I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 167

Speak of the devil. At that exact moment, the office door was pushed open from the outside, and Xavier Vance walked in.

He caught the second half of Arthur's sentence as he entered. He paused, a flash of awkwardness crossing his face at being exposed. He quickly schooled his features and said coldly, "Who was worried about her? Arthur, stop spouting nonsense."

Arthur turned and laughed even louder, standing up from the sofa to meet him. "Still stubborn, aren't you? That mouth of yours is harder than a shovel. You were frantic on the phone the other day, and now you won't admit it in front of the kids."

Zelda smiled helplessly, standing up from behind her desk to smooth things over and change the subject. "Alright, alright. Since you're all here, don't leave tonight. Stay for dinner. And you too, Julian. It's your first time here, so you'll stay as well."

Arthur muttered a token "Oh, you shouldn't have," even as he planted himself firmly back onto the sofa, showing absolutely no intention of leaving.

Watching the exchange, Nora couldn't help but smile.

Julian stood there, wanting to ask a question that had been left unresolved during the earlier discussion. Just as he was about to speak, Arthur noticed his hesitation.

Arthur set his teacup down on the coffee table and tipped his chin toward Nora. "Jude, go ask Nora."

Julian looked up at Nora. A distinct flash of panic appeared in the young man's clear, deep eyes, and the moment their gazes met, he quickly looked away.

Nora smiled, assuming the boy was just a little shy since he was new to this environment. He would get used to it after spending more time with Professor Caldwell.

She approached him proactively, her voice gentle. "What's wrong? Did you have a question?"

Julian felt his heartbeat skip a rhythm. He pointed to a section on the report that Arthur had glossed over quickly, his words coming out in an involuntary stutter. "Nora... I didn't quite understand this part earlier. Could I trouble you to explain it again?"

Nora looked down and immediately understood. Her steady, unhurried voice filled the space as she walked him through it.

It wasn't until Nora called his name that he suddenly snapped out of it, hastily replying, "Yes, thank you, Professor."

Only after the words left his mouth did he realize he had thanked the wrong person, blushing fiercely down to his neck out of sheer embarrassment.

The group ended up grabbing dinner together at a restaurant near the institute.

At the table, Xavier and Arthur started arguing over an old statistical problem again. They argued until they were red in the face, neither able to convince the other, while Zelda calmly mediated between them, not missing a bite of her food.

Nora was thoroughly amused by the familiar scene. It brought a deep sense of comfort to her heart.

Julian sat quietly in the corner, eating his food. He would occasionally steal a glance at Nora, only to quickly drop his head back down, terrified of being caught.