Chapter 235

At ten stories up, the wind howled with a force that made everything feel sharper, more dangerous.
Daniel’s eyes never left Nora. The moment she spoke, he understood-she was bargaining with her own life.
She was cornering him with her own existence.
But he knew her too well.
“You won’t do it.”
“If you were really someone who’d end your life so easily, you wouldn’t be Nora.”
His voice, shaky a moment ago, steadied into certainty.
Nora’s lips curled into a bitter smile. Her fingers, which had slipped from the windowsill, crept back up to grip it once more.
She’d thought she could threaten Daniel, but of course, he saw right through her.
She played along, and in the next heartbeat, the security team hauled her back inside.
Across the room, Monica gnawed nervously at her lip, disappointment flickering in her eyes.
How could Nora always manage to survive?
Eleanor felt a similar letdown, though she’d never let such dark thoughts show on her face. Instead, she feigned concern.
“Are you alright?”
Mrs. Chambers pointed an accusing finger at Nora, her words sharp as knives.
“Nora, how much longer are you going to keep up this nonsense?”
What should have been a pleasant family dinner was now in shambles.
The marriage arrangement had fallen apart.
Eleanor seized on Mrs. Chambers’ outburst, playing the victim. “Nora, just to stop me from marrying Hans, you pretended to kill yourself? Do you have any idea how worried he must be right now?”
She was ever the model little sister, always thinking of Daniel, always casting Nora as the villain orchestrating the whole scene.
Sure enough, Daniel’s expression darkened further.
Monica quickly buried her own guilt and joined Eleanor in condemning Nora. “Nora, Eleanor’s marriage to Hans has nothing to do with you. Why go this far? You just love stirring up trouble for Dan, don’t you?” Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on.net
“Everyone out.” Daniel’s voice was cold enough to freeze the air.
The lounge fell silent as the others quickly filed out.
Nora curled up on the sofa, her fingers still marked and burning from where she’d clung to the window.
She refused to show weakness in front of Daniel, even as pain throbbed in her hands.
Daniel’s face was a storm, but he forced himself to look away.
“Nora, was this supposed to be funny?”
His anger finally broke through.
“Risking your own life just to make a scene-how do you even come up with this stuff?”
If she hadn’t said that last sentence, he might have given in to her demands.
Was he really that unbearable to be around, that she’d rather risk her life than stay by his side?
Nora stayed silent, her stomach aching after so long pressed up against the window.
But Daniel took her quiet for guilt.
“Answer me.”
He demanded an explanation, unwilling to let the matter drop.
“Did you forget this is the tenth floor? One wrong move, and you’d be dead before you hit the ground.”
Fear still clung to him, his heart refusing to settle, especially when he replayed the image of her letting go. He wanted nothing more than to shake some sense into her.
“Who taught you to threaten people like this?”
His anger was raw.
Nora finally understood what Daniel was implying.
“So you believe Eleanor? You think I staged all this just to manipulate you?”
Daniel, blinded by rage, snapped, “Didn’t you? Someone like you is capable of anything.”
Nora went cold, staring at him. “Someone like me? And what kind of person is that?”
Daniel fell silent.
He knew he’d gone too far, but the anger inside him wouldn’t dissipate.
“Nora, I know you don’t like Eleanor, but the marriage is happening, end of story. Just stop scheming.”
Scheming?
Nora gave a short, bitter laugh. “If that’s what you think of me, why bother saving me at all? Wouldn’t it be easier to just let me die?”
“Nora, I’m being reasonable here,” Daniel said, almost frantic with frustration. “Stop twisting my words.”
He was worried about her, but she insisted on misunderstanding him.
Nora opened her mouth to reply, but a sudden, wrenching pain struck her lower abdomen.
She doubled over, sliding off the sofa, sweat breaking out across her forehead.