So, at the moment, Hendrix was feeling a mixed bag of emotions. Especially when he heard Noelle's "honest" response, the frown on his forehead deepened even further."But isn't that how things are in the business world? It's either you die or I live," Noelle continued. "So, it's not really about being cruel or not."Her words caused Hendrix's lips to slowly curl upward. He then gave a soft hum."What will happen to him after this?" Noelle asked."Who? Nathan?" Hendrix chuckled lightly. "Why do you care? In any case, he's not going to have it easy."The way he said it made Noelle instantly understand, and she didn't ask any further questions.…The next day, Noelle saw the news about Amity Group as expected.What Nathan did was akin to disrupting the stock market, which was clearly in the gray area. To make matters worse, he wasn't just an ordinary shareholder of Amity Group—he was a member of the Freeman family, Hendrix's younger brother.Previously, the news released by Amity
Noelle said nothing more. But the way she silently looked at Sandra was nothing short of mockery and disdain in Sandra's eyes.She trembled involuntarily and clenched her teeth tightly. But then, just as quickly, she let out a laugh. "Oh, really? Such wonderful news, and yet, I had no idea. Should I be congratulating you, then?""Do as you please," Noelle replied. "Whether you congratulate me or not, it makes no difference to me."Contempt—that was what Sandra could clearly feel radiating from Noelle's gaze. As if everything she had desperately fought for meant nothing at all to Noelle.In truth, that seemed to be the reality.Over the years, Sandra had done so much for Hendrix. She had exhausted every possible effort, desperately trying to make him notice her and to replace Noelle's place in his heart. But in the end, he still chose Noelle. At this moment, Noelle stood before her with an air of absolute superiority, looking down on her with indifference."It's not really that
"Yeah," Noelle replied."Is everything going well?" Hendrix asked again."Yes, very well. The doctor said the baby is healthy, and everything looks good."Noelle's voice was calm, and her gaze carried a touch of warmth as she looked at him—just as usual.Even so, a coldness still settled over Hendrix's expression."Weren't you busy today?" Noelle suddenly asked.Hendrix frowned."Have you already settled everything that has to do with Nathan?" Noelle questioned.Hendrix took a deep breath. "Not yet, but it's almost done."Noelle let out a soft "oh", then nodded seriously.Hendrix stared at her for a moment before asking, "Who did you run into at the hospital today?"Noelle didn't answer right away. Instead, she turned to glance at the housekeeper.The housekeeper had clearly been discreetly monitoring their conversation, but the moment Noelle's gaze landed on her, she suddenly felt a strange sense of guilt and quickly looked away.Noelle frowned slightly before turning bac
At the beginning of December, Noelle and Hendrix went to take their wedding photos. This time, everything progressed much more smoothly than when they got married the first time.Hendrix had Noelle's wedding dress specially custom-made, and according to the stylist, just the tiny diamonds on the dress alone cost more than an average person's annual salary.When the stylist mentioned this, her voice and expression were filled with envy. But Noelle felt nothing at all.After finishing their second outfit change, Noelle unexpectedly ran into someone in a theme park's lobby.At first, she hadn't recognized the woman.For today's wedding photoshoot, Hendrix had rented out the entire amusement park. Even though there were no tourists, plenty of staff were still around.So at first, Noelle assumed the woman was just another park employee. That was until she heard her call out, "Ms. Swanson."Noelle stopped in her tracks and turned to look at her."You don't recognize me, do you?" The
Noelle hadn't seen Dylan in a long time. The last time was in a café. That day, he told her he was leaving the country.Back then, she had thought they would never cross paths again in this lifetime. Neither of them could have imagined that so much would happen afterward.Compared to their moment of disorientation, the other two seemed completely at ease.Jean even went so far as to introduce them to each other—as if they were meeting for the very first time.Hendrix extended his hand toward Dylan with an air of sincerity. "Mr. Pritchett, pleasure to meet you."Dylan's expression was noticeably stiff. After a brief hesitation, he finally reached out and shook Hendrix's hand.Hendrix smiled and said, "So, you two are getting married soon as well? And on the same day as us, no less. What a coincidence!""Right? I thought so, too!" Jean quickly responded. "But we actually picked this date a long time ago—we even sent you both an invitation. Maybe you two also thought it was an espe
"Dylan, what do you think you're doing?" The moment Jean caught up to Dylan, she demanded an answer. "You're seriously going to give me an attitude in front of everyone?"Dylan stopped in his tracks. Then, he turned around and glanced at Jean before saying, "I didn't mean to do it.""You didn't mean to do it?" Jean let out a cold laugh. "Are you joking? Then tell me—what exactly were you trying to do back there?""I just don't see the point of this dinner," Dylan replied expressionlessly. "So, I didn't want to waste my time.""You don't see the point? Don't you know who Hendrix is? He's the general manager of Amity Group! Do you have any idea how many people in Coppersville would kill for a chance to have dinner with him?""That's them, not me."Jean stared at him for a long moment before suddenly laughing. "Oh? Do you still think you're the same high-and-mighty professor as before? Or maybe… you just hate Hendrix because he stole the woman you loved the most?""Jean." Dylan's g
Jean's temper flared quickly but faded just as fast. Or rather, when it came to Dylan, she had always shown a level of tolerance she rarely afforded others.So now, after just a few coaxing words from him, her anger dissipated.At that moment, Dylan took the chance to say, "Alright. I really do need to make a call. You should head back in first. After all, you were the one who set this dinner up, so it wouldn't look good if neither of us were there.""Fine. I'll go in first, but hurry up with the call.""Got it."Dylan smiled, standing in place as he watched Jean return to the private dining room.The moment she shut the door behind her, his smile vanished instantly. And in its place was obvious exhaustion and disgust.He turned, about to find a quiet corner to have a smoke, but then, he saw Noelle standing there.He had no idea how long she had been there, but from the look of her face, she had likely heard everything—Jean's commanding tone and his own subdued responses. Dy
Noelle immediately stopped and turned to him.That calm, almost puzzled gaze only pierced Dylan deeper.After a long pause, he finally asked, "Are you looking down on me, too?""No," Noelle answered without hesitation. "I already said—I think you did well, and I can understand why you did what you did. Besides, my choices weren't all that different from yours. So, what right do I have to look down on you?"Dylan instantly fell silent at her words. Then, he smiled bitterly. "Is that so?""Yeah, so—"Noelle had been about to pull her wrist free, but Dylan tightened his grip and asked, "So, do you not hate them?"Noelle frowned."I actually have a very direct way to get revenge on them. Do you want to know what it is?"As Dylan spoke, he leaned in closer to Noelle—so much so that she could see the sinister glint in his eyes. But more than that, she saw his trembling lips.And because she saw it so clearly, she didn't dodge. In fact, she didn't even shift in the slightest. She si
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
As Dylan spoke, his teeth clenched tighter. It was unclear whether he was trying to convince Noelle or himself.Noelle remained silent, quietly watching him.After staring at her for a while, Dylan suddenly laughed. "So, do you know why we were celebrating tonight?"Noelle shook her head."Because we stole Fuer Fund's opportunity! It's all thanks to the plan you sent me before. Now, no matter what Fuer Fund does next, we'll know about it. "George is really happy, too. He used to doubt my abilities, worried that I'd drag down his fund, but you should've seen how he treated me tonight."Not just him, but the whole industry now recognizes me. I've finally established myself here!"Dylan's voice grew more excited as he spoke.Noelle, however, remained calm.The only sign of change was when she heard that he succeeded because of the plan she had given him—her brow slightly lifted. But it was just for a moment.She quickly regained her calm and nodded.Her reaction made Dylan fro
George didn't care about being cautious. He was too excited. He had clashed with Fuer Fund a few times before, but when faced with absolute power, he had barely gotten any scraps from the table.Now, to be able to seize such a large slice of the pie from Fuer Fund and force them to back off, how could George not be thrilled?Thus, the drinks kept coming, one after another.Even if Dylan hadn't planned on getting drunk, it was hard to refuse the goodwill of so many people. In the end, he was thoroughly drunk.When he returned to the apartment, his steps were unsteady. Seeing the light still on inside, he paused for a moment. Then, he suddenly remembered he didn't live alone anymore. Noelle also lived with him now.Though Dylan was well aware, and his rational mind reminded him repeatedly that he had essentially kept her here as a hostage. If Hendrix made any further moves, he would have no choice but to kill her.But when he saw the light she had left on for him, Dylan couldn't he
The plan Hendrix had given Dylan was, of course, real. Though he had been tempted to lace it with a trap and watch him walk right into it, he knew better—Dylan wasn't that stupid.More importantly, what Hendrix truly wanted wasn't just to bait Dylan into a trap. Even if Dylan didn't trust the plan, it didn't matter. Their team would still move forward with the plan. But if he did trust it, all the better.Fuer Fund wouldn't tolerate anyone messing with their slice of the pie. And what Hendrix wanted was to drag Erwin and the rest of them into the game.Dylan might have found himself a solid backer, but this wasn't Coppersville. Taking him down alone wouldn't be easy. But what if Fuer Fund collapsed with Hendrix? That would change everything, and that was Hendrix's real goal.Thus, Hendrix didn't even panic when Erwin called him out on it. He simply raised an eyebrow."If this gets out, do you still think you'll have a place in this business?" Erwin slammed his hand on the desk. "O
"Stay at your place?" Noelle asked."Yeah," Dylan said with a smile. "Hendrix already has another woman now, doesn't he? But don't worry. Unless it's something you're willing to do, I'll never touch you.""Alright."Dylan had planned to say more but was caught off guard by how readily Noelle agreed. Her response made even him freeze for a second. Then, he narrowed his eyes slightly."Do you need me to do anything else?" Noelle asked.She looked completely sincere and serious, like they were truly on the same side now.But Dylan still held on to a shred of suspicion. Regardless, Noelle was in his hands for the time being. If all of this really was an act, and she was lying to him, then she shouldn't blame him for what came next.With that thought, Dylan smiled slightly and gently took Noelle's hand. "Alright. I'll have someone make arrangements right away."Just as he finished speaking, his partner George called to inform him that Hendrix's side had already started moving."Tha