Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 942

The trophy was polished to a shine, clearly well taken care of.

Yet she vividly remembered throwing that very trophy into the trash.

Picking it up, she realized the dent on its side was identical to the one from her memories.

So, this was the exact same trophy she had discarded.

A desk still sat against the living room wall, plastered with an assortment of sticky notes.

But they weren't her old notes—they were covered in Seth's handwriting.

The contents were similar to the notebook he had left behind before; ninety-nine percent of them were details about her.

The apartment was full of lived-in signs.

A half-empty glass of water on the dining table, a fully stocked spice rack in the kitchen, a variety of pots and pans in the open cabinets...

And a fridge packed with fresh groceries, including the exact type of oranges she had just eaten that morning.

Taking it all in, Noreen's usually calm expression complicated. She stared at Seth with an intense, searching gaze. "Why?"

Even if Aurelion Group had gone bankrupt, he was still the sole heir to the Harcourt Group.

He could easily afford a luxury mansion, a five-star hotel suite, or a penthouse in a high-end complex.

At the very least, he had the Harcourt family estate to return to. He wasn't homeless.

So why was he living in this tiny, rundown rental?

He used to detest this place so much. In those seven years, the number of times he visited could be counted on one hand.

Why stay here now?

Seth chugged an entire bottle of water, finally sobering up a fraction.

But his head still throbbed mercilessly.

He took a moment to compose himself before answering her question. "I just wanted to experience what you felt."

The apartment was claustrophobic, smaller than a single bathroom in his family home.

The tenants were a shady mix, offering zero sense of security.

The man's explosive temper and the woman's sobbing drifted over in endless waves.

Having been away from this environment for so long, even Noreen found it jarring.

But Seth seemed completely unfazed, accustomed to the noise.

She asked again, "How long have you lived here?"

"Five months and eight days," he answered truthfully.

Sensing her disbelief, he clarified, "I moved in the day I got out of prison. Factoring in the trip to Harborview City and my stay at the hospital... all in all, it's been exactly five months and eight days."

Even just five months and eight days felt like an agonizing eternity to him.

And she had lived here for seven whole years without a single complaint.

Back then, he purposefully acted like he hated the place and refused to visit, hoping she would finally snap and ask him for a better apartment.

The property transfer contract for a new place had sat in his safe the entire time, but he never got the chance to give it to her.