Even though Noelle resisted with every fiber of her being, at that moment, she still felt something she hadn't experienced in a long time—the exhilarating rush of adrenaline. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears slipping down her cheeks.Hendrix leaned in and kissed them away. Then, his lips found hers.Noelle's mind went blank. It wasn't until his tongue pushed past her teeth that she finally thought of something. She immediately pushed against him with all her strength.Hendrix knew exactly what her concern was. He let out a low chuckle but deepened the kiss instead. Noelle grew even more furious. She bit down hard on his lips, and the metallic taste of blood quickly spread between them.But Hendrix was long accustomed to pain, so he barely felt it at all. Still, before Noelle could lash out further, he finally let go of her.Noelle punched him hard on the chest, her teeth clenched as she glared at him.Hendrix merely smiled and asked, "What are you afraid of? It's not dirty at
Noelle didn't notice the Christmas present under her pillow until the next day. Inside the small box was a pair of earrings and a rosary. She stared at it for a while before silently putting the box back and getting out of bed to go downstairs.Beatrice and Rosie were playing poker in the living room. Along with them were a few of the household staff. They were using pistachios as chips, and everyone seemed to be having a great time.It seemed Rosie had won the round, as she was bouncing around excitedly. When she saw Noelle, her smile widened, and she ran over to share the good news."Mommy, I won again! Look! I won so many things!"Noelle looked at her beaming face and instinctively wanted to praise her, but it felt like something was stuck in her throat, and no words came out. In the end, she could only force a smile, but even that wasn't convincing.Because she could clearly see the excitement in Rosie's eyes fade as they met hers. Noelle hadn't wanted this to happen. She, mor
Noelle stood there without saying a word."You don't need to feel burdened," Beatrice said. "He just wants to do something for the person he loves."Noelle lowered her eyes and remained silent.After a brief pause, Beatrice added, "Now then, you should have your breakfast first. After that, I'll take you somewhere."…Noelle hadn't expected Beatrice to bring her to the Swift residence. She still remembered the last time she was here. Back then, she had made a promise to Marla. She had said she would repay Seline for the kindness she had shown Rosie. And yet, even until now, she did no such thing.Just this morning, because of the rosary Hendrix had given her and because of the cautious way Rosie had looked at her, Noelle had even tried to convince herself to forget her promise.But now, how could she forget? Marla would surely think of her as a despicable liar. After all, she had already promised her."Let's go."Beatrice's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Noelle blinked
Noelle wanted to step forward, but Beatrice quickly shielded her and said, "I understand it must be painful for you to lose Seline. But ask yourselves this—was this really Noelle's fault?"I've spoken to the other witnesses. They all said the weather was bad that day, and Noelle tried to stop Seline from taking Rosie up the mountain, but Seline refused to listen. I know this is hard to accept, but the truth is—Seline should take responsibility for her own actions.""What are you saying? Are you implying that Seline deserved to die?" Marla immediately became emotional.Beatrice shook her head. "That's not what I meant. Seline was young, and anyone would feel sorry for her. But what did Noelle do wrong? It wasn't her idea to take Rosie up to the ski resort. In fact, she tried to stop Seline."And when the avalanche happened, she was even prepared to go up the mountain alone to search for them. She did everything she could, so what more do you want from her? Do you really want her to
"Actually, this whole time, Hendrix has been going to the Swifts' house every day. Why do you think they reacted so strongly just now? But Hendrix is terrible with words. He never says the right things, so the Swifts don't welcome him at all," Beatrice said.Noelle was still confused. "Why would he go there?"Beatrice looked at her. "Why do you think? He did it for you, of course. He doesn't want you to stay trapped in the past with Seline's passing, nor does he want you to be sad. But he can't bring Seline back to life, so the only thing he can do is beg the Swifts to forgive you."He thought if they could just say they forgive you, you might be able to move on. In fact, what he's doing isn't much different from what I did today. It's just that I brought you along to see it for yourself. "Noelle, I just wanted you to know—we've all seen your pain. You're not alone."Noelle didn't respond. She just sat there quietly, staring blankly at Beatrice. It was a long time before she fina
Noelle and Hendrix stayed at Sienna Villa for another two weeks.Rosie was now old enough for school. Noelle had already chosen a kindergarten for her in Stormridge, but now, going back there was no longer an option.In the end, it was Hendrix who decided on Rosie's kindergarten—a prestigious international school in Coppersville.The school catered to students from prominent family backgrounds, with facilities and resources that far surpassed anything Noelle had previously considered.Deep down, Noelle had always known—if Rosie stayed with Hendrix, the circles and opportunities she would be exposed to were something Noelle could never match, no matter how hard she worked.In fact, everything Rosie used or wore now was the best of the best. Not too long ago, Beatrice had taken Rosie to a few social events. She hadn't been the type to enjoy such gatherings in the past, but she said it would be good to expose Rosie to different kinds of settings so that she wouldn't feel out of pla
Rosie didn't answer."Are you not happy here?" Noelle asked.Rosie shook her head, then nodded."I think you're not happy, Mommy," she said. "You don't smile at me as much as before. I want you to be like you used to be."Noelle fell silent. Her hand, which had been gently stroking Rosie, froze in place.While they were talking, a household staff had been standing nearby. Noticing Noelle's change in mood, she quickly stepped forward and said to Rosie, "Ms. Rosie, didn't you say you wanted to draw earlier? How about we do it together now?"Rosie didn't answer. She just bit her lip and looked at Noelle.After quickly taking a deep breath, Noelle forced a smile and said, "When we get the chance, I'll take you back to Stormridge for a visit, okay?"Rosie's eyes lit up instantly. "Really?"Seeing her like this, Noelle felt her chest tighten. After a moment, she nodded and said, "Really."Rosie was overjoyed—so much so that she simply let the household staff take her away.Noelle,
"Didn't I tell you not to walk around barefoot?" Hendrix asked with a frown."The floor has heating," Noelle replied."That's still not okay."Noelle stared at him for a moment, then finally muttered, "Fine.""What were you looking at just now?""What have you been busy with lately?"They spoke at the same time, their voices overlapping.Hendrix was momentarily stunned, then he chuckled softly.Noelle, however, frowned at him. "What are you laughing at?"Instead of answering her question, Hendrix countered with one of his own, "Do you really want to know?" Noelle hesitated, then nodded."Good. Because there's something I want to tell you, too," Hendrix said. "But I haven't washed up yet, so can you wait a while longer?""Can't you tell me first?""No."Hendrix had been so accommodating lately that Noelle had grown used to it. So, when he flat-out refused this time, she was momentarily caught off guard.By then, Hendrix had already stood up and was heading toward the bat
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
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