Chapter 119 Shady Establishment
Chapter 119 Shady Establishment
Chapter 119 Shady Establishment
Jericho chuckled, looking innocent.
"Isn't this a coffee shop? What else can I do here?"
Noah carefully observed him, not missing even the slightest expression on his face.
Jericho didn't come with the same aggressiveness as last time, but it was still difficult to conclude
whether he had good or ill intentions.
Noah turned around and held Stella's shoulders, whispering for her to go home first while he handled
things here.
Stella was a bit worried, but seeing his insistence, she reluctantly walked away. Once Stella was far
enough, Noah looked at Jericho with a smile that was not quite a smile.
"Afternoon tea set? I'll prepare it for you!"
"Are you capable?"
"Why not? I'm the owner here."
Noah returned to the bar counter. Although his movements were skillful, the clattering of pots and pans
made quite a noise. Jericho couldn't help but wonder if he really needed to make such a commotion, or
if he was using it to drive him away.
After a while, a delicate arrangement was placed in front of him.
It consisted of a beautiful red velvet cake, a cup of fragrant hot latte, and a small purple iris flower as
decoration on the tray.
Jericho pinched the flower between his fingers and chuckled. "You couldn't have come up with such
delicate arrangements yourself."
"That's right." Noah wiped his hands and said calmly, "My wife is the one in charge here. I learned from
her."
Jericho took a bite of the cake and frowned slightly.
"Is this cake today's leftover?"
"Of course not," Noah scoffed, "it's from the day before yesterday."
Jericho looked at him and forced a smile. "It's okay. I'll taste the cake made by the proprietress."
"Oh, you misunderstood." Noah continued expressionlessly, "This is not made by my wife."
"You..."
"Two days ago, a customer wanted a red velvet cake, but Stella hadn't learned how to make it yet, so I
bought two pieces from the bakery next door."
Noah's gaze was cold, and a faint smirk was playing at his lips. "I didn't expect this cake to still be good
after two days."
Jericho held the fork with a dark expression, not sure if he should go on to have another bite.
"You won't have a chance to try anything cooked by my wife. But you can try the preservatives."
"Hmph!" Jericho straightened up and looked at him with mixed emotions in his eyes.
"You can't bear to let me taste the dessert made by your wife?"
"It's not that I can't bear it," Noah enunciated. "You're just unworthy."
Jericho's face darkened, and he threw the cutlery onto the plate with a clang.
He was not worthy. Very well!
This guy probably didn't know that he could take his life right there and then.
Jericho took a deep breath, suddenly finding it both funny and annoying.
He glanced at the person in front of him, his mouth curled up as he asked in a low voice, "What are you
planning to do with the leftovers today? You're not actually planning to eat them all, are you?"
Noah glanced at him and said, "None of your business."
"I'm just reminding you." Jericho stood up, placed a hand on his shoulder, and pressed down heavily.
"Eating sweets does indeed bring joy, but eating too many of them is bad for your teeth."
"And how can a fierce beast conquer the world without its sharp fangs?"
Noah suddenly lifted his eyes, and the meaningful look in Jericho's eyes made him wonder.
"Heh, conquer the world?" After a moment of silence, Noah laughed coldly. "I don't need to conquer the
world. Just spending my life with my wife is enough."
"Is that so?"
"Mr. Hart, cold coffee is not enjoyable. Let me make you another cup for free."
Jericho smiled meaningfully and said no more.
During those days, Noah had been sending people to search for Liam's whereabouts.
But strangely enough, it seemed as if Liam had disappeared into thin air. Andrew arrived in Eldoria and
secretly brought him the news. "Master Noah, we've almost searched the entire Emberfall, but we
haven't found Liam."
Noah's expression turned icy. Têxt belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.
How could a person suddenly disappear like that?
With no sight of him alive or dead, Noah had already considered the worst-case scenario.
"Continue searching in Emberfall!" He gritted his teeth. "Christopher may have found him before me. If
that's the case, they will make a secretive move to deal with me."
"Master Noah..." Andrew anxiously widened his eyes.
"You don't need to worry about me," Noah coldly said. "Send some trustworthy men to protect Stella.
Make sure she stays safe."
"Yes, sir!"
A shiver ran down his spine.
Whether it was Christopher, Zander, or the other restless forces within the Martinez family, he had
never been afraid of confronting them head-on.
But this time, he was afraid.
He and Stella were in the open, while they were in the shadows. If they couldn't reach him, they would
definitely target Stella.
Noah pursed his lips, his angular face with a sullen expression.
"Darling!" Just then, Stella's sweet voice rang outside the coffee shop.
After exchanging a look with Noah, Andrew lowered the brim of his hat and quickly ran out.
Stella passed by him, feeling that this person was mysterious. She had wanted to take another look
when Noah walked over.
"Off duty?"
"Yeah!" Stella withdrew her gaze, holding onto his arm, and walked into the shop.
There were no customers, which was strange. This was the prime leisure time after people got off
work. Their business was supposed to be booming.
Several large cans of coffee beans were neatly arranged in the back cabinet, almost untouched. None
of the cakes and desserts in the showcase had been sold.
The smile froze on her face, and a hint of disappointment flashed across her eyes.
"Honey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing..." Stella forced a smile. "Business has been bad these past few days, hasn't it?"
Her question stumped Noah.
In fact, he hadn't cared whether the business was good or not from the beginning. The purpose of
opening this shop was to make her happy.
However, if the business wasn't good, she couldn't be happy.
He furrowed his brow, regretting overlooking it.
It seemed that he needed Oliver and Caleb to bring more people over.
While he was pondering this in his mind, he heard Stella angrily say.
"There must be someone sabotaging us behind the scenes. A few days ago, everything was fine. How
did the business suddenly become so bad?"
"What?" Noah was taken aback.
Stella took out her phone and opened several commonly used review apps.
There were many reviews for Purple Iris, but none of them were positive.
"I heard that the owner of this shop has a criminal record. He was once in prison."
"That's right. Everyone must stay away from this shop. What kind of good coffee can a former inmate
owner make?"
"One star is too generous. It's a shady establishment!"
Stella flipped through page after page, her hand trembling slightly.
"Darling, look..." She felt wronged. "I only found out today that there are so many people online calling
us a shady establishment."
"How is that possible? We haven't offended anyone since we opened." Stella looked at him, with words
stuck in her throat.
"Darling..." She licked her lips, saying, "Could it be one of your opponents? Such as Jericho?"