Chapter 17

A hint of smugness crossed Noah's expression as he spoke. Joshua clenched his fist again and again, but in the end, he couldn't hold back from swinging a hard punch straight at Noah's face. "Jerk!" Caught completely off guard, Noah took the hit squarely in the face. Intense agony exploded from the corner of his lips as he gasped in pain. When he raised a hand and wiped the stinging corner of his lips, fresh blood smeared against his fingers. But instead of getting mad, a wild grin spread across his face. When he looked at Joshua, his eyes brimmed with scorn. "I'm her first crush, and now she's just throwing a tantrum. Did you really think you'd have a chance?" Joshua snorted at that. "No wonder she left you." The five simple words wiped the smugness clean off Noah's face. His expression froze, and his eyes darkened. Joshua relentlessly pressed on. "You know… Emily has been in Ashenport for two years, and she'd never mentioned you. That alone tells me you're nothing to her anym