"No!" Seline said.Frustrated at getting interrupted repeatedly, Marla simply reached out and covered Seline's mouth to finish what she had to say."This time, the person they introduced is Mr. Freeman from Amity Group."Seline had been about to yank Marla's hand away, but upon hearing those words, she froze mid-motion. Then, she slowly turned to look at her.It took a long while—long enough for Marla to remove her hand from Seline's mouth—before Seline finally reacted."Who did you say it was? Which Mr. Freeman from Amity Group are we talking about?" she asked in disbelief."Come on! How many Mr. Freemans do you know are working in Amity Group right now?" countered Marla with a roll of her eyes. "Nathan was sent abroad by Hendrix a few years ago. They said it was for training, but let's be honest, it was practically an exile."So, you see, he's truly ruthless. Even his own brother wasn't spared. No wonder your father said—""Stop!" Seline cut her off before the conversation co
After a night to cool down, Seline felt much calmer. She began to suspect that this whole thing might have been orchestrated by Hendrix.Even if he was serious about getting married, why would he choose her out of all the eligible socialites in Coppersville? He knew full well about her relationship with Noelle.So, was he doing this on purpose? Was he intentionally setting up this blind date to send a message to Noelle to make her jealous and upset?The more Seline thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. And it was precisely because of this that she found her anger toward Hendrix vanished all of a sudden.…The next morning, Seline took her time getting ready before heading to the café.But the moment her eyes met Hendrix's, she realized she had overestimated him, as he looked genuinely surprised to see her. Clearly, he hadn't expected to run into her here and had no idea that Seline was the one he was supposed to meet.In that instant, all of Seline's theories from the
In the hospital room, Noelle's gentle voice filled the air. "Look. This is Bobby, and he's playing soccer with Carrie."Despite the obvious exhaustion on her face, her eyes remained soft as she looked at Rosie. There was even a faint smile lingering on her lips.Rosie was engrossed in a picture book. She had lost some weight, making her large eyes appear even bigger. Coupled with her pale skin, she looked almost like a porcelain doll.She quickly looked up when she heard a sound. The moment she saw Seline, she greeted her excitedly, "Seline!"If this were before, Seline would have responded with equal enthusiasm. But today, Hendrix's reaction had left her deeply unsettled.Noelle had shared bits and pieces of what had happened back then with her. When she left Hendrix, everyone had assumed she saw him as a sinking ship and jumped at the chance to escape.Thus, Seline found it understandable that Hendrix would resent Noelle. But no matter what, Rosie was his child—his own flesh an
Seline didn't answer, but from this, Noelle instantly knew the truth.After a moment of silence, she let out a soft laugh and said, "Well, that's good.""What is?" Seline asked.She had initially planned to keep quiet about the meeting with Hendrix. After all, it wasn't a very kind thing to bring up other's painful memories, and it was also clear that Noelle didn't want to dwell on Hendrix. But she couldn't hold back after seeing Noelle act so "unbothered"."Do you know where I ran into him? He was going on a blind date! And he had the nerve to tell me he's moving on with his life! How can he be so heartless?"Seline struggled to find the right word, but "heartless" was the best she could come up with in the end.Noelle froze for a moment, then slowly lowered her eyes."There, now." Seline quickly waved her hand dismissively. "He's a piece of trash, so let's just toss him out. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll meet better men in the future."Seline simply smiled and reached out to g
"And you are? You said you've already called the police, right? It's been quite a while, so why hasn't anyone arrived yet? Should I make a call instead? Maybe I can also request the surveillance footage," Dan said."No, forget it! I'll just chalk it down to me being unlucky!"With that, the man turned and walked away.Dan didn't stop him. Instead, he took out his phone and snapped a photo of the man's license plate.Then, he turned to Noelle and asked, "Ms. Swanson, are you alright? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?""No, thank you," Noelle replied, then walked away without another word.Even though the pain in her calf persisted, she didn't stop. She simply limped out of sight. When she reached a quiet spot, she went into a pharmacy to buy some basic first-aid supplies."How did you get yourself scrapped so badly? It looks like you might need a tetanus shot," the store clerk said, eyeing the wound on her leg. "It's pretty serious.""It's fine. Just give me some gauze
The apartment Seline had arranged for Noelle was indeed close to the hospital, but the building was old. As Noelle waited for the elevator, she could hear the creaking sounds it made.She had wiped the blood from her leg, but without the stain to mask it, the long gash looked like a grotesque, featureless face with a red, gaping mouth.Finally, the elevator reached the fifth floor. Once inside her apartment, Noelle quickly tended to her wound.To avoid Rosie finding out, she changed into a long skirt to cover the injury. But her limping gait was impossible to hide, especially as she searched for the little lion plushie Rosie wanted. Even though she had looked through the apartment several times, she still couldn't find it.By the third time she opened the same box without success, Noelle's frustration began to boil over. She opened a shopping app, intending to buy a new one for Rosie, only to find that it was no longer available.Staring at her phone screen, Noelle suddenly felt a
The blunt dismissal was not the response Hendrix had expected. His expression darkened instantly.Just then, Noelle's phone rang. She paused her search to answer it. But before she could pick it up, Hendrix suddenly strode forward and grabbed her wrist.Her phone fell to the floor, the caller ID clearly visible to Hendrix. It was Seline who was calling.Hendrix's smirk deepened when he saw the name. "You and Ms. Swift seem quite close. If I'm not mistaken, she's the one who got this place for you, right? How did you end up like this? I thought once you left me, you'd immediately find some rich guy to shack up with."Oh, if I'm not mistaken, there was one, wasn't there? A minor celebrity, I heard? Too bad, though. Why didn't he say a word in your defense when his fans insulted you in hordes?"As he spoke, the mockery in his eyes intensified, but Noelle remained unmoved.Anger? Indignation? Sadness? There was none of it.Hendrix stared intently into her eyes, searching for even a
The moment Noelle entered the hospital room, Seline noticed something was off with her leg.But with Rosie present, she didn't ask about it. Instead, she said, "Rosie woke up and didn't see you, so I called you.""I saw, but I couldn't pick it up in time," Noelle answered as she sat down by Rosie's bed. "What's the matter, Rosie? Did you miss me?"Rosie nodded, then glanced at Noelle's hands."Where's my lion plushie?"It seemed she had been crying earlier. Her eyes were red, and her voice was hoarse.Noelle hesitated, then bit her lip. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I couldn't find the plushie. How about I buy you a new one?""Will the new one be the same as the old one?"Rosie's question caught Noelle off guard.Without waiting for an answer, Rosie seemed to already know. She lowered her eyes and said, "But I want the original one.""I know. I really do," Noelle said, her voice trembling. "I'll go back and look for it again, okay? Don't worry. The little lion is just hiding. I
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