Within that night, Hendrix had lost his composure and self-control completely. As for Noelle, she did not even stay back. She got out of the car with her arms folded and did not even adjust her disheveled clothes.Once the car door was shut, Hendrix stepped on the gas right away. The black Maserati disappeared into the night very quickly.In fact, Noelle also knew that it might truly be their last time meeting each other.…Hendrix returned to Nivis Villa directly. He hadn't been back there for a long time. Over the past two months, he had gotten used to living at Percy Gardens, even though Noelle didn't drop by. Of course, Mabel was happy at his sudden return. "Have you eaten? Shall I help you…""No need," Hendrix answered quickly while striding forward. Once he reached upstairs, he realized that the door to the room at the end of the corridor was actually open. That used to be Noelle's bedroom.After the divorce, she had only taken her belongings with her. Almost all the
"I've prepared a gift for her. You can take it with you when the time comes," Ophelia said. "That boy from the Quinlan family... His status may be lacking, but this is ultimately the Swanson family's matter. "I just hope the two of them can be happy."As Ophelia spoke, her gaze seemed fixed on Hendrix, as if waiting for his reaction.But Hendrix remained calm, responding only with a brief "mm".Beatrice, who had been silent until then, suddenly spoke up, "Noelle will probably be at the engagement banquet, right?"That name was rarely mentioned in Freeman Manor anymore, but as soon as Beatrice said it, the other two in the room slightly frowned."Isn't she no longer connected to the Swanson family?" Ophelia asked, glancing at Hendrix.Hendrix continued eating without a change in expression, the slight furrow in his brows fading as though it had never been there.Beatrice replied, "There will be many media at the event. Regardless of the situation, the Swanson family will certai
Hendrix still hadn't looked at Sandra. His gaze swept across the venue, his brows furrowing slightly."Hendrix," Sandra couldn't help but call out, her voice thick with grievance.Only then did Hendrix seem to snap out of his thoughts. He glanced at her briefly before handing her the gift in his hand. "Congratulations."Congratulations?Sandra hadn't expected that the only thing she would receive from him was such a cold, indifferent word. Her hand tightened into a fist. After a long moment, she regained her composure, slowly reaching out to take the gift. "Thank you."As the red silk box changed hands, Sandra's fingertips brushed lightly against his.They were ice cold.Sandra looked up, only to see that Hendrix's expression hadn't changed in the slightest. She calmly withdrew his hand.Just then, Maxwell stepped forward."Mr. Freeman, welcome," he said, shaking his hand."Why isn't Mr. Brandon here on such an important day?" Yvonne suddenly asked."He's on a business tri
On the way to Serene Street, Hendrix noticed a post from Brandon on his feed.The location was marked as Sintrun, but he wasn't alone. Hendrix could see a person in a white trench coat in the corner of the photo. Who else could it be but Noelle?Hendrix frowned and said without a second thought, "Stop the car."The driver glanced at him in confusion, but before he could respond, Hendrix had already locked his phone. "Turn around. Head to Amity Tower."The taxi ran on a metered fare, so the driver didn't protest, only muttering under his breath as he turned the vehicle around.Hendrix sat there, staring blankly out the window.After tapping a few times on his phone screen, he finally dialed his assistant. "Book me a flight to Sintrun."…Noelle was currently in Sintrun. The movie was adapted from her work, but her involvement in the screenplay wasn't significant, so this trip wasn't strictly necessary.However, Sandra's engagement banquet happened to be over these two days. So,
Noelle walked out first.Brandon followed behind her but maintained a smile on his face. "See you, then, Mr. Freeman."Hendrix only nodded emotionlessly.Then, the doors of the elevator closed. The metal doors reflected his current expression—a frown with pursed lips.As for Noelle, when she was about to enter her room, Brandon called out to her.Noelle turned around.Brandon asked, "Are you still going to the set tomorrow?"Noelle asked, "Why not?"He smiled. "Nothing, just wanted to confirm with you. I was worried that you might have other arrangements."She immediately knew what he meant. She replied in a low tone, "No.""Alright. Good! Have a good rest. Goodnight!"Before heading back to his own room, Brandon gave her a grin. His grin seemed to have another layer of meaning behind it, which made Noelle feel uncomfortable.Before she could say anything, Brandon went into his own room.Noelle stood by the door for a moment and suddenly recalled Hendrix's look just now. S
Noelle let out a sigh of relief after leaving the private room. She didn't know where she could go, so she stood on the walkway in a daze.After some time, the sound of a lighter lighting up could be heard from behind her. It was loud and clear.Noelle turned around.Perhaps due to just seeing him last night, Noelle wasn't surprised to see Hendrix again now. She only clenched her fist a little.Hendrix didn't even look at her. He had one cigarette in one hand, and a phone in another.There were only two of them on the walkway. Even though they were strangers now, Noelle still felt a little out of place. After hesitating for a couple of seconds, she decided to return to the private room. However, just as she turned around, another figure suddenly appeared in front of her, swaying unsteadily and about to collide with her.Noelle's first instinct was to smell the strong scent of alcohol on the person. She hadn't eaten much today. The lunchbox from the set had been too greasy, an
Calculating the days, Noelle realized that her period had indeed been late for several days.With that, she stopped thinking entirely. When Hendrix grabbed her hand, she didn't resist and just numbly followed him forward.As Brandon stepped out of the private room, he happened to witness this scene. His brows immediately furrowed, and he instinctively moved to stop Noelle.But Hendrix quickly glanced at him. "This is between the two of us. Mr. Quinlan, you'd better not interfere." Hendrix's tone was emotionless, but the warning was clear.Brandon froze in his tracks and then turned his gaze back to Noelle."I'm fine," Noelle quickly said.Before Brandon could say anything, Hendrix had already pulled her out of the restaurant.Hendrix stopped at the pharmacy before going back to the hotel.When he placed the items into Noelle's hand, she seemed startled, biting her lip as she said, "Shouldn't we go to the hospital?""Only the emergency room is open right now. Or, if you prefer,
Hendrix walked over and knocked on the door, calling out, "Noelle."There was no answer.He frowned. When he knocked on the door again and received no response, he lost his patience. He lifted his leg and was about to kick the door open when Noelle opened it.Hendrix quickly regained his composure and stared at her.Her face looked calm. "No."Hendrix squinted his eyes.Noelle handed him the pregnancy test and said, "Mr. Freeman, you can rest assured now."Hendrix looked at the single red line on the test."Go to the hospital for a checkup tomorrow. This might not be accurate," said Hendrix."No," replied Noelle.Hendrix frowned once again."This is the result," said Noelle. "I just have stomach issues. The last time… It couldn't be.""I will pick you up at 8:00 am tomorrow."Hendrix didn't want to keep this up with her. He left after saying that."Then, I shall go by myself," said Noelle.Hendrix stopped and looked at her."I will tell you if it's true," she said."Wh
Noelle had already muted the group chat, but private messages kept popping up.They were from the mothers she'd met in the apartment complex while taking Rosie out to play. They were all asking when Hendrix would arrive today. Some even said that if he wasn't coming, he should've given them a heads-up, since their kids had been looking forward to it all day.Noelle stared at the messages blankly. Truthfully, she should've seen this coming from the moment Hendrix started this charade. Manipulating people and controlling them like puppets were the things he had always excelled at.She had finally found some stability in this apartment complex, but now, he had ruined it. He certainly understood the saying, "Give someone an inch, and they'd take a mile", better than anyone.And the money he spent on all those toys? It meant nothing to him. What he really wanted was to control people's minds and shatter Noelle's peace."Mommy! Mommy!"Rosie's voice brought Noelle back to reality. She
Rosie's straightforward answer made Noelle smile. "Alright. Let's go home, then."With that, they walked away hand in hand, as if the noise and excitement behind them seemed to have nothing to do with them.…The next day, Hendrix came again. This time, he wasn't alone, as several bodyguards followed him, each carrying heavy bags.Without Hendrix even saying a word, all the children rushed over. Even kids from neighboring apartments had heard about it and came running.Hendrix didn't discriminate—any child who approached was given a gift. Today, he didn't need to interact with them personally, so he had time to glance over at Noelle to gauge her reaction. However, he quickly realized that Noelle and Rosie were no longer there. He hadn't even noticed when they had left.The same thing happened on the third and fourth days, but by the fifth day, Hendrix didn't show up. But after several days of free gifts, both the children and their parents had gotten a taste for it. Now, they
"So, does that mean you're not going to accept my apology?" Hendrix asked.Noelle finally snapped out of her daze. She stared at him for a moment before picking up her glass and lightly clinking it against his.Noelle wasn't sure what Hendrix was trying to do. After all, based on his past behavior, he wasn't the type to just apologize like that. Yet here he was, doing exactly that. She found it strange but decided not to dwell on it, pretending nothing had happened as she took a sip of her water.Hendrix didn't say much after that.Surprisingly, the meal passed in relative peace. Noelle couldn't even remember the last time they had shared a meal so quietly.So, when Hendrix later suggested that he might occasionally come over to have meals with Rosie, Noelle was momentarily at a loss for how to respond.Hendrix, however, took her silence as permission granted. He then pulled a plushie from a bag and handed it to Rosie. It was a character from the stage performance they had seen a
Noelle had been to this restaurant a few times before with Dylan, so the server immediately recognized her. One of them started approaching her with a warm smile, but the moment she saw the man walking behind Noelle, her expression faltered slightly.Noelle ignored her reaction and simply said, "I'll have my usual order and an omelette for my daughter.""Got it," the server said with a nod, though she couldn't help but sneak a few glances at Hendrix before turning and heading back to the kitchen."Have you been here before?" Hendrix asked.Though the restaurant was decently decorated, it showed its age. The tables and chairs were made of lacquered wood, clean but with a noticeable sheen of grease from years of use.Noelle noticed Hendrix frowning slightly, but he didn't say anything. The frown lasted only for a brief second before he sat down as if nothing had happened. Then, he looked at her, waiting for her answer."Yeah. I've been here a few times.""With Dylan?" Hendrix aske
"Mommy, why hasn't Mr. Pritchett come to see me lately?"Rosie's sudden question caught Noelle off guard. She paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "He's been really busy lately, so he can't find the time to come."Rosie let out a soft "oh" and continued swinging. Her movements were gentle, and Noelle sat quietly beside her, watching.But after a while, Rosie suddenly hopped off the swing and ran over to Noelle, tightly grabbing her hand.Noelle was puzzled, but still she hugged her quickly. "What's wrong?"Rosie didn't say a word, her eyes fixed straight ahead. It was then Noelle noticed the man standing there.It was early autumn in Stormridge, and the man was dressed in a crisp, well-tailored suit. His tall, slender figure and strikingly handsome face instantly drew the attention of several people in the apartment complex.It was a weekday, and most of the people playing with the children downstairs were their grandparents. Their gazes were anything but subtle, openly sw
Noelle couldn't help but clench her hand.She had no idea how long the silence stretched before Dylan suddenly burst into laughter. It was as if he had just heard an unbelievably funny joke. His laughter echoed through the phone, carrying a hint of finality.Then, he said, "You want me to be honest? Do you really think we'll have a future together if I were to be honest with you? Do you think if I tell you everything now, we can live happily ever after? As if I'm ever going to believe that."The answer Noelle had been dreading finally came crashing down. She slowly unclenched her fist. Her lips parted, about to say something, but Dylan beat her to it."You're right. I did lie to you. The so-called investor is actually Jean. Her father left her some assets abroad, and I'm going with her to retrieve them."Yes, I'm with her again, but you know how I feel about her. I've never liked her, and I'm just using her. Besides, you should know that the reason I'm doing all this is so that I
Noelle had just finished putting Rosie to sleep when Dylan sent over the e-tickets for the amusement park."I just checked. There'll be plenty of staff on-site. So when you're there with Rosie, you can just go straight to them if you need anything," his message read.He seemed to know she'd be busy settling Rosie, so he didn't call. Instead, he sent a thoughtful, detailed text, listing out several precautions for their upcoming trip.After reading through his message, Noelle hesitated for a moment before dialing his number.Dylan picked up almost immediately. "Hey, is Rosie asleep?"His voice was the same as always, no different from what Noelle had heard over the past few days.But this time, she paused. It took her a moment before she finally answered, "Yeah, she's asleep.""Did you see the list I sent? The staff should have most things covered, but you should still bring a couple of towels. And don't forget Rosie's favorite floatie—""Dylan," Noelle suddenly cut him off.Ju
Noelle raised her head, her eyes locking onto Jean's. "I thought you hated me? So, why are you telling me all this?""Because I hate Dylan even more. I know it was him who set me up back then. If it weren't for his tip-off, my father would never have fallen from grace. So, how could I not hate him?""So, the assets you mentioned were just a lie to fool him?""Of course." Jean nodded without hesitation, turning to face Noelle with a smile. "So, are you going to tell him that?"Noelle pressed her lips together. "I don't believe you're doing this alone.""What?""You said it yourself—Dylan was the one who reported your family, leading to the investigation. He knows exactly what happened to your family, so he'd know whether your father left you any overseas assets or not."And you just got out of prison. Even if you wanted to forge an asset certificate, you'd need a professional to help you with that. Dylan has been in the business world for years, so it wouldn't be easy to fool him
"You must be wondering why I'm telling you all this, right?" Jean chuckled softly. "To be honest, I still hate you. Or maybe it's more accurate to say I'm jealous of you. Because you have so many things I wanted but could never have."Just look at your face. With that alone, you can easily get whatever you want. Thinking about it makes me seethe with envy and drives me mad.""Ms. Fisher, you once had plenty of things yourself," Noelle said.Jean paused, caught off guard by the response. Then, she nodded with a faint smile. "Yes, you're right. But what does that matter now? I've already lost everything. Well, not everything. I still have some connections my father left me, along with a few assets abroad."She slowly shifted her gaze back to Noelle. "So, do you understand now what my advice to you really means?"Noelle frowned."Dylan must have told you he's going on a business trip abroad soon, right?" Jean continued, her lips curling into a sly smile. "To be frank, he's going wit