The loud crash finally drew the attention of others. The door that had kept Noelle trapped for an entire day was finally opened.It was only then that Noelle realized Hendrix had known all along how to get out, but he had chosen not to do anything until now.She couldn't help but frown. When she turned to look at him, he was already putting on his coat. He didn't look at her or say another word. He simply walked out after slipping on his coat.Erwin, who had heard of the commotion, was standing at the door, watching them with curiosity. When his eyes met Noelle's, he even grinned and greeted her.Noelle ignored him and turned to leave in the opposite direction.Erwin raised an eyebrow, then quickly caught up to Hendrix. "What happened? Didn't you two… you know? You should have. I did go through all that trouble to create the perfect opportunity for you after all."As he spoke, he frowned and looked at Hendrix with frustration."Gee, thanks," Hendrix said, but his tone was dismis
Even though Dylan sounded calm, Noelle could feel an underlying pressure in his words.She paused for a moment before responding, "It's not what you think—""I know," Dylan quickly said with a smile. "You don't need to be so nervous. Others might not understand the situation between you and Hendrix, but I do. He must have had someone trick you into going there, right? And no matter what, you'd never abandon Rosie. So, I believe you."He spoke patiently, sounding as if he was offering Noelle an explanation for herself. Yet, at the same time, it felt as if he was placing a heavy burden on her."You probably didn't sleep a wink last night, right? Go get some rest now," Dylan added as he stood up. "I'll head back to my room now."Noelle nodded.But as Dylan passed by her, he suddenly stopped and took a step closer to her.The sudden closeness startled Noelle, and she instinctively took a step back.Dylan couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. "Did I scare you?"His voice carri
"How can you call it ridiculous? That's a brand-name item! It's expensive, you know. And I specifically—""Right. Were you trying to publicly embarrass me to death by sending something so obvious?" Noelle asked through gritted teeth before Seline could finish her sentence."That's because I didn't have time to—" Seline started, then suddenly realized something. "Wait. How do you know what that brand sells?" She clicked her tongue. "Seems like you're not as pure as I thought."Noelle suddenly found herself at a loss for words. Unable to come up with a retort, she just rolled her eyes and said, "I'm not talking to you anymore.""Hey, you haven't answered me yet. So, did you and Mr. Pritchett—""Nothing happened whatsoever," Noelle replied without hesitation.At first, Seline thought Noelle was just brushing her off out of embarrassment. But when she met her eyes, she realized—nothing really had happened.Seline immediately became deflated. "How boring. I've never heard of a couple
Night fell.Rosie had been riding in the car all day, and her eyes were already drooping while taking a bath earlier. Now, as Noelle dried her hair, she kept nodding off, as if she could fall asleep at any moment.Noelle couldn't help but smile at the sight. "If you're this sleepy, why don't we skip the bedtime story tonight and just go to sleep?""No." Rosie's eyes snapped open as she insisted, "I want to hear a story.""Alright, then. What story do you want to hear today?"Rosie immediately got up and rummaged through her little bookshelf before picking out her favorite picture book, "My Little Monster".Noelle took the book and began reading.Rosie had heard this story many times before, but she still loved it. Every time Noelle read it to her, she would listen intently.When Noelle reached the last page, Rosie asked, "Mommy, will the little monster stay with Betty forever?""Yes.""Then, will you stay with me forever?"Noelle smiled and nodded. "Of course."Only then di
Noelle noticed his nervousness. After clenching her hands for a brief moment, she finally said, "The focus of your company for the next few years should be in Coppersville, right?"Her question caught Dylan off guard. Choosing not to lie, he nodded slowly."The thing is—I don't want to move back there," Noelle said. "I really like it in Stormridge. So, the distance would be an issue for us.""That's not an issue at all, what with all the transportation available. I can come visit you every month. "Even though Dyno Corporation is still in its early stages, once it stabilizes in a couple of years, I'll naturally look to open subsidiaries in other cities. "When that time comes, Stormridge will be my first choice," Dylan responded quickly, his tone anxious, as if he had finally found something to hold on to after struggling for so long. He was doing everything he could to cling to it, afraid of being left behind again.Noelle didn't comment on his response. Instead, she lowered her
"Mr. Pritchett, it's been a while," said someone warmly from behind Hendrix, causing him to pause briefly.But he didn't turn around and instead continued speaking calmly with the person in front of him. He hadn't wanted to attend this party in the first place, but the host was a close acquaintance, so he had reluctantly shown up to make an appearance.What he hadn't expected was to run into the last person he wanted to see so soon after arriving. He knew Dylan and Noelle were together now. Just a few days ago, Erwin had sent him a photo of Dylan and Noelle holding hands.Hendrix had already made up his mind not to concern himself with their affairs anymore. But Erwin, as if having discovered a new toy, seemed to take pleasure in using this to provoke him every day.Hendrix didn't know if Erwin enjoyed seeing him suffer or if he was trying to prove how laughable Hendrix's past promises of unwavering devotion to Noelle had been. Whatever the reason, he had already blocked him.But
It was a photo taken during their last visit to the amusement park. At the time, the park staff, trying to curry favor with him, had taken countless group photos of him, Noelle, and Rosie.But from Hendrix's perspective now, he could see that he had been cropped out of the photo. Only Noelle and Rosie remained, and the picture had been set as her social media profile photo.Dylan smiled at him and said, "Sorry. I need to take this call."Then, without waiting for Hendrix's response, he walked out with his phone in hand.Hendrix stayed where he was. After a moment, he let out a soft chuckle.He knew it—there was no way Dylan didn't care. He had done it on purpose. He had deliberately taken out his phone in front of him to flaunt his relationship with Noelle.Hendrix had always known that it was impossible for Dylan not to care about his past with Noelle. His earlier calmness and sincerity? It must have been an act. So, the video call was probably fake, too.Someone had just swapp
Hendrix trailed behind Dylan the entire time. He knew how despicable his actions were—this wasn't something he should be doing, but he couldn't help himself.He even wished he could live-stream the scene to Noelle, letting her see the true colors of the man she had chosen. But he didn't.Doing something like that wouldn't carry much weight. Besides, he didn't want to stoop to that level. All he needed to do was tear off Dylan's mask and make sure he stayed away from Noelle.Dylan didn't deserve her—not even a little!Dylan soon led the woman into a room. Hendrix didn't approach immediately. Instead, he stood outside, finishing a cigarette before slowly making his way forward. He moved in a calm and deliberate manner, and when he reached the door, he gave it several light knocks.There was no response from inside. Hendrix narrowed his eyes, the mockery in his gaze growing more pronounced.He knocked again.This time, Dylan answered. "Who is it?"Hendrix remained silent.Dylan
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