Chapter 110 Chapter One Hundred And Ten
I rushed over to Noah’s side, my hands hovering over his injuries, too afraid to touch him and make it worse.
“You’re bleeding,” I breathed, then threw my arms around him carefully. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault…”
“No.” Noah’s arms came around me, solid and reassuring despite the tenderness in his movements.
He had seemed furious when I first walked into the room, but he wasn’t anymore. Instead, his hands brushed softly through my hair and he sighed, “I’m the one who should be apologizing.”
He pulled back enough to look at me, his eyes searching my face.
“I thought if I took you to that party, then everyone would see you were with me. And all those rumors about you and Jace would finally die down.”
His hand came up to brush through my hair again, gentle and apologetic. “If I had known it would’ve ended up with you in jail, I never would have done it. I let my anger and jealousy get the best of me.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead, his lips lingering there.
“And for that, I’m sorry. Forget everything I said about doubting you. I don’t. I never really did.” He pulled back to meet my eyes. “I already called Jake and Nicole to explain everything. And I think after watching the videos of you defending me at the party, they believe it now.”
I felt a twinge of guilt bubble up in my chest.
Less than an hour ago I’d been in that cell with Jace, kissing him shamelessly as though I didn’t have a perfectly good guy here, waiting for me.
I vividly remembered his hands on my thighs, my dress riding up, both of us only seconds away from…
I swallowed hard, forcing the memory down.
Would it be right for me to tell Noah about what happened? No. That was definitely a bad idea, especially now when they had only just fought and tensions were still high.
It wasn’t the right time.
And I hated to admit it but… Noah and I weren’t really dating. At the end of the day, all of this we had was just pretend, just a petty, impractical plan to get revenge on Jace.
It was fake… even if sometimes it felt like the realest thing in my life.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I said, my voice a lot firmer than I felt. “I’m glad you stood up for me, Noah. But getting in a fight with Jace really wasn’t necessary. It only made you look bad, plus it hurt your reputation as the good guy—”
Noah’s expression darkened, his jaw clenching with irritation. “He fucking deserved it.”
The venom in his voice made me flinch.
“Who the hell does he think he is?” Noah continued, his voice rising. “Talking about you like that. Like you’re some piece of furniture he can pick up at Home Depot and keep at his house, like you’re his property.”
His hands clenched into fists, making him wince from his bruised knuckles.
“I couldn’t just stand there and watch another guy talk to you like that. Especially in public, in front of so many—"
He cut himself off.
I reached up, cupping his face gently in both hands. He winced but leaned into my touch anyway, his eyes closing briefly.
“Sometimes I think you guys are the farthest thing from related,” I said softly. “But it’s in moments like this that I definitely see the family resemblance. You’re both much too stubborn, it’s ridiculous.”
Noah’s eye snapped open, offended by words. “Don’t compare me to that asshole.”
“You’re right. He is an asshole—”
“He’s a sexist piece of shit—”
I leaned forward and kissed his cheek, cutting off the rant.
“And you’re a gentleman,” I murmured against his skin, “defending my honour. Thank you, kind sir Noah Dawson.” I pulled back to look at him. “But I prefer my knights to be uninjured, if you don’t mind.”
Noah grumbled a curse under his breath.
“Promise me,” I said, my voice going serious. “This is the last time you’re ever going to get in a fight with him.”
“I can’t promise that, Lena.” Noah’s expression was stubborn as ever. “That guy is an obnoxious asshole who needs to be put in his place—”
“And he will be,” I interrupted. “But without violence. We’ll do this the right way, okay? The smart way. And no one has to get hurt, at least not physically.”
Noah studied my face for a long moment.
Then he sighed, his shoulders dropping. “Fine. I promise. God, the things I do for you...”
“Thank you.” I hugged him again, careful of his injuries. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he responded, “It’s nothing.”
I pulled back to give him a bright smile. “Be right back.”
I slipped out of the room and hurried down the hall, past Jace’s closed bedroom door towards one of the many bathrooms.
I briefly wondered, was he in there? Had his mother taken him home already? Was he okay?
The first aid kit was under the sink where I’d spotted it before, so I grabbed it and rushed back to my room.
Noah was lying on my bed now, his phone pressed to his ear.
“No, I’m not pressing charges,” he was saying, his voice firm. “He’s my cousin. It wouldn’t look good for either of us… No, I don’t care what the legal protocol is… Just don’t tell my dad about this, alright?”
He hung up as I entered, his eyes tracking me across the room. “Just got off the phone with my lawyer. What’s that in your hand?”
I held up the first aid kit, trying to look as helpful as possible. “Sit up. Let me fix you.”
“You didn’t have to bother…”
“It’s literally the least I can do.” I set the kit on the bed and started pulling out supplies. Gauze, antiseptic, butterfly bandages, cotton swabs.
Noah sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “Lena…”
I got on my knees in front of him, arranging everything within my reach. “Please just let me do this, okay?”