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''te with the same aggressiveness asst time, but it was still difficult to conclude


    whether he had good or ill intentions.


    Noah turned around and held Ste''s shoulders, whispering for her to go home first while he handled


    things here.


    Ste was a bit worried, but seeing his insistence, she reluctantly walked away. Once Ste 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 ttering of pots and pans


    made quite a noise. Jericho couldn''t help but wonder if he really needed to make such amotion, or


    if he was using it to drive him away.


    After a while, a delicate arrangement was ced in front of him.


    It consisted of a beautiful red velvet cake, a cup of fragrant hottte, and a small purple iris flower as


    decoration on the tray.


    Jericho pinched the flower between his fingers and chuckled. "You couldn''t havee 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 Ste 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 ying 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 te with a ng.


    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 nced at the person in front of him, his mouth curled up as he asked in a low voice, "What are you


    nning to do with the leftovers today? You''re not actually nning to eat them all, are you?"


    Noah nced at him and said, "None of your business."


    "I''m just reminding you." Jericho stood up, ced 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, Noahughed 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.


    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 Ste.


    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 Ste were in the open, while they were in the shadows. If they couldn''t reach him, they would


    Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org.


    definitely target Ste.


    Noah pursed his lips, his angr face with a sullen expression.


    "Darling!" Just then, Ste''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.


    Ste passed by him, feeling that this person was mysterious. She had wanted to take another look


    when Noah walked over.


    "Off duty?"


    "Yeah!" Ste 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.


    Severalrge cans of coffee beans were neatly arranged in the back cab, 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 shed across her eyes.


    "Honey, what''s wrong?"


    "Nothing..." Ste 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 Ste angrily say.


    "There must be someone sabotaging us behind the scenes. A few days ago, everything was fine. How


    did the business suddenly be so bad?"


    "What?" Noah was taken aback.


    Ste took out her phone and opened severalmonly 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!"


    Ste 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." Ste 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?"