Vicky smiled. âDonât worry, Noah. Iâm alone this time, and Tyler isnât around.â
Noah sighed a long breath of relief. âGood⦠I was so scared.â
âNoah, why are you so scared of Tyler?â
For someone from such a powerful family, it seemed odd for Noah to be so afraid of Tyler even when
there was a gap between their statuses.
Sebastian and Harvey never showed any fear toward Tyler, and Alex even dared to curse Tyler in his
face.
âHeâs just sick in the head,â Noah said bitterly.
Vicky was interested in the past and suggested, âYou helped me out twice now, Noah. I havenât gotten
the chance to thank you. Why donât I treat you to a meal?â
Noah had a rough idea as to what Vicky wanted to know and wanted to tell her the truth to avoid any
misunderstanding, so he nodded. âSure.â
The two walked into a restaurant, and after placing the order, Vicky looked at Noah and asked, âNoah,
Tyler said that you were my ex-boyfriend. Is that true?â
âItâs the truth in his eyes, but not the whole truth.â
Confused, she asked, âWhat do you mean?â
âHe thought that we were dating, but that was all just a lie. We were putting on a show.â Noah smiled.
âWhy would I do that?â
âBecause you wanted to break up with him, but he wouldnât give up, so that was your only option.â
Vicky frowned. âThatâs not possible. I thought Tyler broke up with me after finding out that I took Gloriaâs
place.â
âGloria?â Noah was taken aback. âWhat does this have to do with her?â
Vicky hesitated for a few moments before explaining the things she had discovered so far.
âBack then, Gloria was playing the piano in the garden, and Tyler ran into her. Because Gloria and I
look alike from the back, I said that I was the one who played in the garden when Tyler came looking
for her, and thatâs how I got to date him. I seemed to have kept it a secret for some time, and Tyler
broke up with me after finding out what happened.â
âWho told you this?â
âGloria andâ¦Tyler.â
He chuckled. âIf I was you, Iâd take everything Gloria said with a grain of salt.â
â Are you saying that sheâs lying to me?â
âNo, but Gloria is sentimental. She only looks at the world around her subjectively and is great at
making up a scenario in her head⦠To be blunt, she has an even wilder imagination than I do. She was
an outsider and didnât know what happened, so what she said was only her take on the situation.â i
âWhat about Tyler, then?â
âTylerâ¦.â Noah stared at Vicky. âHe resents you for abandoning him back then, soâ¦itâs only normal for
him to lie. Iâd say that he is even less
believable than Gloria.â
âI abandoned him?â Vicky questioned. âAre you sure that I was the one who broke up with him?â
âNo doubt about that. He kept clinging onto you and even went as far as to let you date two men at
once to stay with you.â
Vicky flinched. âAre you sureâ¦that he accepted that?â
She knew just how possessive Tyler was better than anyone, and he would die before agreeing to let
his girlfriend cheat.
âMaybe he accepted it because he could tell we werenât actually dating, but regardless of what he
thought, he did accept it.â
After a long pause, Vicky asked, âSoâ¦am I or am I not Gloriaâs substitute?â â Are you referring to the
fact that he once pursued Gloria?â Noah could not hold back his laughter. âThatâs just not possible! If
someone is the substitute here, it has to be Gloria.â