Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 375

By the time the black Maybach pulled into Cloudwater Estate, night had fully fallen.

Hearing the commotion outside, Olive O'Neil was the first to rush out and greet them.

But the moment she spotted the glaring red handprint on Nora's face, she completely lost it.

"Nora, what happened to your face?! Who hit you?!"

Olive planted her hands on her hips, practically breathing fire. "Tell me who it was! I'll go rip their damn head off right now!"

Nora didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She quickly waved her hands. "It's fine, really. It doesn't hurt anymore."

"Like hell it's fine! You don't hit a woman in the face! Which bastard did this? Give me a name, and I'll go bash their skull in tonight!"

Nora pressed her lips together, hesitating for a second. "My mom did it."

"..."

Olive blinked, entirely derailed. She stood there for a long moment before finally muttering, "Fuck."

"That... yeah, that's a tough one to fix..."

Seeing Olive look so utterly deflated made Nora smile. "Don't worry. Hudson already slapped her back for me."

Olive's head snapped toward Hudson, her eyes wide with reverence.

He slapped his own mother-in-law?!

"Boss, you're a legend!"

Hudson gave her a deadpan, expressionless look.

Olive immediately mimed zipping her lips shut and locking them.

Nora's smile widened, but as she glanced toward the living room, she was surprised to see Liam Harrison walking out.

"Dr. Harrison?" she asked, blinking. "What are you doing here?"

Liam pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Mr. Lancaster mentioned you were injured, so he asked me to take a look."

"..."

Nora turned and shot Hudson a glare.

She had only been slapped! She wasn't horribly injured.

He was making a mountain out of a molehill, and now she felt ridiculous.

The last time Liam had visited Cloudwater Estate, she had sensed something off.

He was far too familiar with the layout.

More importantly, he was entirely too comfortable with Arthur and the rest of the security detail.

It didn't look like a standard doctor-patient relationship.

It looked like... they had been working in the trenches together for years.

"Alright, it's getting late. You boys are dismissed," Hudson announced.

"Yes, Boss."

Arthur and the guards turned to leave.

Olive grabbed Liam's arm. "Hey Liam, don't leave yet! Stay and play some cards with us. A new game just made its way over from Northampton called Euchre. You spent over six months up there, so you must know how to play, right?"

"I have clinic duty tomorrow. I can only stay for a few hands."

"Liam, you're a lifesaver!"

Watching Liam and Olive joke around so easily, Nora's frown deepened...