Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 109

As soon as Noreen sent out her message, someone in the group chat tagged her.

Her finger brushed the notification by accident, opening the chat before she realized it was from one of those old team–building groups from Aurelion Group. She’d never saved it, so she’d forgotten to leave.

The message was from Ruby Wilder, who had tagged everyone.

Her excitement leapt off the screen.

“Guys, guess who I just ran into in Brenton City? I bumped into Mr. Harcourt and Director Lowell! They came all the way here just to see the first snow! Isn’t that the most romantic thing ever?”

“No way! Mr. Harcourt and Director Lowell are such a perfect couple!”

“I read online that when a man invites a woman to watch the first snow, it’s a sign of love–so Mr. Harcourt is confessing to Director Lowell, right?”

“Wishing them the best!”

“May they last forever!”

A steady stream of well–wishes flooded the chat.

Bianca, who’d been tagged, replied graciously–polite but warm. “Thank you all so much.”

She even shared a photo she’d just taken of the first snowfall.

In the top right corner of the picture, a familiar figure stood with his head down, focused on his phone. The pale glow from the screen outlined the sharp angles of his face.

Who else could it be but–Seth?

So, were they making their relationship public now?

It happened sooner than Noreen expected, but she couldn’t say it was a

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surprise.

After all, their families had already met. It was only a matter of time before everyone else found out.

The group chat buzzed with congratulatory messages, everyone eager to send blessings.

Silently, Noreen left the group, opened her chat with Seth, and deleted the message she’d just sent him.

He didn’t reply. Maybe he was swamped.

But if Noreen was honest, it felt more like he was ignoring her.

It wasn’t the first time.

When had it started?

She searched her memory, and realized Seth’s attitude had begun to shift about a year ago.

He started traveling abroad for business alone. He always used to take

her with him–she was his assistant, after all.

Looking back, maybe those trips were just a cover for seeing Bianca.

Not bringing her along made perfect sense, in hindsight.

But at the time, she had no idea. She thought he was just busy with the subsidiary’s IPO.

She’d even gone out of her way to prepare everything before he Jeft–making sure he had what he needed, finding restaurants he’d like, reminding him not to drink too much…

Seth had always seemed distant then, his gaze complicated whenever he

looked at her.

Maybe he’d already decided it was over, but didn’t want to be the bad guy–so he chose indifference instead.

And she, foolishly, kept telling herself he was just under a lot of pressure

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at work.

In the end, she was the one who didn’t get the hint.

Noreen didn’t let it get to her. She went to bed on time, determined to recharge for tomorrow.

When she woke, it was a brand new day, and she felt ready for anything.

Mina messaged her on WhatsApp, asking if she was going to visit Carman today.

Noreen replied that she was.

Mina sent back, “I’ll leave my brother to you, then. No need to be a third wheel.”

All Noreen could do was smile wryly. She didn’t bother replying.

It wasn’t hard to guess what Mina was thinking.

But after the end of a seven–year relationship, Noreen was too exhausted

to even consider a new one.

Besides, Mina meant well–no need to dampen her enthusiasm.

As she closed the chat, her eyes drifted to her conversation with Seth.

Still no response.

Without hesitation, Noreen removed him from her recent chats, then

headed out to chase down more investors.

She visited two companies that morning, but came up empty–handed.

At lunchtime, she picked up some food and went to the hospital to see Carman, only to find him working on his laptop, an IV drip still in his arm.

He was so engrossed, he didn’t even notice the IV bag had run dry, and blood had started to back up into the tube.

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