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
CHAPTER 356. A NAUGHTY GIRL. Who called us?It was a bold challenge, but the problem was that Noémi had nothing to back it up with, and Levi knew it. He knew her better than he had realized, and that warm bed, along with all the accumulated exhaustion, interrupted her feminist pride speech within a minute and a half. By the two-minute mark, she was already snoring.He tucked her in under the blankets and sat on the edge of the bed, watching her sleep. Outside, the storm was just beginning, so it would still be many hours before she could leave. He let her sleep and went to calm Larsen and the boys, who were in the library celebrating life.The first whiskey brought him back to life, and by the third, he was feeling bold. But really, he was just happy that Noémi was safe.He picked up Peter to bring him along and grabbed just the clothes that he knew Noémi liked. The afternoon passed quickly, and since she didn’t seem to have any intention of waking up for dinner, he did what he did b
CHAPTER 357. A NAUGHTY GIRL. Forever“But miss, you’re not eating,” Isak protested.“Of course, she’s eating… now say ‘Aaaaa.’” Before Noémi could protest, Levi put a forkful of pasta in her mouth, and she blushed but ate.Noémi came from a large family, so she was used to the chaos, but she was impressed by how good Levi was with the boys, especially when he and Peter had been so alone until then.The boys treated the baby like a little brother, and they saw Levi as a respected coach and a pseudo-strict father. But the truth was, harmony reigned in that mansion.After dinner, they shared chocolate ice cream, and the boys began talking about the tragedies of their new prep school in Switzerland. By the end of the night, Noémi realized her schedule for the next week was already packed.“Take them shopping for elegant clothes for the winter dance.”“Chaperone at the movies.”“Give them a tour of the company because they won’t be skiing forever.”“Get a chiropractor.”“Buy them tickets
CHAPTER 358. A NAUGHTY GIRL. Unspeakable thingsNoémi punched Levi hard on the arm, shocked by his declaration.“What did you just say?!” Her eyes locked with his, and she saw the sincerity in his gaze. “You must have a death wish, right? After everything that's happened, after you left me...! Do you think I’m going to forgive you that easily?!”Levi pressed his lips together.“No, I know it won’t be easy, but I don’t want to lose you, and you don’t want me to lose you, or else you would’ve left the moment we came down from that mountain, storm, avalanche, or erupting volcano be damned. Do you think I don’t believe you’re capable of it?” He looked at her with a mix of admiration and certainty. “I love you, Noémi... And I want to marry you…”“I can’t do this, Levi,” she responded desperately. “After everything that happened, how can you even think we should try again...?”“Of course, we should!” he exclaimed, stepping closer and grabbing her by the shoulders. “Noe, things that mess up
CHAPTER 359. A NAUGHTY GIRL. Ten Years in SinFalling onto the rug was the easy part; resisting the pull of sleep was the hard part. But Levi had made that proposal seriously and wasn’t about to give up.“Marry me, Noe, please marry me. I promise I’ll make sure you never regret choosing me,” he said, propping himself up on one elbow and caressing her face.Noémi took a deep breath as she stared at the beams on the ceiling.“Not now, Boss. Ask me in ten years,” she said with a soft smile, and Levi slipped the ring onto her finger, not caring that it wasn’t the best diamond in the world.“That works for me if it means I’ll spend the next ten years with you,” he assured her, kissing her lips. “What’s a decade of living in sin? Besides, married men don’t go to hell—we’ve already served our time here…”“Hey!”Levi burst out laughing and hugged her, kissing her until sleep finally claimed them. He knew difficult times lay ahead, but they had, in their strange way, found their perfect way o