Scarlett's eyes moved lazily as the first ray of the sun hit her face through the curtains. A sigh of contentment left her lips, and a smile made its way through her. She stared at the white curtain that blew softly against the morning breeze. As she tried moving, she realized that her head was tightly pressed onto something solid, and a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulled her closer.

She could hear the perfect rhythm of heartbeats as she lay silently on Noel's chest. He was still asleep as his arms pulled Scarlett closer. Her heart raced at the sight of his sleeping face, which she was able to hear in the silent morning. A gulp formed in her throat. They were peacefully lying on the couch, wrapped in each other's arms, for the whole night.

The flashes from last night crossed Scarlett's mind. The way they kissed so roughly yet so tenderly, the way Noel's hands explored her body, the way he pulled her closer every time he would let go of her lips, the way it was just never enough and kept kissing.

Heat rose to Scarlett's cheeks, and her insides fluttered in excitement, remembering the night. Their makeout session was hot—extremely hot. Never in her whole life had Scarlett felt that way. It was something new, something different, and something strong enough to make her addicted.

The way Noel's tongue penetrated through her mouth, kissing the deep ends of her would send her into ecstasy. The way his hands dominantly roamed around her body, the way his rough palms squeezed her waist, and the way he would trail soft yet needy kisses to her chest. It was all...addictive.

"You want me to repeat those things once again?" Scarlett was taken aback to find him already up. Her mouth parted in shock as he straightened his front before pulling her closer. His amber-honey eyes shimmered so beautifully under the sunrays that it almost took Scarlett's breath away.

He looked...sublime.

His eyes are probably the most beautiful features of his face, but Scarlett also couldn't ignore the way his lips converted into a gorgeous smile as soon as he opened his eyes to see her.

The man smiles too.

She thought before her front was tightly pressed against him.

Her cheeks went red as he reminded her of what he was saying. "Tell me, do you want me to continue where we left last night?" A smug-ish smirk appeared on his lips as he looked confident in his words.

"How do you know what I was thinking?" Scarlett raised her eyebrow as she trailed her index finger gently on his biceps, feeling his muscles relax under her tender touch. "It's because..." he chuckled before bringing his face closer, "The way your cheeks go hot red when it's something I'm involved with says enough about what you were just thinking about a while ago, sweetheart"

Scarlett blushed, stroking her finger gently across his shoulder as he brings his face close to her, hinting at what he might want to do. Scarlett smiled, closing her eyes, and so did he, turning her around and completely hovering over her. Just as they were about to kiss, they were abruptly interrupted by the loud ringing of the doorbell. Scarlett let out a gasp while Noel glared at the door, clearly irritated.

"Scarlett!!! I'm home." Scarlett's body jerked as she heard Nancy's loud voice while she banged on the door. A gasp left her mouth as she completely forgot about Nancy's arrival. She remembered Nancy texting her last night that she was staying at her friend's house because of the bad weather, but she didn't have any idea that Nancy would be back so early in the morning.

But it was reasonable because she has classes at 10:AM and it's 8:30 right now, reading on the clock.

"Oh my god! Nancy's home." Scarlett's eyes widened in fear as she looked at Noel and his messed-up clothes. She quickly pushed him away as he sat on the couch, unbothered.

"Nancy's back. She would be so shocked if she witnessed us like that." Scarlett murmured to him while adjusting her clothes as he looked at her with a frown, completely pissed at the interruption they just had in their moment.

"So?" he asked. Scarlett gave him a look before glaring at him, "Fix yourself, or else go hide in my room and wait for me there. I can't let my baby sister witness us like that. What will I say to her? Jesus Christ!" She sighed, shaking her head, as she went to open the door.

Noel let out another frown before getting up and adjusting his shirt and pants before he made the couch neat as Scarlett opened the door. "Scarlett, where have you been? I have been calling you for so long. You know—Oh, who's he?" Nancy was surprised to find a man sitting unbothered in their apartment.

She looked at Scarlett, and a flash of anxiety flew through Scarlett's eyes before she looked at the man. "Um, hi, I'm Noel... Noel Walker. You must be Nancy, right? Scarlett's younger sister." He smiled as he introduced himself while walking towards them.

"Noel Walker—Oh, the man who picked up the phone that night? Was it you?" Nancy asked as a flash of excitement flashed through her face while Noel hummed, nodding in approval of her. "Yeah, it was me who answered the call that night," he responded, glancing at Scarlett.

"Oh, thank you so much for taking care of my sister that night. I owe you a lot. It's so good that you're here to meet her." Nancy smiled while Noel and Scarlett glanced at each other before Scarlett looked away in embarrassment. "Yeah well-" He scratched the nape of his neck, not finding anything else to say.

"Would you like to have breakfast with us? Scar, have you asked him about it?" Nancy asked as she turned around to face Scarlett, who looked at her in bafflement. "Uh, well-"

"I'm planning on making spaghetti for breakfast." Nancy smiled as she excitedly looked back at Noel. Not knowing what to say, he just nodded his head with a "sure."

"I'm so glad. Imma, just make my backpack and get ready for my classes first." She said this before leaving them. Scarlett sighed, glancing at Noel once more before leaving for her room.

"Oh, sissy, did i forget to mention that your hickey looks painfully dark?" Scarlett gasped as Nancy appeared at the door with a teasing smirk. "You little shit, come here!" Scarlett approached to get her, but Nancy giggled before running away.

"Make sure to apply some quality foundation to it. Damn! You had fun, huh?" She teased, giggling, before running away. Scarlett shook her head as heat crept to her cheeks. She quickly went to see herself in the mirror. A gasp came out of her mouth as she witnessed a deep and dark hickey on her neck. It was so dark and intense that Nancy was right in saying that it looked painful.

An unexpected hiss escaped her lips as she touched the area where the hickey was. Her eyes widened. How come even Noel didn't see it? She thought. Or maybe, he did already. She thought as she remembered him gently stroking her neck in the morning with a proud smirk.

She pulled her hand back, shaking in disbelief. Noel and Nancy were well aware of it, and they still kept it as it was. Her eyes squeezed as heat rose up to her cheeks. Pulling out her robe furiously, she ran towards the bathroom before shutting the door loudly in embarrassment.

"So, Mr. Walker, how do you know my sissy? Are you her friend?" Nancy asked in full interest as she served him some spaghetti. Scarlett let out a sigh, looking down at her plate as the fork in her fingers kept moving. "Not again, Nancy," she muttered to herself, sighing.

"Um," Noel glanced at Scarlett, who gave him a playful smile, patiently waiting for his answer. "Uh, well, yes, it's true. We are, um, friends," he replied before focusing on his spaghetti.

"Wait-" Nancy gasped before banging her palms on the table as if something just caught her off guard. Both Noel and Scarlett got scared before looking at her. "You are Ms. Annabella's brother, right? Ms. Annabella Miller. The wife of Ivan Miller. I remember seeing you with her once. She said, You're her brother." Nancy looked at him with widened eyes, unable to believe what just clicked in her mind.

Noel let out a light chuckle before looking at her as he nodded. "Yeah, Annabella is my sister." he smiled. Nancy shook her head, "Wow, how come I didn't recognize you earlier that you were her brother? My brain is pretty slow," she said in disbelief, making him chuckle.

"After Mama's death, Mr. Miller treated me and Scarlett like family. He and Anna never let us feel like we were losing hope. They never let us feel Mama's absence." Nancy smiled. Scarlett's eyes went moist as she remembered her older days.

After the death of Eleanor, their mother, Scarlett, and Nancy lived with Ivan and Anna. Ivan had taken care of her and Nancy like a big brother, always providing them with everything. Living there, Scarlett got so close to Anna (Ivan's wife and Noel's sister) and Eve (Ivan's younger sister). She lived there for a few years before forming her own company.

Once Scarlett finished her graduation, she worked in a design boutique before founding her own company. Ivan had always helped her in every step of her career, like a big guardian. Once Scarlett got on track, she moved out and bought a place in the city. Now, time has passed, but her bond with the Millers is still the same as it was.

She would always visit them and spend time with their little son, Ryan Miller. Anna had always been like a big sister to her, guiding her like the angel she was.

"Mama was close to Mr. Miller." Nancy's smiles dulled, and so did Scarlett's. Witnessing the change in their emotions, Noel decided to talk about something else that might light up their faces. "Oh well, how about we visit them? I'm sure Anna will be happy to see you both, and so will Ryan." Noel suggested.

Nancy's face lit up upon hearing him. Scarlett looked up at him in dismay, unsure if he was serious. "Oh really?" Nancy asked excitedly as Noel nodded with a smile. "Wow, I'm so excited to see Ryan and Ms. Miller. Wait, I will buy his favourite toy car on my way back from college. And we can visit them on the weekend." Nancy suggested.

"Hmm, sounds good. I'll be free from work as well by then, and so will your sister, right, Ms. Adair?" Noel turned his head in Scarlett's direction and listened to them with utter interest. She found herself quickly nodding as Noel's eyes shifted toward her.

"Yeah, I'll be free as well. Then we can go and see them." Scarlett replied with utter interest before all of them finished their breakfasts.

*****