Following Naya's suggestion, Noah slowly made his way toward the sitting room. He sank into the soft cushions of the sofa, letting out a long, shaky breath.
The quiet of the apartment was a relief, but his mind refused to stay still. He suddenly realized that he had left his phone in his bedroom, likely abandoned on the bed when he had first arrived.
He forced himself to stand up again, his legs protesting the movement with a dull ache, and walked back into his room. He retrieved the device and returned to the sitting room, desperate for any kind of distraction.
He sat back down and opened Instagram.
He began scrolling through reels, hoping that some mindless comedy or colorful travel videos would lift his spirits. But as the videos played one after another, he felt a growing sense of emptiness.
Seeing happy couples, people enjoying lavish vacations, and friends laughing together only made him feel more isolated.
No matter how many videos he watched, the knot of frustration in his chest didn't loosen. It actually tightened. With a groan of annoyance, he closed the app and threw his phone onto the sofa beside him.
Naya, who had just finished tidying up the kitchen and drying the last of the plates, caught the tail end of his outburst. She walked over to him, her expression soft but concerned. She took a seat on the edge beside Noah on the couch, facing him directly.
"Can you tell me what is making you this angry and frustrated?" she asked gently. "Are you still thinking about your parents? Because I'm telling you now, Noah, they are not worth this. They are not worth you getting all worked up and losing your peace."
Noah hadn't realized Naya was watching him so closely. He straightened his posture, a deep frown settling between his brows as he looked at her. He let out a bitter laugh. "Of course I know that. I've already decided to cut them off. This isn't actually about them, though."
Naya leaned in, her eyes searching his. "Then what is it? What has you all cramped up like this?"
Noah leaned back, staring at the ceiling as if the answer were written there. "Nick. That bastard took my tuition fee. The deadline for the university payment is the day after tomorrow. I checked my savings earlier, and I don't even have half of what I need. How on earth am I going to pay for it? It's too late for me to pick up extra shifts, and I don't know any job that can earn me that much money in just forty-eight hours. I've been sitting here trying to figure out how to get the money back from Nick, but there's no way. It looks like I'm going to have to defer this semester. My education is the only thing I have, and he's ruined that too."
Naya listened to his explanation, and instead of looking worried, she actually sighed in relief. Before Noah could react, she reached out and gave his forehead a sharp knock.
"Ouch! What was that for?" Noah yelped, rubbing the spot.
Naya fixed him with a stern look. "Are you perhaps thinking of me as a mere decoration? If you need to pay your tuition fee, I can borrow the money to you right now. You can just pay me back later when you're back on your feet."
Naya would have much preferred to just give him the money. She had the means, and she hated seeing him struggle. However, she knew Noah's pride all too well. He would have rejected a handout immediately, feeling like a charity case. Offering it as a loan was the only way she could get him to even consider it.
Even with the offer of a loan, Noah's expression didn't clear. He scrunched his brows and looked away. "But Naya, you've already done so much for me. You've given me a place to stay, you bought me food, you're taking care of my injuries. I can't keep making use of your kindness like this. It's making me feel incredibly guilty."
Naya didn't have the patience for his guilt. She rolled her eyes and, in one swift motion, dragged Noah's head toward her. She hooked her arm around his neck, putting him in a playful but firm headlock.
"Are you going to take the money from me, or do I have to suffocate you before you finally agree?" she asked, her tone overbearing but full of affection.
Noah became speechless. He started tapping her arm frantically because she was actually squeezing a bit too hard, and he found it difficult to breathe. He could have easily used his strength to break free, but he was afraid of accidentally hurting her. Naya knew he was a softie at heart, so she didn't let go.
"I am not letting you go until you agree to let me borrow you the money!" she declared.
"Fine! Fine!" Noah managed to wheeze out. "I'll take it! Now let go!"
Naya finally released him, a triumphant smile on her face. She smoothed back her hair and patted his shoulder. "You should have just agreed at the start. Then you wouldn't have had to suffer like this."
Noah straightened his clothes and rolled his eyes at her. "Who gives people money in this way, Naya? Honestly. But thank you. Seriously. I will try to pay you back as fast as I can."
Naya nodded, then added with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "Of course you will. And if you don't pay me back quickly, I might just start adding interest to it."
Noah knew she was joking, and he rolled his eyes again, but his heart was heavy with emotion.
Thinking about everything she had done for him, from the high school days to this very moment, made his eyes water. He felt like he must have saved the entire universe in a past life to deserve a friend like her.
In a world where people betrayed their own flesh and blood for a few dollars, his friend stayed behind him and gave him unwavering support. He felt truly lucky.
Naya noticed the shift in his mood. She saw the way he was looking at her, his eyes glistening with unshed tears, and she knew he was about to start a long speech of gratitude. She hated when things got too sentimental, so she quickly changed the topic.
"You really won't tell me what happened to you?" she asked, her voice turning serious.
"Just from the argument with your parents, I know you escaped from those guys who wanted to harm you. But when I was bandaging your arm earlier, I only rolled up your sleeve a little, and I saw marks. They were dark and purplish. Noah, what happened to you?"
The moment she finished the question, Noah's mind was flooded with images of Adam Reynolds.
He remembered the heat of the room, the scent of the Alpha's pheromones, and the sheer, relentless power of the man who had claimed him all night.
He remembered the cold way Adam had spoken to him in the morning and the way he had been forced to sign that document.
Noah gritted his teeth so hard that Naya could actually hear the grinding sound.
Naya's face darkened. "Is it that bad? Don't tell me those guys caught up with you. Are they the ones who did that to you? God, I am going to find those people. They are definitely going to regret ever going after a friend of mine."
Noah, touched by her fierce declaration of revenge, managed a small, sad smile. He finally broke his silence. "Those people didn't get me. I successfully escaped from Boss Ryan and his thugs."
Naya didn't look convinced. "Don't lie to me, Noah. I can really get redress for you, so don't try to protect them. If you escaped like you said, where did all those marks on your body come from? Don't tell me they were done by a ghost. You were even limping this morning when I found you."
Noah felt a wave of deep embarrassment wash over him as he remembered the physical toll of the previous night.
He didn't want Naya to spend her energy looking for thugs who hadn't actually touched him, but he also didn't want to tell the truth. He tried to simplify the story.
"After I escaped the hotel room," Noah said, his voice quiet, "I ran into another room. I met a handsome guy who was experiencing his rut. I was already drugged by Nick, so I just said fuck it and decided to sleep with him. I didn't think it through. Who knew the man would be so strong as to torture me all night?"
Naya was stunned into silence by his confession. She stared at him for a long moment, her mouth slightly open. "Are you lying to me? Noah, you are not the type of person to just choose a wild night with a complete stranger."
Noah looked her in the eye, trying to appear sincere. "I swear I'm not lying. That's exactly what happened. I was drugged and desperate, I saw a handsome man who happened to be in the same situation as me, and we had a wild night. That's all there is to it."
Naya wanted to believe him, but she couldn't shake the memory of how broken and sad he had looked that morning. That didn't look like the face of someone who had willingly engaged in a passionate encounter.
"Then tell me," Naya challenged him. "What is the man's name? I don't believe you stayed there all night and didn't learn his name. You would definitely have asked. Tell me his name, and I will look for information about him myself to make sure he isn't some dangerous person."
Noah froze. He couldn't tell her. The image of the Non-Disclosure Agreement flashed in his mind, along with that one-million-dollar penalty. He became speechless, shifting his weight and trying to avoid Naya's piercing gaze.
Naya caught on instantly. To her, his silence and the way he was evading her eyes were clear signs that his entire "wild night" story was a lie to cover up for someone who had hurt him.
"Were you lying to me?" Naya asked, her voice rising with concern. "Noah, you can't do this to yourself. I need to know exactly what happened so I can help you. I hate the fact that whoever harmed you is just going to get away with it. You can't lie to me about this."
Noah realized that if he didn't give her something, she would never drop it. He let out a long, defeated sigh.
He looked down at his bandaged hands, speaking in a small, hushed voice, like a child who had been caught doing something wrong.
"I'm not lying about the man," he whispered. "It's just that... I signed an NDA. I can't tell you anything about him or his name."
Naya's eyes nearly popped out of her head. The silence in the room was deafening for three seconds before she finally exploded.
"WHAT?!"