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
CHAPTER 353. A NAUGHTY GIRL. A Mom“Listen, babe, you’re not used to this kind of cold. You ski now and then, but the mountain temperature is nowhere near the cold of the city, no matter how chilly it gets there. I know how to deal with this. Nothing’s going to happen to me, so I need you to get out of here and go get help. Understand?”Noémi wasn’t naturally a crier, but she couldn’t deny her heart was gripped with fear.Levi helped her climb onto his back, and she carefully balanced herself to place her feet on his shoulders. She stretched upward, trying to reach the edge of the pit, but there wasn’t much to grab onto, and every time she tried to pull herself up, she slipped.She fell a couple of times, and on the third attempt, as Levi held her tightly to prevent her from hitting the ground, she let out a long sigh and rested against his chest.“You’re a damn psychopath,” she accused him, frustrated. “How could you do something so crazy? You have a son, you idiot! Didn’t you think
CHAPTER 354. A NAUGHTY GIRL. My damn astral projectionNoémi and the boys heard the storm's roar as if it were a warning."This has to be a joke!" she growled. "I mean, if I could bottle up all my bad luck from this year, I could sell it as a weapon of mass destruction!"The boys laughed, and one of them shook his head. "We've still got time before it starts. Besides, there’s been a bad weather warning for a week now. Let’s keep going."Noémi didn’t know exactly how much time passed, only that it felt like too much. Finally, they reached that improvised garden on the mountain, and the boys circled the marker flag indicating the snow pit.Noémi held her breath before looking into the hole and exhaled in relief when she saw a shadow hopping from one foot to the other, trying to keep moving and maintain circulation."Levi!" she yelled to get his attention. "Levi, are you down there?!""Of course, I’m not here! This is my damn astral projection!" he retorted, snorting from the cold."Do
CHAPTER 355. A NAUGHTY GIRL. Aren't You Going to Ask?Noémi’s polite, exhausted smile vanished instantly as she imagined that particular scene. "You know what? I’ll do it! He’s a bit of an oaf, you know?! And he's wet; he shouldn’t stay wet...!" she blurted out before heading in the direction Levi had disappeared.Oskar took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together. "Well, mission accomplished. Everyone's safe… time to drink!" he declared, sending out word that everyone was welcome to join him in the library to ride out the storm, Norwegian style.Noémi was relieved to find the hallway wasn’t long and that Levi was moving at an ice cube’s pace. "I didn’t know you lived apart," she murmured, realizing this area was more of an independent section of the mansion."I try to keep Peter and the boys from bothering each other," Levi attempted to laugh, "all six of them are loud."Noémi said nothing but followed Levi inside and was taken aback by what she saw. It was part of the mansio