"Ms. Swanson!" a man called out excitedly from behind just as Noelle and Rosie reached the beach.He was wearing only swim trunks and a pair of sunglasses. His tall frame and striking features drew plenty of attention from those around him, but he seemed completely used to it.He walked up to Noelle with a grin. "What a coincidence to run into you here! By the way, where's your boyfriend?"Noelle pursed her lips before replying, "Hello, Mr. Lawson. It's been a while.""It has," Erwin said, removing his sunglasses and giving her a once-over.He seemed unimpressed by her modest swimsuit. He clicked his tongue before asking, "Why aren't you wearing the outfit from earlier? Or is that just something special for your boyfriend?"His words bordered on disrespectful, but Noelle knew he wasn't trying to flirt with her. Simply put, he didn't see her that way. From the woman who was just by his side, it was clear that he liked tall women with perfect figures.Hendrix had mentioned before
"We're fine with anything," Noelle said as she moved to sit beside Rosie. "You can just focus on work if you're busy. We can make our own plans.""It's a vacation. How can I just focus on work?" Dylan replied.Just then, Erwin suddenly walked over to them. "Ms. Swanson, may I interrupt for a moment?"Hearing his voice, Dylan immediately turned around. But Erwin didn't even spare him a glance. Instead, he handed his phone to Noelle."I'm not familiar with the apps here. Could you help me send my location?"Noelle looked at the screen. It was a chat log between Erwin and Hendrix. They had just finished a call, and Erwin was asking her to send his current location to Hendrix.Though Erwin lived abroad and might not be familiar with local apps, Noelle knew his intelligence far exceeded such a simple task. He was purely toying with her."You can ask your companion for help," Noelle told him."But she's not here right now, is she? Besides, it's just sending a location. You wouldn't r
After Erwin left, Dylan finally asked Noelle, "That man earlier is Hendrix's friend, right?""Yeah," Noelle said softly while keeping her focus on building the sandcastle."So, the person he mentioned who will be arriving soon is also Hendrix?""Probably."Dylan fell silent.Only then did Noelle realize something. She looked up and explained, "I have no idea why he's here, either."Her explanation sounded weak, but after a moment of studying her, Dylan smiled and nodded. "I believe you."Noelle thought his smile seemed a little off but didn't press further. She slowly lowered her gaze instead."How about seafood for dinner? I found a good place nearby," Dylan said.Noelle nodded. "Sure."Erwin's lingering presence that afternoon had left Noelle on edge. During dinner, she kept glancing toward the entrance, half-expecting Hendrix and Erwin to walk in at any moment.But to her surprise, they didn't.Her constant looks toward the door didn't go unnoticed, prompting Dylan to as
Dylan thought that as long as Noelle was by his side, that was enough. So, he quickly smiled and said, "It's okay. Honestly, just being with you two makes me happy. Really."Noelle raised an eyebrow but didn't respond."You don't have to force yourself," Dylan added. "We can take things slowly. It's fine to just get along like friends."Noelle met his gaze for a moment before finally nodding.Dylan couldn't help but reach out and gently stroked her hair. "I'll head back to my room now.""Okay. Get some rest," Noelle said with a smile before closing the door.Dylan walked a few steps down the hallway but suddenly felt something was off. He paused, then slowly turned around.At the other end of the hallway, another door was open. A man stood there, watching him expressionlessly. A cigarette dangled from his fingers, and it was unclear how long he had been standing there.Dylan raised an eyebrow in surprise but still offered the man a polite smile. Then, he opened the door to his
Noelle finally remembered who the woman was and asked, "What do you need?""Just come with me, okay?"The woman's cheeks were flushed, as if she were too embarrassed to explain.Noelle seemed to catch on. "Do you need me to buy something for you? Or should I call a staff member?""No, no." The woman shook her head. "It's not what you think. Just come with me, please? I really need your help."As she spoke, she grabbed Noelle's hand.Noelle initially wanted to pull away, but the woman looked at her pleadingly, seemingly about to cry. Plus, Noelle figured she probably didn't know anyone else here, so she reluctantly followed in the end."Where are you taking me?"It wasn't until the woman led her back to the hotel that Noelle realized something was off."Just come upstairs for a moment," the woman begged, still holding Noelle's hand. "If you don't, Erwin will be furious with me."Noelle frowned. "What does that have to do with me?""You'll understand once you're upstairs."Th
"Then, why did you—"Noelle was cut off as Erwin suddenly let out a laugh. Then, he took two steps back and slammed the door shut.His movements were quick—so quick that Noelle didn't have time to react. By the time she processed what had happened, the door was already locked from the outside.Noelle's expression darkened. She yanked hard on the doorknob. "What are you doing? Open the door!""I've already left the fever medicine inside," Erwin said from outside the door. "The doctor just came by and said that Hendrix will be fine as long as his fever goes down. As for the rest, that's up to you."His words left Noelle frozen in place. After a moment, she began pounding on the door again. "Open the door! You lunatic! What does him being sick have anything to do with me?"Her voice was sharp, but there was no response from outside. Erwin was already gone.Noelle had no choice but to return to the room and try calling the hotel front desk using the landline. But she quickly discove
Noelle had no intention of explaining anything to Hendrix. She simply handed him the medicine and water. "Take it."Her expression was grim, her tone stiff and cold.Hendrix stared at her for a moment, then took the pill and water obediently.Noelle had poured the water without much thought, and just by touching the glass, she could tell it was somewhat cold.Hendrix obviously felt it, too, but he didn't say a word. He simply took the cup and swallowed the fever medicine."Lie down and sleep," Noelle ordered.But Hendrix kept his eyes on her. "Are you going to leave?"Noelle wasn't sure if he was fully conscious or still delirious. But when she heard his question, she laughed out of frustration."Your buddy, Erwin, has locked the door and taken away my phone. So, how am I supposed to leave? Jump off the balcony?"Her words came out in a barrage.Hendrix sat there, his brows furrowed as if he were struggling to process what she was saying. Finally, he seemed to reach a conclus
Hendrix wasn't sure how long he had been asleep. His mind remained in a constant haze. Sometimes, he felt unbearably freezing cold. Other times, he was burning up.In the midst of it all, he even thought he saw Noelle. She was frowning at him, her expression tinged with impatience.Instinctively, he reached out to grab her, but the moment he moved, she stepped back. The look of disgust in her eyes was unmistakable. Hendrix could only slowly withdraw his hand.He didn't know how much time had passed before he finally opened his eyes.The sky outside had already darkened. He was still lying in bed, the cooling patch on his forehead now the same temperature as his body. He was soaked with sweat, as if he had truly been wandering through a desert.Slowly, he turned his head, only to notice someone lying on the small couch nearby. She was curled up under a bathrobe.The moonlight streaming through the window bathed her in a soft glow, illuminating her features clearly—her long lashes,
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
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