Chapter 114 Nora Drunk
Listening to the young couple flirting on the other end, Olivia figured the matter was probably settled, so she decided not to be a third wheel anymore. After saying a few more words to Nora, she hung up.
After hanging up, Olivia felt a bit better.
Now that Nora's shop issue was resolved, it was time to deal with her child's matter.
The person who pushed her and caused her miscarriage—she would definitely find them!
Olivia had made up her mind. Since she didn't die, she would climb out of this mess step by step and make those who hurt her pay!
Meanwhile.
Steven had drunk too much and revealed a bit more to Nora. "When starting an e-commerce business, doing promotions is really necessary. Once your new shop is set up, you need to spend money on promotions right away. With the traffic support at that time, the shop can take off easily. But that hundred thousand dollars probably won't last long."
Nora agreed with this. "Yeah, I keep hearing about those successful sellers spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on promotions, or even millions."
"That's normal." Steven nodded, resting his chin on his hand. "But there's another problem—you can't just do promotions and take orders without inventory. So the warehouse situation is also tricky. Stocking up on large quantities means capital is another issue."
Nora understood all this.
Olivia had mentioned it before—renting a company space, getting a warehouse, stocking inventory—every single expense was astronomical.
Everyone thinks e-commerce just means working from home and using your house as a warehouse to take orders.
But it's not really like that. That's just a small-time business that barely makes enough to live on.
To make it big, you need a proper company, warehouse, large inventory, and to develop factory connections. Getting rich means taking big risks.
Without assets, a team, or credit, no bank would lend her money, and no investor would invest in her.
Nora couldn't support all this alone.
Unless Olivia got divorced and used her settlement money to start a new company.
So for now, even if she sold her shop to Willie, she'd still be stuck.
Steven seemed to sense her worries and comforted her. "If you feel lost, just take a break. Study well, think carefully, build up your knowledge—all of this will be useful later."
Steven was so good at comforting people.
These words were like those from seminars—when you feel lost, stop and think carefully, determine your direction, then move forward step by step.
"You..." Nora felt dazzled by Steven.
He was so brilliant!
Nora looked at him with bright eyes. "If I don't have work for a while, will you look down on me?"
"No." He smiled at her, touching her face. "I'll support you."
Never mind not making money—he could even support her completely.
But he thought it was better to let Nora grow on her own. Things you build yourself give you a sense of achievement. It's not about money—everyone needs to feel valuable. Accomplishing something great becomes a lifelong source of pride.
Steven wouldn't interfere unless she asked for his help.
"Thank you," Nora said softly.
Steven didn't speak. With one hand propping up his head and the other gently touching her face... the atmosphere suddenly became intimate.
Nora swallowed, feeling inexplicably nervous.
Steven's eyes held a teasing smile. "Why are you swallowing? Like what you see?"
Nora's ears turned red.
Steven pressed his finger lightly against her lips, his gaze heated as he asked, "Your period's over now, right?"
Nora fell silent.
It was the eighth day—of course it was over.
But he was so persistent about this question, asking every time!
Nora blushed and said nothing.
But Steven understood. He smiled and said suggestively, "It's the eighth day, definitely over. I'm going to take a shower."
Nora's lashes trembled as Steven let her go and headed to the bedroom.
So tonight... they were going to have sex?
Nora sat alone at the dining table, so flustered that her heartbeat was out of control.
Why was her heart beating so fast?
Face flushed, Nora grabbed the red wine on the table and took a big gulp.
She couldn't be nervous!
This moment had to come eventually... just endure it and it'll be over.
Nora kept giving herself a pep talk, but she was still very nervous. Her legs were shaking, so she kept drinking wine.
Yes, wine helps set the mood.
Drink a bit more.
Then she'd be tipsy, could play along half-heartedly, and it wouldn't be so awkward...
Steven was showering in the bathroom and even sprayed on some light, pleasant cologne.
When he finished, he froze.
When did he start caring so much about his appearance?
But thinking about what was about to happen, he felt pretty good.
When he came out, he was only wearing a towel around his waist, his chest muscular with eight-pack abs, his body perfect enough to make others feel inadequate.
He seemed to have forgotten to tell Nora to shower.
He wondered if Nora had showered yet.
"Nora." Steven walked toward the living room with long strides.
Nora had moved to the sofa, her head buried in a cushion, probably from embarrassment.
"Nora..." Steven said with a smile, gently patting her shoulder, then pulling her whole body into his arms.
Nora's soft body pressed against Steven's burning chest. Steven lifted her chin, then his face darkened.
Nora's cheeks were flushed red—she was drunk!
And completely passed out drunk.
Steven fell silent.
This woman was something else!
After he hinted at it, she went and got herself drunk.
What was that supposed to mean?
Steven took the wine from her hand. She'd drunk the entire bottle.
Steven's eyes were cold as he glared at her. "You're really something."
He'd wanted to have her tonight, but she got herself drunk. Even if he forced it, there'd be no point.
Steven was very annoyed and pushed her away.
Released, Nora drunkenly fell toward the sofa. Steven, worried she'd fall off, still caught her head to prevent injury.
"Nora, what's your deal?" Steven propped her up on the sofa, poking her forehead in frustration.
His desire was already up, and now she was drunk—what was he supposed to do? Take another cold shower?
Steven angrily tugged at her, accidentally pulling off a few buttons from her shirt.
It exposed a large area of skin under her shirt and one side of her black bra strap.
Steven glanced at it, and the desire that had just subsided flared up again. He closed his eyes, forcing himself not to think about it.
Finally, he carried Nora to the bathroom.
She clearly hadn't showered yet—he had to bath her before she could sleep.
Dizzy, Nora was picked up by him, her arms instinctively wrapping around his neck, her figure curvy yet soft as if boneless.
Steven's breathing tightened.
He was holding her face-to-face, their bodies pressed together. She was hugging his neck and even wrapped her legs around him...
Steven's eyes darkened. "Nora!"
Nora was completely out of it, her whole weight pressing against Steven, clinging tightly, swaying dangerously.
Steven's breathing grew heavy. "Won't let me have you, but you keep teasing me. You're exactly the kind of flirty woman from legends."