Erwin's tone was unnervingly calm, as if he were merely discussing the weather with Noelle. For a moment, she couldn't quite process what he had just said. It wasn't until Erwin turned to her with a smile that the weight of his words began to sink in.Noelle had only met him once. Back then, although Erwin had maintained the demeanor of a well-mannered gentleman and greeted her out of respect for Hendrix, his gaze had still carried an unmistakable arrogance and disdain toward Noelle.Now, his expression was no different.But it seemed he realized this wasn't the attitude he should have in the current moment. So, he made an effort to adjust, attempting to present a more "amiable" appearance. But instead, his smile appeared distorted, almost grotesque.Clearly, he failed.Erwin didn't give her much time to think. He quickly added, "You like this painting, don't you? I'll give it to you.""That's not necessary," Noelle replied without hesitation. "I don't know much about oil paintin
Erwin frowned impatiently but ultimately held back his irritation, reminding himself that Noelle was, after all, a guest he had personally invited. "Don't you understand? When a man says he's interested in a woman, it means exactly what you think it does," Erwin replied.Noelle let out a cold laugh, which made Erwin raise an eyebrow."You don't actually like me," Noelle said. "Even now, talking to me, you're clearly struggling to hold back your impatience. So, why force yourself?"Erwin clicked his tongue. "So, you do notice.""Yes, I do. So, whatever it is you want, why not just say it outright? Let's not waste each other's time."Erwin stared at Noelle for a moment before suddenly laughing. "No wonder Hendrix married you. You are very interesting, indeed. You're right. I'm a very busy man, so I'll be straightforward—I want to sleep with you."If Noelle had anything in her mouth at that moment, she would have spit it out instantly. Even without that, her stunned expression sai
Hendrix's negotiations went smoothly.However, as expected, David was unwilling to give up so easily. After signing the contract, he insisted on having dinner with Hendrix, during which he tirelessly introduced his daughter. Even after Hendrix mentioned that he was married, David remained undeterred, saying it didn't matter.David went on to emphasize how obedient his daughter was, adding that she could stay here while Hendrix visited her whenever he had the time. Of course, Hendrix didn't take any of it seriously.After some back-and-forth, it was past midnight by the time Hendrix boarded his flight. Once he landed, he immediately headed back to the hotel.During this time, Noelle had called him twice. The first call came while he was in a meeting, and the second while he was on the plane, so he hadn't been able to answer either.Hendrix called Noelle back, but this time, she didn't answer. He knew she was likely angry—after all, he had locked her in the hotel room for an entire
Erwin's voice rang out quickly, "Hendrix, you're here."Hearing the voice, Hendrix immediately looked up. When he saw Erwin standing there in a loosely draped robe, its belt barely tied, his expression turned grim."Where's Noelle?" he asked in a tense voice."What?""I asked you—where is Noelle?"Hendrix strode forward in a few quick steps and grabbed Erwin's collar with both hands."Calm down. Don't worry. She's fine. In fact, she just fell asleep," Erwin replied, then smiled smugly.Hendrix's mind went blank for a moment. He didn't say a word, simply releasing Erwin's collar before dashing upstairs.Just then, Noelle, seemingly alerted by the commotion, stepped out of her room.When Hendrix saw her standing there unharmed, he could no longer hold back. In a few quick strides, he closed the distance and wrapped her tightly in his arms.She was safe.That single thought flooded his mind, instantly outweighing everything else in importance.On the way here, he had considere
Hendrix's entire body was tense. In the end, it was Noelle who practically dragged him out by sheer force. If she hadn't, he would've undoubtedly started another fight with Erwin right then and there. She knew Hendrix was skilled, but Erwin had plenty of bodyguards at his disposal.And no matter how much she disliked Hendrix at that moment, she couldn't stand the thought of him dying in a place like this.Finally, they returned to the hotel.Noelle hadn't forgotten how Hendrix had locked her in the room earlier. The moment they entered, she quickly let go of his hand. But before she could take another step, Hendrix grabbed her wrist and pulled her straight into the bathroom.At first, Noelle was confused, until he started roughly yanking at her clothes with an almost frantic urgency.Her mind flashed to Erwin's earlier words. She couldn't help but smile mockingly. "Isn't it a little too late to check now?"Her words made Hendrix's hands falter, his movements stiffening."I sle
"I've told you. This isn't your fault," Hendrix interrupted her again.This time, Noelle fell completely silent."It wasn't your fault then, and it's not your fault today," Hendrix continued, his jaw tightening with every word. "Don't worry. I won't let anyone who's hurt you off the hook. Not a single one of them.""Oh, really? But isn't Erwin your partner? Won't it be difficult for you if you turn against him?"That shut Hendrix up real quick.Noelle thought he had finally realized the weight of the situation—proving, once again, that profit always came first to him. The thought made her lips twitch slightly. She was about to speak again when Hendrix said, "He's not my partner. Even if he was before, he's not anymore.""But don't you still share mutual interests?" Noelle pressed. "If you offend him, aren't you afraid that—""This is Mondivera, not Coppersville," Hendrix replied. "The foundation of Amity Group is in Coppersville, so I can give up everything here."Noelle said
When Noelle stepped out of the bathroom. Hendrix was still on the balcony, speaking on the phone. His voice sounded calm, but he was talking quickly, so Noelle couldn't make out what he was saying. Not that she wanted to anyway.She went straight to the bedroom. Once there, she collapsed onto the bed and closed her eyes, replaying the events of the day in her mind.Noelle knew that Erwin wasn't interested in her—not really. What intrigued him was the version of her in Hendrix's mind.Erwin believed that Hendrix was just like him. But as someone of the same kind, Erwin himself would never consider marriage, much less choose someone like Noelle. That was why he was so curious about Hendrix's decision.His line of thinking was undoubtedly insane. What was even more insane, however, was that Noelle could actually understand his logic and reasoning. That was what truly unsettled her.Sure enough, spending too much time around madmen had started to warp her own sense of normalcy. As the
Noelle fell silent, so Hendrix assumed the conversation was over.But the next moment, she suddenly said, "Thank you."Why was she thanking him? Was she thanking him on Dylan's behalf?Even though that had been his initial goal, actually hearing those words coming out of Noelle's lips still left an uncomfortable ache in his chest.He turned over and sat up. Staring at her intently, he asked, "And then? That's it?"Noelle didn't resist. She simply met his gaze with her big, dewy eyes.The moonlight grew brighter, cascading over her face, making her appear even softer, more serene.Hendrix stared at her for a long time. Finally, he reached out and gently touched her cheek.Strangely enough, they had already done the most intimate things one could imagine, and it was even the first time he had touched her face. But this gentle gesture felt different—like an electric current passing from his fingertips to her skin, only to loop back and surge through him again.Hendrix instinctive
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