Chapter 28

“Come with us tomorrow. Please,

malysh?” Valerian’s voice was softer this time, almost coaxing, compared to his usual composed demeanor. Noelle hadn’t expected such a plea from him, nor the hopeful way Alexei was looking at her with his wide, expectant eyes which made it harder for her to refuse.

“Uh... I have work, so I can’t—”

“Of course, she’ll go!” Evelyn suddenly cut in, her voice cheerful as she placed a firm hand on Noelle’s shoulder. In her other hand, she balanced a tray of glasses, effortlessly maneuvering around the conversation like she had planned this all along.

“Evelyn??” Noelle turned to her as panic flickered in her eyes, silently pleading for an out. But Evelyn simply smiled knowingly.

“The restaurant is closed tomorrow since Peter and I will be visiting someone,” Evelyn continued, winking as if she were doing Noelle a huge favor. “So you can spend your time with them.”

Noelle opened her mouth to protest, but Evelyn had already s