Chapter 891

Claire frowned. "Why is he like this? I already warned him not to bother you again." Noreen paused. "You warned him?"

Claire realized she slipped up and couldn't deny it. "Well, I saw how stressed you were about him, and I didn't want you to get hurt again. So I gave him a tiny warning."

"A tiny warning?"

"Fine, I threatened him. I told him if he showed his face around you again, I'd beat

him up!"

Noreen rubbed her temples. No wonder Seth had said such strange things earlier. It was because of Claire's warning. But what surprised Noreen more was that Seth actually listened.

"Don't be so reckless next time," Noreen said, touched but worried. Seth was a Harcourt, a former billionaire playboy who used to hold the city in the palm of his hand. It would be too easy for him to deal with someone like Claire, who had no background. She didn't want her friend to suffer.

Claire knew what she was worried about. "I was terrified at the time, honestly. But then I remembered how red your eyes were, and I didn't care anymore. Don't worry, he didn't say a word. I almost made him cry from yelling at him. Of course, I know he only let me scream at him because of you."

Claire grabbed Noreen's hand. "I was just so mad about how he treated you."

Noreen rested her head on Claire's shoulder, her voice muffled. "I thought I had moved on. I haven't looked back in years. But lately, I don't know... I've been affected."

When did it start? Maybe when she

saw him risk his life to shield her from Brianna's car. Or when she found out he jumped into the ocean without hesitation to save her. Or when she learned he was the one who broke into the kidnappers' hideout, took a bullet for her, and got herout safely Beyond that, he had helped her business. Time after time. There was too much tangled up between them. She couldn't even keep track anymore.

She poured out all her hidden thoughts to Claire.

Claire was shocked. She started to understand why Noreen was

wavering. After all, Noreen had held onto the fact that Seth donated bone marrow to Rosalind Gilmore fo years. But as Noreen's best friend," Claire was firmly on her side.

"Your history with him is like a game of candy crush. He saved you three times, but you almost died for him too. So you're even. As for the business stuff, you worked yourself to the bone for him for seven years So what if he helped you a few times? In my eyes, you two owe each other nothing."

"Is that how the math works?" Noreen laughed.

"I'm your best friend, I make the rules," Claire said.

Owing each other nothing... that sounded nice. Noreen hoped they could maintain this balance. Slowly, these subtle feelings would fade, and everything would return to normal. She hoped everything would go back to the way it was.

But balance was always easily broken.

A week later, Jude Wilder suddenly showed up at Winrich. Noreen was in a meeting, and his abrupt entrance stunned the entire boardroom.

Sophia Cole apologized guiltily. "I'm sorry, Ms. Gilmore. I couldn't stop him. I'll call security right now."