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Novel Catalog
Chapter 49
Carl knew that Nicole must’ve been lonely and missing him terribly.
“I know… That’s why I fought to stay alive.
The thing I’m most afraid of is you being sad.” His voice was full of longing and affection.
After his close brush with death, Carl had finally realized how deeply Nicole mattered to him.
Nicole’s nose tingled, and she paused, taking a moment to compose herself before responding.
“Now that you’re fine, I don’t have to worry anymore.
Zane will arrange for us to meet when we’re safe.
There are people after me, so I can’t contact you often,” she explained.
Carl felt a pang of sadness but understood Nicole’s caution.
She was naïve in some ways, not realizing that his feelings for her had changed.
Despite that, he tried to lift his spirits and said, “I know I shouldn’t call you now—it’s dangerous for you.
But I… I miss you so much.”
Nicole’s heart softened.
She longed to hear Carl’s voice too.
“It’s alright.
I’ll meet you as soon as everything is stable,” she reassured him, her voice steady.
Carl fell silent for a moment, knowing Nicole wouldn’t make promises lightly.
When she said something, she kept her word.
“Okay, I’ll wait for you,” he replied, a quiet determination in his voice.
Both of them knew they couldn’t stay on the phone for long, so they exchanged a few words of caution and concern before ending the call.
As Nicole lay back on her bed, a sense of relief washed over her.
She had been anxious about Carl’s safety, but now, she could finally sleep peacefully.
The next morning, Nicole returned from her morning exercise and walked to class with Lulu.
On the way to their classroom, they overheard students excitedly talking.
“Did you hear? Harvey, the hottest guy in school, just finished the two-week-long international Physics Olympiad.
He’s coming back soon!”
“No way! That’s why we haven’t seen him around!” another student exclaimed.
“Harvey’s back! My boring school life is about to get interesting!”
The students were buzzing with excitement, but as Nicole walked into the classroom, the chatter suddenly stopped.
She ignored the awkward silence and made her way to her seat, but the whispers started again.
“Harvey is coming back.
If he finds out Nicole bullied Snow, he’ll definitely make her pay!”
“Yeah! Everyone knows Harvey always takes Snow’s side.
Nicole’s in big trouble now!”
Nicole didn’t pay attention to the gossip, but the name “Harvey” seemed familiar.
It was the name of Mr.
Ellison’s grandson, whom Mr.
Ellison had once tried to introduce to Nicole—but she had rejected the offer.
She now realized Harvey was aligned with Snow.
Bradley, sitting in the front row, turned to Nicole with a concerned look.
“Nicole, everyone’s talking about you bullying Snow on the school forum.
When Harvey finds out, he won’t let you off.
Maybe you should take a break from school until things settle down.”
Nicole could tell Bradley was worried about her, but she wasn’t about to hide.
“Harvey doesn’t deserve me taking a break from school,” she said coolly, ignoring the gossip.
Jack, sitting behind Nicole, noticed that she was reading a different book than usual.
He turned to Gary, whispering, “Nicole’s being pretentious again.
How could a country bumpkin understand Esperian?” Gary, initially staring at Nicole, furrowed his brows at Jack’s comment.
His sharp eyes caught sight of the anatomy chart marked with Esperian words on the book’s cover.
It was a medical textbook, and foreign medical books were notoriously difficult to read.
Gary himself had to put in a lot of effort to understand them, so he assumed Nicole couldn’t possibly comprehend the content.
But then, he recalled how Nicole had claimed that the Math Olympiad questions were too easy for her and paused.
Could it be? Could she actually understand that book?
Before he could think further, a loud cheer erupted outside the classroom.
A girl with a seductive look stepped inside, followed by five or six other girls, all of whom were somewhat attractive but had an air of arrogance about them.
The girl at the front scanned the class and knocked on the podium.
“Which one of you is Nicole?”
The entire class turned to look at Nicole.
