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
Although Rosie hadn't said much in the hospital, Noelle could clearly sense her excitement once they stepped outside the building.She skipped and hopped all the way while holding onto Noelle's hand. Every now and then, she would turn to look at Noelle with a bright smile.Noelle reached out and ruffled her hair. "What do you want to eat today?""I want the grilled chicken wings you make!""Alright! Then, let's go to the supermarket together, okay?"Rosie nodded eagerly. "I want to ride in the cart!"Noelle agreed.Rosie had lost some weight recently, so sitting in the shopping cart wasn't a problem. Under the bright supermarket lights, her cheeks finally showed a hint of color.Noelle felt a wave of relief. At this point, nothing else mattered to her other than Rosie's health."Mommy, Mommy! I want that!" said Rosie excitedly.Rosie hadn't been to such a lively place in a while, so she was rightly excited. She started swinging her legs, trying to move the cart in the directi
Hendrix's words and tone immediately dragged Noelle back to the past. Countless times before, he had forced her to apologize in the same way to Sandra. And now, the same thing was happening to Rosie. She clenched her hands tightly, but she managed to keep her voice calm. "I've already apologized. What more do you want?""But you're the one who did wrong," Hendrix replied expressionlessly."I'm her mother, so what's wrong with me apologizing on her behalf?""Can you take responsibility for her for the rest of her life?""Are you lecturing me on how to be a good mother? I don't need you to teach me that!"Sensing the growing tension between the two, the woman beside Hendrix couldn't help but have a slight change in expression. She tugged Hendrix's arm and said, "Maybe we should just let it go."But Hendrix didn't even glance at her. He chuckled coldly and said, "I wouldn't dare lecture you. I'm just teaching your daughter that when she does something wrong, she needs to own up to
"I-I didn't push her that hard," the woman said in a daze.But as soon as she spoke, Hendrix snapped out of it and immediately rushed after Noelle. But by the time he stepped out of the supermarket, she was nowhere in sight.A frown immediately appeared on his face. After a quick glance at the street signs, he drove straight to the nearest hospital."Where are you going? Hendrix!" the woman called after him, but Hendrix didn't slow down.He arrived at the hospital in no time, but when he checked the emergency room, Noelle wasn't there.His frown deepened as he approached the nurse. "Was there a little girl brought in here just now? She's about two years old and has a nosebleed. The woman who brought her in looks like this."Hendrix quickly showed the nurse a photo from his phone."Oh, you mean the little girl with leukemia? She was taken directly to Dr. Moore. She should be in—""What did you say?" Hendrix cut her off. His voice dropped, laced with a chill and a hint of disbeli
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