Chapter 195: Deliberate Difficulties

Catherine was playing with Ethan in the yard when Alexander emerged from the study. His expression was perfectly composed, looking completely normal.

After exchanging brief goodbyes with Leo, they left. Once in the car, Catherine couldn't help asking, "What did he say to you?"

Alexander started the engine, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "Told me to handle it cleanly."

"Henry?"

"Yeah."

...

The next morning, Nora burst into her studio, practically vibrating with excitement as she shared the news with Liam.

"Holy shit! Catherine is so badass!"

She slammed her palm on the table. “My dad just told me—all of K Group's projects in Emerald City got shut down overnight, and Henry ran out of Emerald City last night! Apparently, he left in such a hurry that he didn't even pack his luggage!"

After saying this, she took a big gulp of cola, feeling totally satisfied.

"Finally. Some peace and quiet."

Liam lounged on the sofa, peeling an apple. He just raised his eyebrows at her words but didn't say anything.

Nora got annoyed seeing him like that. "Hey, what's with that look? Aren't you happy for Catherine?"

"I am happy."

Liam handed her the peeled apple, his tone lazy. "I'm just thinking, since everything's fine now, shouldn't you treat me to a meal? After all, I've been running around helping out these past few days. That counts for something, right?"

"Get lost!" Nora snatched the apple and took a big bite. "That's called being annoying, not helping! Stop hanging around my place all the time and go do your job!"

"If I don't go, I'll just stick to you." Liam immediately put on a shameless expression.

That afternoon, Nora made a special trip to the Russell Villa to pick up Ethan. She brought him back to her studio.

She didn't believe it—a playboy like Liam, having the patience to watch a kid? Ethan would drive him crazy for sure!

"Ethan, you're going to play at my place today, okay?" Nora smiled like a fox.

Ethan nodded obediently, clutching his Pikachu backpack, his curious eyes roaming over everything in the studio.

Before long, Liam showed up uninvited again, carrying desserts from that shop on the west side of town.

“Did you turn this place into a daycare?” he asked as he walked in, spotting Ethan stacking blocks on the sofa.

"None of your business!" Nora rolled her eyes at him, refusing to engage.

Liam set down the desserts and promptly sat beside Ethan, picking up a block with genuine interest. "What are you building? An aircraft carrier?"

Ethan looked up at him and said softly, "It's a castle. My mom is a queen, she needs to live in a castle."

Liam chuckled. He grabbed another block and swiftly assembled a turret. "A queen needs guards to protect her. I'll build you a guardhouse."

All afternoon, Nora watched as Liam helped Ethan build a huge Lego castle.

In the evening, as Nora was getting ready to take Ethan home, she looked at Liam still sprawled on the sofa refusing to leave, and finally couldn't take it anymore.

She walked over to Ethan, crouched down, and said loudly on purpose, "Ethan, we're going home now. Don't play with this uncle anymore, or he'll be a bad influence on you, okay?"

Liam paused, his mouth twitching.

But unexpectedly, Ethan grabbed Nora's sleeve, looked up at her with his little face, completely serious.

"Auntie Nora, you can't dislike Uncle Liam."

Nora was stunned. "Why not?"

Ethan counted on his fingers in a sweet childlike voice, "He plays castle with me, and gives me strawberry cake, and just now he promised to take me to the amusement park tomorrow."

"My mom says, when people are good to us, we should be good to them too."

Nora stood frozen. She looked into Ethan’s clear, guileless eyes, then at Liam’s smug expression on the sofa. She felt completely cornered.

This little traitor!

No way. She couldn’t let this spark get snuffed out before it even caught fire.

She took a deep breath, took Ethan's little hand, and led him to the studio's break room. She even closed the door behind them.

"Ethan, let me tell you a secret." Nora crouched down, her expression serious.

Ethan blinked his big eyes and nodded.

"I got really, really hurt before."

She tried to squeeze out some sadness, lowering her voice. "A bad man lied to me and broke my heart, so now I'm really scared and can't trust men anymore, especially men who look good like Liam, they're all..."

She trailed off, then finished vaguely, “Anyway, they’re dangerous. So don't push me toward him anymore, okay? It makes me sad."

Ethan looked at her, seeming to half-understand, his little eyebrows furrowed. After a long while, he nodded seriously.

Nora breathed a sigh of relief, convinced her performance deserved at least an Oscar nomination.

The moment she left, Ethan pulled out his kids' smartwatch, hid in a corner and sent out a voice message.

"Uncle Liam, Auntie Nora says a bad guy tricked her before, and she's scared of good-looking men."

The next day, Liam pulled up in front of Nora’s studio driving a convertible sports car—with a child safety seat already installed in the back.

"What are you doing?" Nora crossed her arms, looking suspicious.

“Keeping my promise to Ethan from yesterday—amusement park.” Liam took off his sunglasses. “And also, taking you both somewhere.”

Nora wanted to refuse, but Ethan was already wearing his Pikachu backpack, looking at her with hopeful eyes.

"Let's go, Auntie Nora! He says he'll buy us the biggest ice cream today!"

In the end, she couldn't resist and got in the car with a dark expression.

The car didn't head to the amusement park but drove east, finally stopping at a stretch of private beach.

Liam pulled out a kite from somewhere and ran around the beach with Ethan. Nora sat under a beach umbrella watching them.

When they got tired, Ethan came over to Nora holding a coconut and said quietly, "Auntie Nora, Liam wants you to go over there."

Nora looked over suspiciously and saw Liam standing by some rocks not far away.

He wasn't looking at her, just gazing at the ocean.

Nora shuffled over, and as soon as she stood still, she heard him speak, his voice calm.

"I heard from Ethan."

Nora's heart skipped a beat, cursing Ethan for his loose lips.

"He said you got hurt before, so you're scared of me." Liam turned to look at her. "I don't know who that person was or how he hurt you."

He paused and took a step forward.

"But Nora, I'm not him."

"I admit, I used to be a jerk - cynical, never serious about anything. But after meeting you, for the first time I felt like settling down might not be so bad."

His voice was soft but every word was clear.

"I don't want to just be your client, the guy who brings you food, or Ethan's playmate. I want to be the person you can trust with your back."

"You said I'm dangerous," he said with a faint, self‑mocking smile, "then let me spend the rest of my life proving to you just how safe I can be."