Chapter 293

Chapter 293
Dylan lifted his glass to her in a friendly salute.
Noreen smiled, raising her own glass–filled with a deep red hawthorn juice–and gave it a little swirl in return, a silent gesture of thanks.
“Dylan, who are you toasting over there?” Jude craned his neck, curiosity plain in his voice.
This time, he actually caught sight of Noreen, and his expression shifted.
“What’s Noreen doing here?”
Healy answered before Jude could puzzle it out. “InnoCore’s one of NaviTech’s partners. It’d be stranger if she weren’t here, wouldn’t it?”
At the mention of InnoCore, Jude fell silent.
He’d had some messy history with InnoCore–and not the kind that washed off easily.
His dad was still in the hospital, thanks in no small part to what had happened.
“I’m going to say hi,” Dylan announced, excusing himself and heading straight toward Noreen.
“I’ll say hi too,” Healy said, quickly following.
Jude scowled, turning to Seth. “You coming?”
“Why would I?”
Jude shrugged off the rejection almost instantly. “Then let’s go find Bianca. I haven’t seen her yet.”
Seth’s expression darkened, but he nodded. “ Alright.”
Dylan reached Noreen first. “It’s been a long time,” he said, smiling.
It had, in fact, been a while.
With Omniva Group’s negotiations with foreign investors heating up, Dylan had been under more pressure than ever lately.
But that was an internal matter for his company–something Noreen knew better than to pry into. She just asked, “Has everything been going smoothly?”
“Not exactly,” Dylan admitted, without hesitation. “But I’m managing.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Truthfully, Dylan had every reason not to be at this anniversary party tonight.
But he’d come anyway, just for a chance to see Noreen.
Looking at her now, he knew the trip had been worth it.
They’d only been chatting a few minutes when Henry showed up.
He greeted Bianca first, then made his way over to Dylan and Noreen.
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Noreen arched an eyebrow in greeting.
But Henry breezed right past her, turning instead to Dylan. “Hey, it’s been a while, Dylan.”
“When did you get back?” Dylan asked, surprised.
“It’s been a bit,” Henry replied, a touch evasive.
“You finished your degree early?” Dylan pressed. By the usual timeline, Henry shouldn’t have graduated until this summer.
Henry gave a small nod. “You and Noreen already came back, so it felt pointless staying over there alone. I applied to graduate early.”
He clearly wasn’t interested in lingering; after a few polite words, his gaze drifted to Bianca, and he left, never once meeting Noreen’s eyes.
Once he’d gone, Noreen turned to Dylan. “You two go way back?”
“I forgot to mention–he’s the last student our mentor took on,” Dylan explained.
“How many ‘last students‘ does your mentor need?” Noreen teased.
Dylan couldn’t help but laugh. “Maybe you should go ask him yourself?”
Noreen immediately shook her head. “No thanks. If he wants to keep closing the door behind new students, that’s his business–not mine.”
Dylan grinned, tousling her hair affectionately. “Such a scaredy–cat.”
All of this played out in full view of Seth.
He was standing in the smoking area, half–finished cigarette smoldering between his fingers. When he saw Dylan ruffle Noreen’s hair, his hand tightened, crushing the cigarette in his palm. A glowing ember dropped onto his leg, burning right through his suit pants to the skin beneath. He didn’t flinch. In fact, the sting didn’t even register–nothing compared to the ache in his chest. “Seth, you done? Let’s head back in,” Jude called out, oblivious.
Seeing Seth’s cigarette had gone out, Jude assumed he was finished and was ready to rejoin the
party.
Seth flicked the dead cigarette into the ashtray, pulled out another, and lit up wordlessly.