Chapter 21

Matthew peeped at Noah and intentionally lowered his voice. He was being flirty. “I have a villa by the beach. If you want, you can visit it anytime.” Kate understood his obvious hint. She took a deep breath and tried her best to remove her hand from his. She then raised her voice with a smile. “I’m sorry, I need to go to the bathroom.” Noah heard her and looked at her. As though he understood, he nodded at her. She was relieved, so she quickly stood up to leave. Matthew’s face sank instantly. He grabbed her wrist and grinned at Noah. “If Mr. Noah can’t give in, why are we still talking business?” He forced her to sit as he spoke. He stretched his arm to retrieve a cigarette from the box on the table. He then slowly lit it and smoked it before he leaned back and looked at Noah with a cryptic smile. “She’s just a woman. You’re breaking the peace between us just because of her?” Kate tried to hide while looking at Noah in a begging manner. She looked unwilling. Matthew was a notorious flirt. He could get any woman that he laid eyes on. She could only depend on Noah now. After all, she could not afford to offend Matthew, but it would be fine if she offended Noah. “You can’t touch her.” Noah’s eyes were flat, and one could not tell what he was feeling. “If you are down to have fun, I can arrange it for you. We don’t want her to disappoint you.” Kate was relieved and secretly happy. She knew that Noah had feelings for her. Otherwise, why would he offend Matthew for her? The smile on Matthew’s face froze. He looked ferocious as he scoffed. “We can’t be doing business like that, Mr. Noah. If she’s your woman, I definitely won’t touch her. But is she?” Noah frowned. Disgust flashed through his eyes, and he remained silent. Kate was secretly panicking. She carefully pulled on his sleeve while begging with her eyes. The patience on Matthew’s face was fading. Just when he was about to get up, Noah said, “She is.” He leaned back and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her toward him. She was so over the moon that she intentionally inched closer to him and buried herself in his embrace. Matthew’s face was distorted. He crushed the cigarette in his hand and stepped on it. He scoffed as he watched the two of them being intimate. “That’s terrible, Mr. Noah. But a man of noble character won’t seize someone else’s love. Since she’s yours, you’ll have to find another one for me.” Noah said casually, “Let me know who you have your eyes on. I’ll get it done for you.” Matthew only calmed down after hearing that. He squinted as he looked around the room, his eyes suddenly lighting up. “Her.” He pointed at Isla, who was just getting up. She froze and looked at Noah in disbelief. Her eyes became misty. She had heard and seen their entire fight, including him admitting that Kate was his woman. She had not expected him to be a jerk. Noah was stunned too. He squinted when he saw Isla, who was about to cry. There was hostility brewing in his eyes. Kate had not known that Isla was here. Seeing that Matthew had his eyes on her, she began gloating. “Mr. Noah, what about her?” Matthew did not sense the tense atmosphere. He stared at Isla’s cool face like a fanatic as he teased him with a smile. “Don’t tell me she’s your woman too?” Noah had been staring at her with an unfathomable expression on his face. However, Kate clearly sensed his hostility. Her eyes sparkled, and she took over the conversation. “You’re joking, Mr. Matthew. Of course she’s not Noah’s woman. She’s just company talent,” she told Matthew. He was smiling even brighter now. He waved at Isla and said, “Can you sing? Come sing us a song to lighten the atmosphere.” Humiliation, disappointment, sadness, and all sorts of complicated emotions filled Isla’s heart. She felt a chill when she looked at Noah’s cold face. At that moment, she really doubted whether the image she had seen before dying had been just an illusion. Kate started secretly panicking when she saw Noah’s face getting colder. She thought about it and mustered all her courage to wave at Isla. She said with a smile, “Why are you just standing there, Isla? Come sit here.” She intentionally shoved herself toward Noah, creating some space between her and Matthew. “You…” Isla could not bear to hear what Noah was about to say after he said one word. She was worried that she would hear terrible things from him and she would end up hating him. Therefore, she quickly walked over to him before he could finish. She bent down to pick up the wine from the table and splashed it on his face. Red stains were suddenly everywhere. Noah’s face and clothes were drenched in wine, and Kate was very close to him, so she was splashed too. “What are you doing, Isla?” Kate screamed and quickly stepped away from Noah’s embrace. She bent to get a serviette from the table, wiping the wine off his face gently. Just as her hand was about to reach his face, he grabbed her wrist tightly. His eyes were the coldest she had ever seen. Isla looked at Noah with tears in her eyes. She tried her best not to cry, but she looked wronged. “Noah, you’re just like every other man. I hate you!” A sarcastic smirk appeared on her face. She glanced at him resentfully and turned around. She then left without looking back. “That’s hot. I like it.” Matthew could not get enough of her as he watched her leave. He raised his glass at Noah and laughed. “I like that woman. Thanks for that. But let’s talk about the business some other day. There’s something that I have to do, so I won’t stay.” Without waiting for Noah to respond, he finished the wine in his hand. He quickly got up and went after Isla. Kate was smiling with her eyes, excited about what would happen next. As soon as Matthew slept with Isla tonight, she would lose the right to fight with her over Noah. “Noah, you have wine on your face. Let–” Noah seemed to suddenly come to his senses. He pushed her away, looking ferocious as he got up quickly. Shocked, she grabbed his hand and said, “Are you worried about Isla? Mr. Matthew isn’t a bad guy. She’ll be fine.”