Chapter 17 After Noel snapped out of his daze , he took a glance at the girl in front of him . She was dressed very simply , with long hair casually pinned behind her ears . She did not even put on makeup today , so she had a morbid kind of beauty that made people unable to resist their pity for her . He was a person who was aware of his limitations and always knew he could not compare to Alaric ; he was in no position to do so either . When the Selwyn Family went bankrupt , he ran around to many places for help , but unfortunately , he was too insignificant to help in any way . A CEO of one of the companies even told him frankly , " You're very capable , Noel , and I have high hopes for you too , but the Selwyn Family has fallen now . The smart ones should know how to make choices . You can come to my company . " At that time , many not only did not want to help but even wanted to poach him . " The Selwyn Family won't rise again . Even if someone is willing to help now , they won't have their former glory back . So , I advise you to carefully consider your future . After all , you're not a member of the Selwyn Family , nor are you their son - in - law . There's no need for you to run around like this for them . " Hearing all these made Noel's heart sink , but he seriously considered what he heard on his way back . After that , he called Victoria and asked where she was so he could pick her up , but when he arrived , the second son of the Burke Corporation and his cronies were verbally humiliating her. " The great Miss Selwyn , you ignored my pursuit in the past when your family was prosperous . Now that the Selwyn Family has fallen , I wonder if you still have such pride . Well , I can help the Selwyn Corporation , but don't you think you should pay the price ? Maybe like sleeping with me for a night ? " As soon as he finished speaking , his cronies burst into laughter . Seeing this scene unfold from the side , Noel almost rushed forward to fight with them . All the plans he had considered for himself when he was on his way disappeared in that second . At that moment , he only had one thought - he could not leave the Selwyn Family at this critical moment to pursue his future . Also , he could not go up to fight the second son of the Burke Corporation because he did not have the right to do so . All he could do was pull Victoria away from the scene . Not long after that , he heard that the Burke Corporation's second son had been beaten up by someone and that the entire Burke Corporation was implicated because of him . Due to this , the Burke Corporation's CEO and his son visited Victoria's home overnight to apologize to her . The person who helped her was Alaric . Looking back, it was indeed Alaric who pulled her out of adversity before , but because of what had happened in the past few days , he had put her in another difficult situation . As Noel pressed his lips together , he said softly , " I don't mean to lecture you , but there are some things you need to consider carefully so that you can make plans in advance . " Just as Victoria was about to answer , her phone vibrated . She took it out and saw that it was a message from Alaric . ' Your assistant said you went out ? ' The message was sent via WhatsApp with the same casual tone as usual , as though he was casually asking after realizing she went out . Not knowing what she was thinking , she only replied with a ' Yes ' after reading the message . He was probably looking at his phone at the time because his reply came quickly . ' When are you coming back ? ' Their conversation looked normal , just like their usual chat . He did not mention the text last night , nor did he mention his overnight absence . Meanwhile , she was being ' understanding ' by not asking him anything . It seemed as if nothing had happened yesterday , and life was continuing as usual with them having an unspoken agreement to keep this peace . She replied , ' I'll go back when it's time for work . ' After that , he did not reply again . As such , she put away her phone and told Noel , " I get it , Noel . " As his gaze lingered on her phone for a moment , he asked , " He texted you ? " After hesitating for a moment , she answered with a nod . There was nothing more he could say , so they silently finished the rest of their meal and paid the bill . Then , he sent her back to the office . When Victoria got into the elevator , she found that he had also followed . her in . Surprised , she asked , " Where are you going ? " Their offices were not in the same location . With a hand in his pocket , he answered with a calm expression , " I'm going to see Mr. Cadogan . I have something to report to him . " After getting off the elevator , he looked at his watch and told her , " It's ten minutes before work starts . I don't think it's appropriate to meet Mr. Cadogan now . " Hearing that , she could only reply , " Come spend some time in my office , then . " " Sure . " When they arrived at Victoria's office , which did not require passing by Alaric's office , Yasmin had already started working early and immediately got up to make coffee for them . " Thank you . " Noel took the coffee and looked at her , asking , " Did Mr. Cadogan come by here just now ? " Hearing his question , she seemed a bit surprised but still nodded . " He did . " A mysterious expression took over his face as he asked , " Did he come by himself or … " Yasmin did not say anything and merely pressed her lips together . Meanwhile , Victoria took a sip of her coffee and did not talk either , creating a strange atmosphere . Ten minutes later , Noel put down his cup . " Time for work . I'll meet Mr. Cadogan now . " He got up to leave , but just as he arrived at the door , he suddenly turned back to look at Victoria and invited her . " There's some work for the project from yesterday that requires your help to report . Let's go together . " Taken aback , she instinctively furrowed her brows . Sensing her silence , he asked again , " Victoria ? " Only when she heard him again that she finally came back to her senses . With a nod , she answered , " Okay . I'll go with you . " Initially , she wanted to avoid Alaric and Claudia . Ever since she spoke out that piece of news but did not hear back from him , who then had Claudia call to tell her he would not be coming home that night , she did not want to appear in front of those two anymore . To say that she was running away or being afraid was all true . She admitted all that . However , it was obvious that Noel would not allow her to run away . Frankly , she knew what he wanted to do . All he wanted was to force her to face reality . As the two of them walked to the office , he knocked on the door . " Come in . " Alaric's cold voice came from inside . With a smile tugging at his lips , Noel pushed open the door and walked in . As soon as the office door was pushed open , Alaric looked over in their direction . When he saw the two of them walking in together , a trace of displeasure flashed in his dark eyes , but it was so fast that it was not easy for one to notice . " Mr. Cadogan . " Noel walked to the front . " I'm here to report yesterday's work to you . " " Okay . " Alaric nodded slightly with a poker face . At the same time , Victoria stood behind Noel , watching the two men discuss work . Alaric at work was completely different from his private self . During work , he was cold , rational , and unsentimental . Just like now , he held his hands together and placed them on his knees , expressionless , listening to Noel's work report indifferently . However , his gaze occasionally passed over Noel and landed on her face . She was not sure if it was her imagination , but the way Alaric looked at her was rather chilly .