When Noelle heard the click of the seatbelt, she snapped back to reality and pointed at herself. "You want me to race?" she exclaimed. "No, no! I can't! I may have a driver's license, but I'm a rookie. Just driving safely is already an achievement for me. Racing? No way! And this isn't even a professional race car!""Nelly, don't be afraid. I believe in you!" Charles squeezed Noelle's hand, encouraging her. "You never know your limits until you try. I didn't know how to race before either." His calm voice acted like a spell, guiding Noelle.Noelle blinked, looking uncertainly at Charles. "But I don't know how...""When I'm in a bad mood, I like to race. Pushing myself to the limit helps me forget everything. Try it out, okay?""Fine!"Noelle took a deep breath, opened the car door, and switched places with Charles. Then, she took another deep breath with her eyes fixed on Charles. "I can do this.""Yes. I believe in you. I'm putting myself in your hands!" Charles buckled his
Back then, Noelle was naive and agreed to trade dolls with Winter. However, Winter quickly destroyed her own doll.Noelle's eyes darkened when she recalled this memory. She pressed the accelerator to the floor. "I don't want to lose. Not this time!"Charles smirked. "But they're professional racers, driving professional race cars.""But I want to try!"She did not want to be deprived of her rights without even trying. She needed to make an effort, and if she still could not get it after trying, then she would let go. It would simply mean it was not meant for her.Noelle's words were not only meant for Charles but also for herself. Seeing the determination in Noelle's eyes, Charles knew she had made up her mind. "Alright, go for it."From start to finish, Charles did not say much. He was just there beside her, encouraging her and cheering her on. He put his trust in her, placing his life in her hands.Noelle bit her lip, feeling a different kind of emotion toward Charles. She gri
Noelle felt Charles' gaze burning into her, and his eyes seemed to see right through everything. She looked at him shyly. "You don't want your reputation ruined by me, do you?"Charles shook his head helplessly. This woman was clearly worried about losing, so she came up with this excuse. Just moments ago, she had been excited to race, and now, she was backing out."Hmm?"Noelle blushed. "Alright, I admit it. I'm afraid I'll lose. Happy now?" She then urged him, "Hurry up!"Charles nodded and walked over to the group. "What are the rules?"One of the men in the group eyed Charles as if wanting to say something, but another interrupted him, "Our usual rules. We race to the mountaintop. Whoever gets there first wins. But hey, with your car... Do you want us to give you a head start?"The man with the red hair and a wild attitude added boldly, "Or… if you beat any one of us, you win.""Alright. It's a deal." Noelle quickly interjected. "You said it first. If we beat any one of your
Charles kept his lips tight and stared straight ahead. His focused and serious expression left Noelle no time to think about anything else.She gripped the handle with both hands as Charles accelerated again, overtaking another car at the next bend.Noelle felt the wind rushing past her ears. It was an indescribable sensation. Her heart pounded in her throat, and she felt like she might scream at any moment.As Charles overtook another car, Noelle heard someone outside curse in awe, "Holy crap! This guy's a legend!"Noelle bit her pale lip, glancing at Charles under the dim interior light. The man outside was right—Charles really was something else.Seeing his calm demeanor, Noelle bit her lip and asked, "Were you a race car driver?"Charles raised an eyebrow, his lips curving into a smile. "Scared now?"Noelle shook her head. Seeing that Charles could still talk to her, she could not help but worry. "I'd better not distract you. Just focus on driving!" Then, she added, "Actuall
Noelle stared at Charles and then turned to look behind them.The other cars were already far behind Charles'. "How did you do that?"Before she could finish her sentence, Charles' eyes grew sharp. "Hold on tight." As he spoke, he floored the accelerator, speeding through the rough terrain."Fuck!" The red-haired man, who had been in first place, saw Charles accelerating on the most dangerous part of the road. "Is he crazy?"Usually, they would slow down on this stretch, but Charles had sped up instead.Noelle gripped the handle tightly, her entire body grew tense. Her heart was seemingly pounding in her throat. However, she had no choice but to trust Charles completely.To Noelle's surprise, the car came to a sudden stop. She turned to Charles in bewilderment. "What happened?"Charles smiled lightly, shutting off the engine and rolling up the windows. He pulled Noelle into his arms. "Were you scared?"Noelle swallowed hard, feeling as if she had been reborn. She wrapped her ar
Charles curled his lips upon seeing the unusual expression on Noelle's face. He gently patted her head. “That's good!”He cared about winning, but not in this context.Charles drove to the finish line with a sense of joy, and as expected, they lost the race. However, the red-haired man could not help but admire Charles when his car arrived. "Man, where do you race? You're pretty good."The red-haired man tossed Charles a cigarette, which he caught. However, he just played with it without answering. The man raised an eyebrow, impressed by Charles' demeanor. "Interested in joining our team?"Charles smiled. "I lost!""No, we lost!" The red-haired man, who could take a loss gracefully, understood Charles' skill. He was amazed. Having been in the racing world for so long, he had not expected to find someone who could drive like that.They were professional racers, calculating every detail and knowing their limits. However, seeing Charles' performance with just a luxury sedan was a fi
The group howled in excitement, but Sully just smirked. It was the first time he had seen Jim so serious.After Charles led Noelle to the car, they drove away. Noelle's mind was still replaying the scene of their kiss. She could not believe she had kissed him, and when she came to her senses, Charles had taken it seriously and refused to let her go.Noelle cautiously glanced at Charles, thinking she was being discreet. As she watched his profile, she swallowed nervously and licked her dry lips.Charles' narrow eyes met hers, as if he were a predator locking onto its prey. Noelle's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly looked away with her heart racing. She stammered, "Y-You could have won, and they even admitted it! Why didn't you take the prize?"Charles raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Do you really want the prize?"Noelle initially wanted to say no, but instead, she nodded. "Yes. Your skills were clearly better. Why didn't you take the prize?""If you like it, we can go back and
"I'm not sure," Ronald admitted. "The video did come from an IP address associated with the York family, but whether Simon was responsible is unclear. Our team intercepted it, but Julian also received a copy."Mr. Hoffman, what do you think Simon and Julian are up to?" Ronald was puzzled. "Simon has everything he could want. Why target your wife? And Julian, he’s her father, yet..." Ronald caught himself almost misspeaking and quickly corrected, "Yet he behaves like this."Charles replied coldly, "Profit, of course. What else do businessmen care about? Noelle doesn’t have shares in City Ring Corp. Logically, marrying her to Xavier would be the best choice as it wouldn’t remove any shares from City Ring Corp. But he didn’t do that!"Charles was also puzzled regarding this matter. If Julian intended to give Noelle to Simon, he must have expected to gain something from Simon."Find out what happened between Noelle and the Shaw family!" Charles sensed something was off. Although Noelle
The kid shivered when he saw Peter's piercing eyes. "I don't know where he is!""You're lying!" Peter said, spinning a scalpel in his hand with a smile that did not reach his cold eyes. "If you don't take me, let's see if you can run faster than my knife can fly!"Peter pretended to throw the knife at the kid, who shook with fear and quickly gave in. "I'll take you!"Peter raised an eyebrow and put the knife away. "Move it!"The kid did not know who Peter was, but after seeing what he could do, he did not dare say no. "Not just anyone can meet Mr. Holt!""Oh, really?""Yes!""Where are you from, sir?" the kid asked Peter in Spanyric."Zyphonia!" Peter answered, then looked at the kid and said, "You've been hiding behind that mask for a long time. Isn't it time to take it off?"Surprised, the kid did not react fast enough, and Peter quickly pulled off the mask, revealing a young and innocent face underneath.She had a soft and detailed face, like that of a girl around fifteen
Peter covered his mouth with a handkerchief, crouched down, and with his trusty military knife, he flipped over a body to take a closer look. To his surprise, he found some strange marks on the body, like a secret code.He squinted his eyes and checked the other bodies. They all had the same mysterious marks.With a chill in his gaze, Peter stood up, cleaned off his knife, and hopped into his car. He followed the path the kid had taken just moments before.Bodies were everywhere, and only a few people were still alive. Most were in shock, and some were rescue workers.However, Peter's sharp eyes quickly spotted a group of people and zeroed in on the kid. Something told Peter that the kid was in trouble. He got out of the car fast and followed the kid's tracks.That kid was no regular Joe. He knew he was being followed after just a few hundred feet and started dodging through the town littered with bodies.Peter's smile grew. He was getting more and more curious about that little
"I know, but Noelle, I had no other way. He put a virus in you. Do you understand what that means?" Charles's piercing eyes softened a bit. "You know I couldn't just do nothing. I couldn't stand to see you in pain!""But my sister is innocent too!" Noelle inhaled deeply. "What if that man didn't care about my sister? Isn't doing this like throwing her into a fire?" Noelle could barely imagine what had become of Kelly then.Noelle had seen that man before, and she knew just how harsh and mean he could be. They had only talked for a little bit, and she did not really get to know him, but she could tell he was the type of person who would do anything to get what he wanted.He was the kind of guy who would put a virus in people like Tania and Bran, and even in women and kids like her. Noelle was scared to think about what he might do to her sister, Kelly."Noelle, you've got to believe me!" Charles pleaded.However, Noelle shook her head. "It's not that I don't believe you. It's just.
Kelly was gone. The day after she vanished, little Seth cried his heart out because he could not see her. Tania and Nancy tried everything to calm him down, but nothing worked. They had no choice but to tell Charles about the situation.Noelle and Kelly could have been twins. They were so alike. That was why everyone thought it would be a good idea for Seth to meet Noelle. However, Charles was dead set against it, and nobody had ever seen him so stubborn.Nancy and Clarisse were in the dark about the whole thing, but Tania knew the score. There had not been a peep from Peter lately, and Tania was getting worried that something bad had happened.That day, Tania and Bran headed to the hospital. Charles had moved all his work there, and Ronald was dealing with everything, big and small, right in the hospital.Charles kept Noelle out of the loop, though. She figured she was just there because they had not gotten her sickness under control yet. She knew she had a virus, so she went alon
"What's the matter? Is looking at me enough to fill you up?"Yves turned to Kelly, pulling out a chair and sitting beside her. His long fingers picked up the silverware and served her the meal. "Eat up. Isn't this your favorite?"Her favorite?Kelly stared back at Yves, her gaze frosty. "Do you even know what I like?"Yves put his hands down and gazed at Kelly. "What's wrong? Don't you like the food?" Without waiting for her answer, he quickly summoned the two servants from earlier. "Madam doesn't like the food. You know I don't keep anything around that isn't useful.""Please, madam, have mercy! Sir, have mercy!" The servants' faces turned ghostly white as they stood stiffly on the marble floor, apologizing repeatedly. Kelly's heart raced with fear. "Stop, please. I'll eat, okay? Isn't that enough?"She bowed her head and started gobbling up the food, scared that Yves, who she thought was crazy, might do something unpredictable if he got upset.Kelly could not see the slight
Kelly felt a chill run through her. "Yves, you're just too scary."Kelly did not know much about the Lennon family, but she remembered how Peter had single-handedly brought down Lennon Group six months ago. What if they had not fallen? What about Peter's uncle..."Scary? What I've done is nothing compared to the Hoffman family. They're the real filth. Once you get involved with them, you're tainted too. Don't you think so?" Yves's eyes burned with undisguised hatred as he mentioned the Hoffman family."It's getting late, and you must be hungry by now!"Yves ignored Kelly's protests, bent down, and scooped her up in his arms.Kelly tried to wriggle free, but Yves held her tight. "Unless you fancy going hungry!"Realizing she was getting nowhere, Kelly stopped struggling. She had used up a lot of energy arguing and messing around with Yves, and then she felt drained.Once Kelly was calm, Yves carried her down to the restaurant on the ground floor.Several people stood guard in th
"What did you say?"Just a second ago, Yves might have looked totally calm and unbothered, but then he was like a scary fighter from the darkest night. He grabbed Kelly's hand, his frosty stare locking onto her. When he squeezed just a little, Kelly was trapped, unable to move at all.It hurt so much, like her heart was being drilled into.Kelly's face went white as she looked at Yves, whose face was hidden behind a mask.Somehow, even though she could not see his face, she could tell from his icy, sharp eyes that he was surprised, shocked, and hurting.He held onto Kelly's wrist so tight. His eyes looked like they could eat her up. "Say that again!" he said through clenched teeth, like he was so mad he could gobble her up.Kelly had never seen Yves look so ruthless and fierce, like a messenger from the underworld. She shivered, totally scared, but Yves kept his gaze right on her. "How could you, how dare you!"Was this woman out of her mind? She actually dared to inject herself
Yves just laughed when he heard her. "You've lost respect for me?" He towered over Kelly, who was sitting on the bed. He reached out and gently lifted her chin with his finger, gazing intently into her eyes. "There's no such thing as an innocent person in this world, right?""Let me go!" Kelly jerked her head away. "That's just your dark heart talking. Noelle never hurt you, and neither did Tania or Bran. I can't figure out why you're after them. Sure, you have issues with Charles and the Hoffmans, but go after them, not innocent people!"Yves squinted, then let go of her chin and looked at his finger. "Going after the Hoffmans, huh? Just wait and see what happens.""Yves, are you out of your mind? What did the Hoffmans ever do to you? Aren't you a Hoffman too?"Kelly was confused about Yves's motives, so she tried to get him to spill the beans. However, Yves took her words the wrong way, thinking she meant something else."Do you feel bad for Charles?" "I don't know what you're
Kelly trembled from head to toe when she heard Yves's words. She tried to push him away, but Yves was too strong, and she could not get free. "Let me go, Yves! You're crazy, a creep, let me go!" Kelly kept struggling. She tried to slap him, but Yves caught her other hand.Yves pulled Kelly close, and his chilly breath wrapped around her. She shivered, but Yves just hugged her tighter. "After all these years, you haven't changed a bit!"Kelly felt a chill all over her body. She wanted to push him away, but she could not muster the strength.Yves held Kelly in his arms. His firm chin was visible outside his mask, and his cool lips brushed against Kelly's cheek as he softly laughed. "Kelly, I've missed you too!"Kelly suddenly looked up, her surprised eyes meeting Yves's deep ones.His eyes were different from Charles's. Charles's gaze was icy and emotionless, like chunks of ice.However, Yves's eyes were different. They were just as deep but had a touch of warmth. His eyes were lik