Noelle had long grown accustomed to the Swansons' cursing at her. In the past, it often felt like a sharp sting, but it no longer affected her at all. She could even smile as she turned to face Matilda."It's a shame you didn't do that back then because you're incapable of doing anything now."Matilda was left stunned, unable to find her voice. It wasn't because of Noelle's words but the way she had looked down at her arrogantly. Before this, Noelle had always looked at her with a timid, almost fearful expression, so when had things between them turned into this?Matilda didn't know. All she could feel now was the blood in her veins slowly freezing, rendering her motionless.However, Noelle didn't look back. She felt no regret for coming here today. After all, if she hadn't overheard the conversation between Matilda and Sandra earlier, she wouldn't have been so thoroughly disappointed in them.And it was this "test" that confirmed what she had already suspected—she was truly don
Hendrix immediately got into the car. "I'll head over there now.""We're at Bar Street. Noelle is really drunk, so I'm going to take her to rest at a hotel," replied Sandra."There are only two of you, so don't do anything rash. Just send me the address, and I'll be there right away."After that, Hendrix immediately instructed Levi to start the car. However, it seemed that Sandra hadn't even registered what he had said about not doing anything rash. She simply sent him an address.Hendrix realized something wasn't right the moment he saw the address. He quickly called Dan and asked him to head over to Noelle's apartment to see whether she was there. After that, he tried to call Noel himself. The phone kept ringing, but no one answered.By the time Hendrix reached the hotel lobby, Dan had already messaged him back, confirming that Noelle hadn't returned to her apartment.With no further concerns, Hendrix made his way to Room 1608. He hadn't even pressed the doorbell for long bef
As Sandra spoke, she slowly slid her shoulder strap off. Her skin seemed to glow under the dim light.But Hendrix only glanced at her briefly before saying firmly and coldly, "I thought I made myself very clear the last time we were at Freeman Manor."Sandra froze. She couldn't help but recall that moment when he had pushed her away after she tried to kiss him at the entrance of Freeman Manor.This time, she cast away all of her dignity and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him tightly."Rix, I really, really like you. Even if we don't get married, I just want to do it once with you. I want to give my most precious first time to the man I love the most. So Rix, please take me!"Sandra's eyes were filled with tears. Her tear-streaked face made her look so delicate and pitiful that anyone who saw it would find it hard to remain unmoved. However, after glancing at her, Hendrix calmly pushed her away. "I only see you as a sister.""Impossible! You were so kind to me be
"Why didn't you answer any of my calls, then?" Hendrix questioned."I didn't hear it because my phone was on silent," Noelle replied.Hendrix suddenly stood up and stormed toward her. His tall figure filled the narrow entryway, and as he approached, Noelle instantly felt the pressure radiating from him. She instinctively tried to step back, only to bump into the door, leaving her with nowhere to retreat.She had no choice but to lift her eyes to look at him. Her gaze seemed to carry some confusion, but there was not a trace of guilt or fear in it.Hendrix lowered his eyes, locking his gaze with hers. After a moment, he said, "Sandra called me earlier and told me you were drinking with her.""With her?" Noelle scoffed. "Do you really think that's possible?"Hendrix nodded. "Yeah, I know it's impossible. But she told me you were drunk, and since you weren't at home or answering my calls, I thought I'd go check on you."His piercing gaze seemed to look right through Noelle. She o
Sandra and Ruth ran into each other in the restroom. Their interactions had noticeably decreased since Sandra's engagement to Maxwell, though not to the point of outright hostility. Now, upon seeing each other, they exchanged polite nods and brief pleasantries."How's Maxwell doing?" Ruth asked, glancing at Sandra, who was touching up her lipstick in the mirror."He's doing quite well. In fact, he's already discharged from the hospital."Even though Sandra was behaving as usual, Ruth couldn't help but feel something was different about her. But before she could probe further, Sandra had finished washing her hands and left the restroom.Back in the private room, the party was already in full swing. However, when Sandra entered the room, she found the crowd surging toward the exit in a chaotic rush. She couldn't dodge in time, but luckily, Ruth managed to pull her back."They're heading to the terrace," explained Ruth when she noticed Sandra's confusion. "It's nearly time for the ci
"What the… It really is her!""Sandra, when did Noelle and Hendrix get back together?""Wait. What does Hendrix even see in her?"The endless chatter buzzed around Sandra, each word a sharp sting that exploded in her mind. Not a single reaction or word came from her. She simply kept her eyes fixed firmly on the couple ahead while her whole body trembled faintly with a mix of anger and agitation.On the terrace, Hendrix noticed something was off. He frowned when he noticed the group watching them. Without hesitation, he pulled Noelle into his arms, shielding her protectively."Hendrix, what a coincidence!" someone in the crowd called out to him immediately. "Is this your new girlfriend? Why didn't you tell us you got yourself a new girlfriend?"Tonight's group were all young people roughly the same age as Hendrix, so no one bothered with formalities.Since earlier, Noelle had been facing away from the group, and now, Hendrix had her pressed against his chest. If Ruth hadn't calle
Hendrix and Noelle didn't stay long. After watching the fireworks for a while, they took their leave from the group. Noelle even smiled and waved goodbye to them. But the smile on her face disappeared the moment she turned around.Then, she immediately tried to pull Hendrix's hand off her waist. However, Hendrix only tightened his grip, as if he wanted to crush her waist with his hold.Noelle couldn't help but hiss in pain. "Don't think I won't bite you!""Oh, yeah? Where are you going to bite me?"Noelle was stumped, and Hendrix couldn't help but laugh at her flustered, speechless expression.Finally, Noelle said through gritted teeth, "I want to go home.""Alright. Let's go home together," replied Hendrix matter-of-factly."Don't you find my humble abode stifling at all?""Well, you could come stay with me at Percy Gardens, or Nivis Villa would work, too.""No. I'm not going to either of those," Noelle answered without a second thought.Hendrix glanced at her but said nothi
It felt as though their souls had merged into one.The neighbor had already moved out, but Noelle still didn't dare to make too loud of a sound. When pushed to the edge, she could only bite down on Hendrix's neck. Hendrix didn't flinch at the pain. Instead, he gently held her chin after she was done biting him and kissed her lips.The room remained shrouded in darkness. They could hear the distant bursts of fireworks coming from outside, and mixed in with the sound was the ringing of a phone. Noelle heard it, too, and immediately tried to push him away. But Hendrix didn't stop, nor did he seem inclined to answer the phone, either.The person on the other end of the line was persistent, and unable to take it any longer, Noelle called out to Hendrix several times. It was only then that Hendrix finally answered the phone in annoyance."Hello?" His voice was raspy and tinged with obvious impatience.The person on the other end must have said something, because Hendrix's expression
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
Dylan still remembered the victory party at the villa a few days ago. At that time, George had pushed him in front of everyone. He had enjoyed all the praise and recognition while sipping glass after glass of champagne.He knew that no matter how much doubt and skepticism there had been about him in the past, it all vanished that night. That was also why George had thrown him a victory party at the very first stage.After all, only by telling everyone about his achievements would they believe in him and entrust him with their funds. But they probably didn't expect the final result to be like this.Actually, when Fuer Fund continued to add to their position after reaching the peak, George had already warned Dylan that there might be some issues. But the market was unpredictable—a moment's decision or a few seconds of hesitation could lead to failure.Thus, Dylan didn't wait. He thought Hendrix was also gambling. So, he disregarded the risk and pushed all the funds in. He wanted Hend
Noelle's expression changed at that moment. It took her a while to find her voice to ask, "Is that what really happened?""Hendrix definitely hasn't told you all these, right?" Dylan smirked. "It's because he's too afraid to mention them. So, tell me. How could someone like him possibly deserve a happy life? "Don't worry. I'll make sure to take him down this time. Once I get your passport, you can go whenever you want."When he finished speaking, there was sincerity and seriousness in his eyes as he looked at Noelle. He really hoped she would stay. Of course, he wanted victory. But if he could have her by his side when he achieved it, that would be even better.Although once he reached the top, anyone could stay by his side. But the person he wanted most was Noelle."Thank you," Noelle said in the end.That wasn't the answer Dylan was most satisfied with. But he knew he couldn't afford to rush things just yet. For now, it was enough that Noelle was on his side."Alright, go to