Jude was speechless.
How was he supposed to get rid of a grown man?
While he was stressing over it, Dylan's phone rang.
Dylan's expression turned somber at the caller ID, and he walked to a corner to take the call.
The call was from Raymond Chelsea. His tone was harsh, clearly calling to confront him about Crystal.
After a brief exchange, Dylan returned with a cold expression.
He found Jude and handed him the birthday gift meant for Noreen. "I have something to take care of and need to leave early. Can you give this to Noreen for me and wish her a happy birthday?"
Jude took it quickly, nodding just as fast. "Yeah, yeah, go take care of your business! I'll make sure she gets it."
Dylan then left in a hurry.
As soon as he was gone, Jude eagerly texted Seth. "Dylan just left. He even asked me to give Noreen her gift for him, so it must be an emergency."
Seth replied, "Throw the gift away."
Jude stared at the screen, bewildered.
*Be reasonable, man!*
Jealousy really made people lose their minds.
Seth was indeed jealous.
He envied everyone who could openly attend Noreen's birthday party, including his own father, Wade Harcourt.
But Noreen hadn't allowed him to go.
He knew it was because of Rosalind.
He had won over Claire, but her actual mother was still standing in his way.
And that mountain was the hardest one to climb.
However long the birthday party lasted, Seth waited in his car outside the hotel for just as long.
He was long used to this kind of waiting, so it didn't feel unbearable.
He used to wait outside her old apartment building.
Later, he waited outside her new condo.
It wasn't exactly that he was waiting for her to come out.
It was just a habit to sit there.
It was the closest he could get to her without disturbing her.
Seth had never used this account to contact her before. When her message came through, he completely forgot which account he was on and replied instinctively.
*I'm not cold. Enjoy your birthday and stop worrying about me.*
The moment the message was sent, he realized his cover was blown.
Noreen's second message arrived immediately.
She wrote:
*Wait for me.*
Seth asked, *What's wrong?*
But she didn't reply.
If the messages hadn't been right there on the screen, he would have thought he was hallucinating.
After sending that text, Noreen put away her phone and carefully packed the very first slice of cake she had cut.
She then winked at Claire and said, "I'm stepping out for a bit."
Claire didn't need to be a genius to know who she was going to see.
She flashed an "OK" sign.

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