Nora was surprised to hear that. She looked around and asked, "Where is she?"
Lucy replied, "... Because you didn’t wake up, she has left again. She said that she’ll come over and visit you again either today or tomorrow."
It was the next morning, so Lisa had already left a long time ago.
She then sent a text message to Lisa and asked her to come over in the evening.
Lisa, however, didn’t agree right away. Instead, she asked: ’Um, will Louis be there tonight?’
She looked around and asked, "Is Louis home?"
Lucy replied, "He went out early in the morning. Do you need him for something, Ms. Nora?"
"No." Nora thought for a while and asked, "Will he be home in the afternoon?"
Lucy replied, "Most likely not."
Nora sent Lisa a reply: ’No, he won’t.’
Lisa seemed relieved. She wrote: ’Okay. See you tonight, Nora.’
She was just asleep for a night, but it seemed like some incredible things had happened?
Why was one asking her to pick up Joel and the other avoiding Louis as if she was scared of something?
She looked at Lucy hesitantly but didn’t ask anything in the end. She went straight downstairs and drove to the villa in the suburbs.
As soon as she arrived, she saw Tanya, pulling a long face at the door. At the sight of her, she said with a livid look on her face, "You sure came really quick."
Nora yawned. "Yeah, I didn’t even have breakfast."
The corners of Tanya’s lips spasmed. "Should you have breakfast and take a nap before you come, then?"
Nora laughed. "That works, too."
Tanya took a deep breath, turned, and led her into the house.
Inside, Joel was lying on the sofa and reading a magazine comfortably. Next to him, Pete was practicing his Mathematical Olympiad problems. Occasionally, when he encountered something he wasn’t sure about, he would ask Joel, who would then slowly explain it to him.
When Tanya first came in and saw how the two of them got along, there was a moment where she had the illusion that they were a family...
If... if her child were by her side, would they also live so blissfully like a family?
As soon as the thought formed, Tanya immediately discarded it. She said, "I’ve found you a chauffeur."
Joel and Pete looked at Nora in unison.
Pete’s eyes lit up at once.
Joel also nodded gently.
Tanya continued. "You’ve already taken the medicine, ate something, and even slept here and rested enough. Now that I’ve even found a chauffeur for you, surely you can go?"
Joel got up, his face still a little pale.
He was still holding his abdomen, but his smile was a little more genuine than usual. His fox-like eyes were full of warmth and a doting look as he said, "Yeah."
She turned and went up the stairs. "Alright, hurry up and take your kid and your brother with you. I can finally have a good rest now. It’s Monday tomorrow, so I have to work! Teaching a group of naughty little kids to dance is so tiring! Why is my life so hard?!"
She went upstairs while muttering under her breath and then slammed her bedroom door shut.
Nora, whose hands were in her pocket, raised her eyebrows and glanced at Pete.
Pete had already taken the opportunity to pack his bag and was obediently carrying it at the moment. He walked up to her and held her hand tightly.
Sensing how tightly her son was holding her hand, Nora immediately understood after thinking about it for a moment. She looked down at him and explained, "Mommy was too sleepy when she got home yesterday..."
"I know, Mommy." A well-behaved Pete replied, "Don’t worry, I won’t disturb your sleep."
She raised her head again and looked at Joel, but saw that he was still staring at the upper floor. Nora said, "Let’s go?"
Only then did Joel retract his gaze and nod.
The two went out, but when they got into the car, Joel said, "I’ll drive."
"... Are you feeling well enough?" asked Nora.
Joel nodded without any change in expression. "Well enough."
"... Oh, okay," Nora said.
Without standing on ceremony at all, she took Pete with her and sat in the backseat while Joel went to the driver’s seat. On the way home, while Nora was thinking about something, Joel suddenly said, "She’s ultimately still Uncle Ian’s adopted daughter."
Joel lowered his gaze and said indifferently, "To be honest, Uncle Ian has been comatose ever since he went to the Hunts’ party and brought you back. He has a brain tumor and needs to undergo surgery if he wants to recover. It’s said that Anti is the only one who can achieve the best results for his operation at the moment."
Nora said, "I can take a look at him."
Joel spoke again. This time, he sounded a little more intimate and also spoke more, as though he was giving her an explanation. He said, "Don’t worry. Based on my understanding of Uncle Ian, since he has already acknowledged you as a Smith, he won’t mind your identity that much. But because he’s still in a coma and can’t give the word, other people in the family will have some misunderstandings about you."
Was he giving her an explanation for why he was so lukewarm to her previously?
It didn’t really matter to Nora, though. After all, this was understandable.
A man—especially a successful one like Ian—could have all the women in the world if he really wanted, yet the woman whom he had been deeply in love with for his entire life had, from how he saw it, gotten into a relationship with his brother instead.
He would be too magnanimous if he really didn’t mind.
Joel’s choice of words had also been that he "wouldn’t mind that much". Nora would never flatter herself that much and think that he would really treat her as his niece.
Joel, however, added, "But he’s someone who makes a clear distinction between his public and private interests. Yvonne is his daughter, so he’s the only one who can deal with her."
Nora raised her brows.
Was it okay for her to interpret what he just said to mean that Ian would eventually deal with Yvonne?
She hadn’t expected Joel to stand up for her.
At the thought of how Yvonne had tempted Florence into poisoning Old Maddy in order to go against her, Nora narrowed her eyes and said, "Okay."
Joel drove seriously and didn’t speak anymore.
Joel didn’t get out of the car when they arrived at the Smiths’. He explained, "I have something to take care of at the company."
After lazing for a day in the villa, he had to pay back what he owed, after all.
She took Pete into the house and they had lunch together.
In the afternoon, she sent a text message to Lisa: ’Are you here yet?’
Lisa replied: "I’m on the way. Be there soon."
Nora put her phone aside and waited for Lisa.
Her aunt must have seen the live-stream and become worried when she learned of the case, so she had sent Lisa here. Her aunt would probably continue to worry until Lisa saw with her own eyes that she was alright.
Also, for some reason, she had a vague feeling that Lisa would bring her some kind of news when she arrived.