Her forehead broke out in sweat, and her chest felt so tight she could barely breathe.

When a particularly pointed question came her way, her nerves snapped. "Noah's innocent! That gift box was for me, it had nothing to do with him!"

But that only opened the floodgates—one question triggered ten more, and suddenly every pair of eyes locked onto her.

She was totally overwhelmed. And when they started digging into her personal life, she began to panic.

Photos were being snapped like crazy as she held her head in her hands, desperate. The questions just kept flooding in without mercy.

Her emotions spun further out of control—she was on the verge of losing it.

Just when she was about to break down and scream, a familiar voice rang out from beyond the crowd—

Noah's.