Chapter 1073

Henry gripped his phone tightly. He opened his mouth, but a heavy lump formed in

his throat, making it impossible to produce a single sound.

Sanford Brooke had known about his son’s crush on Noreen from the very beginning.

But the timing back then had been terrible.

Years ago, Henry had caused Noreen no shortage of trouble while trying to defend Bianca Lowell.

If he had confessed back then, the answer would have been an obvious rejection.

So Sanford had advised him to wait until time smoothed things over before making his move.

Henry had planned to wait until he finished his degree and took over the family company, so he could stand on equal footing with her.

Even if he couldn’t fight alongside her, he wanted to at least have the confidence to face her properly.

Then, he would tell her how much he loved her.

But in the end, he had missed his shot.

He had obsessed over finding the perfect moment, forgetting that love didn’t care about timing, and it certainly didn’t wait around.

Even though Henry hadn’t said a word, Sanford could sense his son’s devastation through the phone.

He tried to encourage him. “Why don’t you just tell her? What if it works out?” Henry rejected his father’s suggestion.

“I care about her a lot, but that doesn’t matter,” he said quietly. “I never expected anything to happen, and I never demanded anything in return. My feelings aren’t what’s important here.”

“What matters is that she’s happy.”

On the other end of the line, Sanford let out a heavy sigh.

“It seems it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Long after the call ended, Henry kept repeating those words in his mind.

Yes. It just wasn’t meant to be.

The moment Noreen stepped out of the café, Dylan Wilder called her.

He wanted to treat her to lunch.

Dylan had to leave her birthday party early the night before due to an emergency, but he had asked Jude Wilder to give her a gift on his behalf.

Noreen considered it for a moment and agreed.

It was the perfect opportunity to discuss Omniva Bank pulling Winrich’s credit line.

She figured that was exactly why Dylan wanted to meet.

It would be best to clear the air face-to-face.

Just as she accepted the invitation, a text from Seth popped up.

He asked, [Have you eaten?]

Before she could reply, Seth was already typing another message.

[I learned to cook a new dish. I think you’ll like it.]

But before he could hit send, Noreen’s reply came through.

[I have a lunch meeting.]

Seth deleted his drafted text and sent a simple reply.

[Okay.]

A business lunch on a weekend.

Seth flopped back onto his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Jude called him right then. “Hey, man. Jordan’s asking why you havent shown up for your

appointment.” Content beel

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“Can’t be bothered,” Seth muttered, sounding completely devoid of energy.

“Are you not with Noreen?”

That would explain his terrible mood.

“Yeah. She’s got a lunch meeting.”

No wonder he was acting like an abandoned puppy.

“Perfect timing, then. I’ll take you over to see Jordan,” Jude suggested smoothly.

Seth still refused.

Jude tried to convince him for ten

minutes before finally giving up and pivating Then at least let’s grab lunch. We haven’t eaten together in forever.”

Ever since Seth became Noreen’s secret lover, Jude had been completely tossed aside.

No more dinners, no more drinks, total radio silence.

Seth reluctantly agreed.

Jude picked the restaurant, and he swore on his life that he chose it entirely at random.

But he never expected to walk in and see Noreen and Dylan having lunch right there.

Before Seth could notice them, Jude

grabbed his arm and tried to drag him out. “Actually, I don’t feel like eating here anymore. Let’s go. Somewhere else.”