CHAPTER 345. A NAUGHTY GIRL. I never thought…“You can’t do this, you can’t. For months, I believed that after what happened with Odessa, I wouldn’t be able to trust anyone else, I wouldn’t be able to love anyone else. And then you came along… and I know jealousy and distrust blinded me, but I swear I’ve learned my lesson, Noe, I swear on my son’s life that I’ve learned, and if you leave me, I’ll spend the rest of my life proving to you that you’re the most important thing to me.” Noémi’s lower lip trembled, and she bit it. Levi realized she was holding back tears, but he couldn’t tell if they were out of frustration or longing. “I’m sorry, Levi,” she finally murmured. “I swear I’m not saying this to hurt you, but I can’t stay, because now I’m the one who can’t trust you.” Levi felt tears sting his eyes, but he blinked them away. “Yes, you can, of course, you can. I love you…” Even he was surprised by that declaration, but he just laughed and kept going. “I love you, baby, I real
CHAPTER 346. A NAUGHTY GIRL. I’ll be happyLevi stood at the back of the room, and the murmurs died down as he started to move forward. Noémi instinctively tightened her hand in Nino’s, but he didn’t show any sign of displeasure. Of course, she hadn’t told Levi where the wedding was, but he wasn’t stupid—tracking her down to the city courthouse wasn’t impossible once he knew the wedding date.Levi looked her up and down as he stood before her, his expression filled with apology.“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “For everything I did, but this can’t end like this.”He looked at Nino with determined eyes and smiled slightly.“I know I don’t have the right to object to this wedding, but I respect you enough to warn you: I won’t rest until Noe comes back to me. I don’t care if she’s married, I don’t care if she gave you her word, none of it matters. I’ll be her shadow until I get her back.”Nino didn’t move a muscle, but Noémi’s heart was racing. She took a step toward Levi and pleaded, “Please
CHAPTER 347. A NAUGHTY GIRL. But you love me!“Are you okay, *amore mio*? What’s wrong?” he asked her.“This damn phone isn’t working right!” she said, tossing it aside. “It heats up the second I turn it on. What am I supposed to do?”“Tell it you have a headache,” Nino teased, and she playfully punched him on the shoulder.“Idiot!”“But you love me!”Noémi couldn’t help but smile and nod.“Of course I love you...”“...But as friends.”“Do you *eat* friends?” she muttered.“Idiot!” Nino laughed.“But you love me!”“And I *eat* you!”“That too,” Noémi sighed as he handed her a glass of champagne. “Thanks,” she murmured, taking a sip of the cold liquid.Nino watched her for a few seconds before sitting down beside her. The air was fresh, and the sea was calm. They drank in silence, their eyes fixed on the horizon.“Why won’t you tell me the truth, *amore mio*? If we’re friends and you care about me, why won’t you tell me the truth?”Noémi tensed up instantly.“What are you talking abou
CHAPTER 348. A NAUGHTY GIRL. Ice and FireA month. It had been a month since Noémi had left, and Levi was staring out the window of his new house, praying that the next day, when he went back to the company, Noémi’s assistant would tell him she had returned.Telling Oskar Larsen that he could no longer continue training the boys in Norway had been easier than Levi had expected, but since the banker was fond of him, the decision was simple: he put the five boys on a plane and rented them another mansion on another ski slope in Switzerland. So the training continued, the work continued, and he kept waiting for Noémi.He was right in the middle of a slope during a training session with the boys when someone told him he was being waited for at one of the mountain lookouts."Is something wrong?" he asked the boy who had come to inform him."It's Mr. Larsen. Apparently, it’s something important because he arrived without any notice.""Sure, tell him we’re on our way...""No, the boys can s
CHAPTER 349. A NAUGHTY GIRL. Another fire to burn in"I... I didn’t know you had returned," Levi murmured, impressed."A few days ago," she replied nonchalantly. "Mr. Larsen, I understand you want to buy the mountain?"Business was her specialty, Levi knew that, so instead of coldness, he only saw that she was as professional as ever."I want to invest here, but I need advice because I’m not familiar with real estate investment laws in Switzerland," Oskar admitted."In that case, Asterion Bank will be happy to sponsor a trust to cover all expenses," Noémi added. "If I have access to the facilities, my assistants can start working immediately."Larsen didn’t hesitate, and within minutes, the three of them were left alone."Well, I’m going to check on Isak. Mrs. Keller, any questions you have, you can consult with Levi. He knows a lot about the slopes," Oskar smiled before leaving and closing the door behind him.Levi swallowed and looked at her."You... you look great," he murmured, s
CHAPTER 350. A NAUGHTY GIRL. Winter FlowersNoémi took a deep breath of mountain air and felt her heart calm. Finally, everything was okay. She reached the base and patiently waited for Levi to join her at the lookout. "You’ve completely let me down," Larsen sighed dramatically. "How could you let him beat you at your own sport?" Levi smiled, amused, and shrugged. "He caught me off guard!" he defended himself as he watched her smile subtly. "So, Mrs. Keller, do you think I can turn this resort into my new humble skiing retreat?" the man asked in a deep voice. Noémi laughed while shaking her head. "Well, there won’t be anything humble about it, Mr. Larsen, but if you plan to expand the resort, I’ll need to review your future plans as well." Larsen motioned for her to come closer to the table, opened a large map of the area, and pointed to a few locations. "These are the ski slopes I plan to open," he said. "I think they’re the best in the area… well, Levi thinks they’re the b
CHAPTER 351. A NAUGHTY GIRL. You’re not married!This time, she came ready, and her group of assistants wasn’t with her. "Almost everything is set. We have an excellent proposal with a well-known construction company, and they can build either a family, luxury, or sports resort here—whichever you prefer," Noémi told the magnate. Then she turned to Levi and extended her hand in a gesture that seemed calm but wasn’t. "Mr. Ferguson... how are you?" Levi shook her hand, and she held her breath. He still had those same predator eyes and that contagious smile. "Shall we go?" he asked, and a few minutes later, they arrived at the potential slopes. They stopped at the top of the mountain, and Noémi looked around. The place was beautiful—not quite like her mountain in Lucerne, but... "There are secrets here too," Levi said, and she looked at him, not understanding. "Over there, you had your lake, but this mountain has secrets too. Do you want to discover them?" Noémi swallowed hard beca
CHAPTER 352. A NAUGHTY GIRL. Romeo and JulietNoémi felt the snow shift beneath her feet, and her body helplessly fell into the snow pit. She screamed as her hands tried to grab onto something, but there was no luck. The only good thing was that the snow was soft under her back when she hit the bottom.She tried to open her eyes, dazed, and a circle of light appeared above her, broken only by Levi’s head peeking into the hole.Levi had been frozen when he saw her fall, but the shock only lasted a second. He unstrapped his skis and ran toward the spot, being careful not to fall in himself.“Noe! Noémi, answer me! For God’s sake, answer me! Are you okay?”“Pretty damn bad... Idiot...” she muttered, pouting as she tried to get up, but she was scared she might have broken something. She raised her hands and looked at them. They seemed fine. “Do my feet look normal to you?” she yelled up at Levi.“Do you mean one’s longer than the other?”“I mean, do they look broken! You moron... I swear