No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric) novel Chapter 1170

Ivy's face showed a hint of embarrassment as she said carefully, "Ms. Liddell, did I upset you somehow? If you don't like this approach, I can handle things differently."

Morgan quickly interjected, "Noelle, how can you act this way? Getting recognized is such a wonderful thing—it's an honor."

Noelle looked at Morgan and replied, "Mr. Farrell, I've always preferred doing good deeds without recognition. I don't like receiving certificates or making a big show of things."

With that, she handed the certificate back to Morgan and turned to leave the office.

Ivy watched Noelle's retreating figure with a smirk, thinking, "Is that all it takes to make her mad?"

Later, she stepped out of the office. She looked at Owen and ordered, "Get the media ready."

Then, she leaned against the railing as she watched Noelle walk away. "Little girl, we've got plenty of time. And lucky for you, I've got nothing but time to play with you these days."

Owen hesitated. "Mrs. Cantrell, won't this draw their attention?"

Ivy's eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "Let them notice. No matter how hard they dig, they won't trace this back to PZ Group's real plan. By the time they figure it out, it'll already be too late."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the crisp outdoor air. She smirked triumphantly and added, "Can you smell that? It's the scent of victory."

After all those years of waiting in silence, she was finally ready to pull the trigger. Once that happened, everything would come to an end.

...

Noelle returned to her dorm and sat down in her chair. Grace asked, "Noelle, what's wrong? You don't look well. Did Mr. Farrell say something to you?"

Mia poked her head out, asking, "Yeah, did he give you a hard time?"

Noelle looked at Mia and said, "I saw Ivy at the office just now."

"What? Why would she be there?" Mia was shocked.

Grace muttered, "Is Ivy just playing innocent? Like a wolf in sheep's clothing?"

Mia frowned. "I don't know. Honestly, I barely know her. She's been abroad for years."

Grace didn't miss a beat. "But she did come from one of those socialite training classes, right? Those girls don't come out soft. If she graduated from that, she's no naïve wallflower—she's trained and calculated."

Noelle narrowed her eyes. "If that's the case, maybe we've been underestimating her this whole time."

After all, women who could survive and graduate from elite socialite academies were never average.

Mia's expression turned heavy, and she gave a wry smile. "Yeah... women who survive the upper circles are rarely simple. Maybe Aunt Salena was right all along. After all, she watched Ivy turn into my stepmother firsthand."

Noelle nodded. "As much as Mrs. Cantrell is a nightmare of a person, when it comes to judging women, she does have some sharp instincts. But Ivy and I don't even have a feud, so what's her motive for doing this?

What was Ivy trying to accomplish with all this?