Chapter 224: Tired
Noelle adjusted Mimi in his arms as she clung to him like a little koala, her tiny hands clutching at his shirt with an iron grip. Ever since they had returned to the estate two weeks ago, she had refused to let him out of her sight.
He sighed, rubbing slow circles into her back, feeling the warmth of her tiny body pressed against his chest.
"You act like we left you for years," he murmured into her soft curls, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I get it, I do, but dad needs some space, little star."
Mimi only babbled nonsense in response, snuggling deeper into his embrace.
Noelle couldn’t bring himself to mind too much. He had missed her too. But he had also been feeling more tired than usual. His body ached in strange ways, and even though he tried to shake it off, he couldn’t ignore how sluggish he had been. Was it because he and Thorne had gone overboard? His face burned at the memory, but he quickly shoved it away.
A distraction—he needed a distraction.
Just as he stepped into the hall, he caught sight of Thorne disappearing into Duke Remiro’s private study, the door shutting behind him with a heavy thud. Another meeting. Another secret discussion.
Noelle frowned.
"Of course, plotting something definitely not so nice," he muttered to himself, bouncing Mimi slightly as she yawned against his shoulder. "Not that I’d expect anything less."
Still, there was a part of him that wanted Thorne in bed early tonight, if only to help deal with their very attached daughter. Mimi may have been small, but she had the stamina of an army.
As he walked through the estate, he couldn’t help but notice the subtle tension hanging in the air—particularly between Felix and Roman.