“I know.”
“…”
Thelma was a bit surprised, but she quickly understood. Since she and Noah were married, it wasn’t strange for him to know about her family situation. “Your father spent quite a bit of money to get her into the entertainment industry,” Noah said, noticing her shocked expression. “Didn’t your sister tell you?”
Her sister only told her that when Ava betrayed her, their father had protected Ava, which led her to sever ties with him. As for how Ava became famous, she hadn’t mentioned that.
She hadn’t expected their father to be so generous, spending money to get Ava into the entertainment industry.
“If it weren’t for your father spending money, she wouldn’t have made it into the industry.” The waiter brought the menu, and as Noah flipped through it, he casually said, “But she hasn’t done well in the industry, only picking up resources that others don’t want to maintain her popularity. In the future, she probably won’t even be able to get those resources.”
He seemed to be stating a simple fact, but for some reason, Thelma felt a chill in his words.
Thelma didn’t want to discuss Ava any further to avoid affecting the atmosphere. After ordering, she glanced around and tried to make conversation, “This place is quite nice, the environment is elegant, and the layout is beautiful.”
“If you like it, I’ll buy it and give it to you.”
“…”
He said it so casually, as if he were just talking about what to buy for dinner. Thelma remembered hearing from the baby that his dad bought a house in a beautiful villa area just because she mentioned it was nice.
That feeling of being pampered by this big man returned, but he was clearly someone hard to approach, making Thelma feel incredulous.
She felt extremely shy and hurriedly said, “No… that’s not necessary. We can just come here more often.”
He leisurely poured a cup of tea, his long fingers lifting the cup to take a sip. With his elbow resting on the table and the cup still at his lips, he looked at her with a smile, his gaze seeming even deeper and more inscrutable through the steam.
“Come more often? With whom?” His voice also carried a hint of laughter, and Thelma couldn’t shake the feeling that he was teasing her on purpose. But he was clearly such a gentle, polite, mature, and composed person.
Thelma felt even more shy, not daring to look at him, stammering, “With… with you and… and the child.”
“Okay.”
His smile grew even more pronounced.
An inexplicable air of ambiguity filled the private room. Thelma didn’t have his level of composure; she quietly sipped her tea, nearly gasping for breath in this ambiguous atmosphere.
“I’m going to the restroom.”
At this moment, a quick escape was the best option.
Thelma went to the restroom, took care of her business, and after doing some mental preparation, she was ready to leave. Suddenly, she heard voices outside.
“Isn’t it strange? A man like Noah, who keeps his distance from women, actually brought a woman to dinner?! I remember the last time he invested in a film, a female model wanted to get close to him, preparing to offer her beauty. He was very polite and cultured in rejecting her, but a few days later, some dirt about that woman surfaced online, half-true and half-false, even including her escort photos. That model had a promising future, but this scandal completely ruined her acting career.
At that time, many people said this was Noah’s doing, and some said he looked gentle and polite, but in reality, he was ruthless. Because of this, everyone knew that Noah was a man who kept his distance from women, and no one dared to flatter him anymore. Later, someone said he was already married and that his wife was well protected by him, so no one knew who she was. Do you think the person with him today could be his mysterious wife? Not to mention, his wife is really beautiful; it’s no wonder that little model didn’t catch his eye.”
“Don’t joke, what mysterious wife? To be honest, I happen to know that woman beside him.”
“Who? Who?”
“My stepsister.”
“Ah?”
“I know exactly what kind of person she is—lazy and relying on her looks to cling to powerful men, sleeping with any man. Noah isn’t stupid; he would only play around with a woman like that. A wife? That’s laughable; she doesn’t deserve it?!”
