It was Noelle's first time seeing Hendrix like that. In fact, his current expression was far more interesting than his typical calm and composed demeanor.Noelle also finally realized at that moment that his emotions were triggered due to her. That was really interesting. But it made sense. Any man who heard what she said earlier would be enraged. In contrast, she was feeling extremely at ease. She met his gaze for a moment before asking, "Didn't I make it clear earlier? I said…"Before she could finish speaking, Hendrix suddenly raised his hand. Noelle was very familiar with that movement. After all, she had experienced slaps often since she was a child. She even shut her eyes subconsciously, waiting for his slap. Yet the expected sting did not happen for a long time. She slowly blinked open her eyes. Hendrix's hand still hung in midair. His brows were still furrowed, and she noticed that the vein on his temple was throbbing. Noelle ended up laughing after looking at him.
Hendrix never liked using such tactics, especially for someone like Noelle. She wasn't even worth it. But he suddenly found it amusing after seeing her reaction. How long had she even known Clark? If the information Hendrix received was accurate, Noelle must have met Clark for the first time at the previous ball. Were they that close already? What did Noelle just say—Clark was more thoughtful and caring than Hendrix? That notion sounded ridiculous.Hendrix never expected that he would be compared in such a manner.Clark? Truthfully, Hendrix found it annoying to even give Clark a second glance. Yet, Noelle mentioned he wasn't even on the same level as Clark. She currently seemed like an anxious prey that was ready to bite Hendrix, and the person she defended was Clark. The more Hendrix thought about it, the more he found it hilarious.At that moment, Noelle's phone suddenly rang. She and Hendrix turned their heads at the same time. Both their expressions changed at the same t
"Sorry, Mr. Townsend. Noelle isn't free to answer your call now." Hendrix moved away from Noelle's skirt. At that moment, Hendrix was using one hand to undo his belt. He held the phone with his other hand while talking to Clark. "But don't worry. She's doing quite well now."While speaking, Hendrix's gaze was fixed on Noelle the whole time. After letting out the scream earlier, she seemed to have completely given up on struggling. She merely stared at the top of the car in a daze. Noelle didn't even respond to Hendrix's glance. She seemed not to have heard Clark's reply. After speaking to Clark, Hendrix had actually ended the call right away. He did not hesitate to press himself on Noelle. Even at that moment, their bodies seemed to fit each other perfectly. Hendrix's malicious gaze from earlier held a hint of delight. His slightly bloodshot eyes were filled with lust that could only surface at that moment. Noelle no longer struggled anymore. Her hands, which Hendrix had pi
Within that night, Hendrix had lost his composure and self-control completely. As for Noelle, she did not even stay back. She got out of the car with her arms folded and did not even adjust her disheveled clothes.Once the car door was shut, Hendrix stepped on the gas right away. The black Maserati disappeared into the night very quickly.In fact, Noelle also knew that it might truly be their last time meeting each other.…Hendrix returned to Nivis Villa directly. He hadn't been back there for a long time. Over the past two months, he had gotten used to living at Percy Gardens, even though Noelle didn't drop by. Of course, Mabel was happy at his sudden return. "Have you eaten? Shall I help you…""No need," Hendrix answered quickly while striding forward. Once he reached upstairs, he realized that the door to the room at the end of the corridor was actually open. That used to be Noelle's bedroom.After the divorce, she had only taken her belongings with her. Almost all the
"I've prepared a gift for her. You can take it with you when the time comes," Ophelia said. "That boy from the Quinlan family... His status may be lacking, but this is ultimately the Swanson family's matter. "I just hope the two of them can be happy."As Ophelia spoke, her gaze seemed fixed on Hendrix, as if waiting for his reaction.But Hendrix remained calm, responding only with a brief "mm".Beatrice, who had been silent until then, suddenly spoke up, "Noelle will probably be at the engagement banquet, right?"That name was rarely mentioned in Freeman Manor anymore, but as soon as Beatrice said it, the other two in the room slightly frowned."Isn't she no longer connected to the Swanson family?" Ophelia asked, glancing at Hendrix.Hendrix continued eating without a change in expression, the slight furrow in his brows fading as though it had never been there.Beatrice replied, "There will be many media at the event. Regardless of the situation, the Swanson family will certai
Hendrix still hadn't looked at Sandra. His gaze swept across the venue, his brows furrowing slightly."Hendrix," Sandra couldn't help but call out, her voice thick with grievance.Only then did Hendrix seem to snap out of his thoughts. He glanced at her briefly before handing her the gift in his hand. "Congratulations."Congratulations?Sandra hadn't expected that the only thing she would receive from him was such a cold, indifferent word. Her hand tightened into a fist. After a long moment, she regained her composure, slowly reaching out to take the gift. "Thank you."As the red silk box changed hands, Sandra's fingertips brushed lightly against his.They were ice cold.Sandra looked up, only to see that Hendrix's expression hadn't changed in the slightest. She calmly withdrew his hand.Just then, Maxwell stepped forward."Mr. Freeman, welcome," he said, shaking his hand."Why isn't Mr. Brandon here on such an important day?" Yvonne suddenly asked."He's on a business tri
On the way to Serene Street, Hendrix noticed a post from Brandon on his feed.The location was marked as Sintrun, but he wasn't alone. Hendrix could see a person in a white trench coat in the corner of the photo. Who else could it be but Noelle?Hendrix frowned and said without a second thought, "Stop the car."The driver glanced at him in confusion, but before he could respond, Hendrix had already locked his phone. "Turn around. Head to Amity Tower."The taxi ran on a metered fare, so the driver didn't protest, only muttering under his breath as he turned the vehicle around.Hendrix sat there, staring blankly out the window.After tapping a few times on his phone screen, he finally dialed his assistant. "Book me a flight to Sintrun."…Noelle was currently in Sintrun. The movie was adapted from her work, but her involvement in the screenplay wasn't significant, so this trip wasn't strictly necessary.However, Sandra's engagement banquet happened to be over these two days. So,
Noelle walked out first.Brandon followed behind her but maintained a smile on his face. "See you, then, Mr. Freeman."Hendrix only nodded emotionlessly.Then, the doors of the elevator closed. The metal doors reflected his current expression—a frown with pursed lips.As for Noelle, when she was about to enter her room, Brandon called out to her.Noelle turned around.Brandon asked, "Are you still going to the set tomorrow?"Noelle asked, "Why not?"He smiled. "Nothing, just wanted to confirm with you. I was worried that you might have other arrangements."She immediately knew what he meant. She replied in a low tone, "No.""Alright. Good! Have a good rest. Goodnight!"Before heading back to his own room, Brandon gave her a grin. His grin seemed to have another layer of meaning behind it, which made Noelle feel uncomfortable.Before she could say anything, Brandon went into his own room.Noelle stood by the door for a moment and suddenly recalled Hendrix's look just now. S
The moment Hendrix fixed his eyes on Noelle, she suddenly found herself at a loss for words. As their eyes met, even the tips of her ears began to flush red without her realizing it."Why are you looking at me like that?" Noelle couldn't help but ask."So, have you remembered everything?" Hendrix asked instead. "Everything about us?""No," Noelle replied, turning her head away. "My head hurts. Didn't you say you were going to get the doctor? You can go—"But before she could finish, Hendrix suddenly grabbed her hand. His grip wasn't strong, but the way his fingers gently moved across hers felt like an intimate caress.Noelle couldn't help but tremble, and she instinctively tried to pull her hand back.But then Hendrix suddenly said, "Actually, even before we got married, I'd seen you many times."Noelle hadn't expected him to bring this up. She froze for a second. Then, she quickly said, "I know. Back then at college—""Not just at college. After I graduated, I went to see you,
"Who are you?"That was the first thing Noelle said when she opened her eyes.Hendrix had still been basking in the relief of her waking up, but the moment he heard those words, the expression on his face vanished completely."What did you say?" he asked, his voice slightly strained.Noelle didn't answer. She simply stared at him, confusion clear in her eyes.Hendrix clenched his fists tightly. Maybe it was because he had gone through something like this before that he was able to calm himself down quickly this time."I'm your husband. My name is Hendrix Freeman. Do you still remember your own name?" he asked."Husband?" Noelle frowned slightly. "As in—we're married?""Yes. And we have a daughter. Her name is Rosie. She's three years old. This is her picture."As he spoke, Hendrix started to pull up a photo on his phone.But Noelle quickly asked, "Then why don't I remember you?""You were injured. But don't worry. I'll get the doctor to take a look at you."As Hendrix moved
Dylan had been wrong all along.Money and power—none of that had ever been what he was truly meant to chase. Because no one could stay at the center of power forever, and no one could possess those things for all time. What he should have been chasing was just that one light. That one light that would stay on for him late into the night. But now, he knew it was all too late.As he closed his eyes, Dylan suddenly thought of his mother, Leah. He remembered how, as a child, he had longed for a new set of paintbrushes. He had asked his parents for them many times. He even wanted to use his own Christmas money to buy them. But they refused.They believed it was wasteful. It didn't align with the frugal and disciplined lifestyle they lived by. So in the end, Dylan stole the set of paintbrushes from the stationery store.Because he came from a prestigious scholarly family and always kept a refined, gentlemanly image in public, the store owner never suspected a thing.But his parents fo
"Are you crazy? Noelle, let go of the wheel!" Dylan struggled to regain control of the car, but Noelle held onto the steering wheel tightly, refusing to let go.The car didn't slow down. On the contrary, it raced forward at an even faster pace.How long did this go on? Maybe it lasted only dozens of seconds. But for Dylan, it felt like the blink of an eye. Because the next moment, he saw the oncoming car.That car was speeding as well.Dylan didn't even have time to grab his gun. Just as he was about to slam on the brakes, the two cars collided at high speed. There was a deafening crash as the cars were thrown into the air, then slammed back down.Dylan's eyes widened. But in that instant, his first instinct was to turn and look at Noelle. Her eyes were already closed. She looked as if she had been prepared to face death all along. She must have known what he intended to do, and she also knew he didn't actually want to die.The only reason he took her away was so he could use her
Erwin was just about to repeat his question when a voice came from behind."Excuse me, but I think I know where your wife is."Hendrix spun around immediately.Standing behind them was a woman with long hair and big eyes. "I saw her just now in the backyard. Someone was taking her away. If I'm not mistaken, I think it was Mr. Pritchett from Morphy Fund?"At the mention of Dylan, Hendrix's expression turned dark as thunder. He charged up to the woman. "Where did they go?""I'm not sure. But I did take down his license plate number. Do you need it?""Where is it?" Hendrix barked.The woman held out her hand. "I'll give it to you for 1,000 dollars."Hendrix didn't carry cash with him. But he shoved his bank card into her hand without hesitation. "The license plate number!"The woman looked at the card, a little dissatisfied. But considering Hendrix's status, she figured he likely wouldn't care about such a small amount of money. Thus, in the end, she still showed Hendrix the phot
"Erwin!"The voice came just as Erwin stood on the terrace, smoking a cigarette in frustration.Although they had technically won the battle and he had earned a great deal from it, he felt, strangely enough, not the slightest trace of satisfaction. Maybe it was because Hendrix had forced him into the game. Or maybe, by now, winning and losing simply didn't stir anything in him anymore.At the beginning, Erwin had been somewhat excited. He had thought Dylan would be a difficult opponent—someone who could cause serious trouble, maybe even defeat them entirely. That would have been interesting. But instead, everything had gone far too smoothly. There had been no twists and no turns. Just a clean finish. It was boring, to say the least.And the current victory party? Equally so.Hendrix had insisted Noelle attend the party, saying she had flawlessly completed her part of the plan and that this victory was also hers. So, the party had turned out very wholesome, or rather, dull.Erwi
Erwin still showed signs of dissatisfaction. It seemed he was saying something, but Noelle could no longer hear him. She didn't look back either, instead turning her gaze to the other people at the party.The loud music continued, and the excitement and energy of the crowd remained high. But Noelle knew that this wasn't the usual celebration. This, in fact, was just Hendrix's way of making her adapt and accept the situation.Though she had known this for some time, the realization still made Noelle uncomfortable. Then, she suddenly remembered something Dylan had told her a few days ago about her past with Hendrix.Even though she knew Dylan's words weren't necessarily true, that didn't mean everything he said was a lie. How much of the past he mentioned was real, and how much was false?Noelle actually thought her life was fine now. She was willing to accept her past choices and believed in Hendrix's feelings for her. At least, this was what she thought sometimes.But at other tim
Dylan didn't dare to stay there. He immediately drove back to his place.He wanted to take Noelle with him and leave. Even if she didn't have her passport, it didn't matter. After all, there were definitely people looking for him right now.But no matter what, he was going to protect her. Even if they had to roam the world, it didn't matter. As long as they were together, it was fine. Even if it was just a shabby house, as long as there was a light on, that would be their home.However, when Dylan returned to the apartment, he found Noelle nowhere in sight. Gone also were all her things. The desk and floor were spotless, as if nothing had ever existed there.Dylan remained standing where he was. It took him several minutes to finally process what he was seeing. Then, he couldn't help but laugh. It was as if he had just heard the biggest joke—he laughed so hard that his whole body shook.Of course, how could he have thought she would be waiting for him here? How could she possibly
"I'm damned for ever believing your words! Now, just die!" George didn't give Dylan another chance to speak. He pulled the trigger, aiming to shoot a bullet through Dylan's forehead.In that instant, Dylan finally understood. This time, Hendrix didn't intend to leave him alive.If the goal had only been to swallow up Morphy Fund and make Dylan lose everything, the matter would have ended there. However, it seemed that Hendrix must have said something to George, which led him to believe that Dylan and Hendrix were working together—that Dylan had betrayed Morphy Fund.At this point, George had no way out. So, it wouldn't be surprising if he shot Dylan in the head. What Hendrix wanted was for him to die.Dylan didn't know what he was thinking at that moment. By the time he reacted, he had already grabbed the gun's barrel and twisted it violently. The bullet scraped past his head.Without hesitation, George moved to pull the trigger again when Dylan, still holding onto his wrist, forc