Seeing how Noelle wouldn't believe her, Jennifer paused for a moment before saying, "Why not think about it from a different perspective?""What do you mean?""For example, what if all of this was actually arranged by Mr. Freeman, and I was just the one carrying it out?"Jennifer's words made Noelle pause in surprise, but she quickly dismissed the idea. "Impossible," said Noelle.Jennifer replied, "Why is it impossible? Do you still doubt Mr. Freeman's efforts for you? And think about it. What kind of man is he? "If he were just looking for a woman, why would he go to all this trouble with you? To be honest, I even thought about throwing myself at him back then."She had said it with such frankness that Noelle couldn't tell if she was joking or serious."But I do have some self-awareness," Jennifer added, candidly recounting what had happened that evening. She continued, "From the moment he looked at me, I knew he wasn't interested. A man like him, someone who rejects so de
When this question surfaced in Noelle's mind, she suddenly thought of the couple from the Swanson family. Facing them, she had asked herself this same question countless times.But deep down, she had always known the answer. No matter how many disappointments she had endured, she couldn't help but cling to hope again once those wounds healed, until they smashed her heart to the ground and crushed it completely.Yes, what was she hoping for? Was she hoping they would love her or that Hendrix would treat her differently? For the past two years, she hadn't been able to warm his heart—how could he possibly draw closer to her suddenly?She had overestimated herself, or maybe she was just delusional. It was just like the time when she was a child. She stood outside the school gate and stared at the old man running a cotton candy stall. On his stand were cotton candies in various colors and flavors.At the time, she wanted so badly to have just one bite, but she had no money. So, all sh
Yvonne didn't give Noelle a chance to refuse. There was nothing Noelle could do now. Before long, the two of them were seated in the café."When did you arrive in Sintrun?" Yvonne asked directly.Noelle held her cup and calmly answered, "A few days ago.""Oh? By yourself?"Noelle didn't reply. She simply lifted her gaze to look at Yvonne.After holding her gaze for a moment, Yvonne suddenly smiled and placed a few photos in front of Noelle. "The person in these photos is you, isn't it?"In the photo, two people were kissing on a lively rooftop while fireworks lit up the night sky. Hendrix's face was unmistakable. He was holding Noelle in his arms, with one hand gently cradling her cheek. Her face, however, was mostly obscured.At this point, denying it clearly held no meaning. After clenching her hands briefly, Noelle finally nodded and said, "Yes.""Ms. Swanson, then, you must also know that Hendrix is no longer your husband but my fiancé, right?" Yvonne continued slowly, "I
"Mr. Freeman?" asked the person on the other end of the call, puzzled while waiting for Hendrix's response."I understand," Hendrix replied curtly before hanging up.He then turned his gaze back to Noelle and asked, "What are you doing?"His voice seemed calm but carried an unmistakable tension."Packing up. I'm heading to Coppersville," Noelle replied, as if she noticed nothing unusual. She continued fastening the lock on her suitcase without looking up.His expression remained unreadable. "What do you mean?"She finally raised her head, offering a faint smile. "Since Ms. Wright is already here, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to stay, would it?"Hendrix narrowed his eyes slightly at her words."Isn't she your fiancée?" Noelle asked.Her question prompted him to let out a soft chuckle. "So, are you jealous?""No," she said, lowering her gaze. How could she be? She didn't have that right.He said nothing more. He casually tossed his jacket aside and lit the cigarette betwe
"Thank you for your care the past few days, but to avoid any misunderstandings with Ms. Wright, we shouldn't be staying in contact anymore," Noelle continued.Hendrix didn't respond immediately. He sat there, expressionless, and watched her. After a long silence, he finally let out a faint chuckle."So, Noelle, you want to draw a clear line between us?"She didn't answer. She simply pulled her suitcase closer in silence. That attitude said everything.He laughed aloud and said, "You're right about one thing. If I want someone, there are plenty of options out there. Don't think you're anything special, Noelle.""I know that," she replied with a forced smile. "I've always known that, in your heart, I was never the special one. So, let's not waste each other's time anymore."Hendrix said nothing further.Without hesitation, Noelle bid him farewell. "Then, I'll leave now. I wish you and Ms. Wright all the best and a happy ever after."With those words, she turned away, pulling her
Noelle saw Hendrix again two months later. It was at an auction Brandon had brought her to.At the time, she was in the backyard, and standing before her was Clark, whom she hadn't seen in months, either. Compared to their last meeting, he seemed much more dejected. His face had clearly grown thinner, but when he faced her, he still managed to force a smile."It's been a while, Noelle."Inwardly, she cursed Brandon several times for bringing her there, but on the surface, she maintained her polite smile. "Yes, it has," she said. "How have you been these days?" Clark asked."Pretty good.""Haven't you and Mr. Freeman reconciled?"The moment he said that, memories of that humiliating night in the car came flooding back to Noelle's mind. Her hands at her sides clenched slightly before she finally replied, "No."Clark fell silent.Noelle, however, couldn't bear the quiet tension hanging in the air. So, she said directly, "Please excuse me."As soon as she spoke, she started to
Clark froze in place, and the woman quickly pointed a finger at Noelle.She reprimanded, "You're doing all this for this worthless woman, huh? Do you know why Hendrix divorced her in the first place? It's because she slept around! "She was in her teens when she got involved with that adoptive father of hers. Now, you're messing around with her. Aren't you afraid of getting sick?"At this point, nearly everyone in the front hall had gathered around.The woman's words were spoken quickly, her piercing voice reaching the ears of everyone present.Noelle stood frozen, unable to move. Even the words she had been preparing to say disappeared.Clark's expression shifted, and slowly, he turned to look at Noelle. His shocked gaze, combined with the sudden eruption of voices from the crowd, felt like a tidal wave crashing over her, completely drowning her.She had thought she wouldn't care about this. After all, months ago, she had revealed this dark past of hers in front of so many pe
"Sandy! You…"As the car was about to start, someone rushed over, seemingly trying to remind Sandra of something. But Sandra quickly shook her head and said, "Noelle is my sister. I can't leave her behind. Don't worry. I'm fine."At that moment, her gentle and considerate demeanor seemed angelic to any onlookers. After finishing her words, Sandra swiftly rolled up the car window. Soon, only the two of them and the driver remained in the car. Sandra had originally planned to continue the act, but in the next moment, Noelle questioned, "Were you the one who told her?"By now, Noelle's rationality had slowly come back. With her head lowered, she kept her voice as calm as she could manage, though it still trembled slightly.Sandra looked at her for a moment and then smiled. "Yes."Noelle lifted her eyes."I put in quite a bit of effort for today's performance." Sandra winked and continued, "But Noelle, it's your own fault for being too naive. How could you trust a man like Clar
Amy spun around instantly and saw Hendrix walking toward her.Even though their relationship was purely transactional—and even though Amy knew better than anyone that catching feelings for a client was the worst mistake she could make—she still had to admit something.Even without Hendrix's status, his looks and presence alone were enough to make any woman blush and her heart race. Being able to call him her boyfriend, even if only on the surface, gave Amy a kind of prestige wherever she went.Seeing that Hendrix was about to reach her, Amy was about to greet him when Hailey suddenly stepped ahead of her."Hi! Are you Amy's boyfriend?" she asked.Hendrix narrowed his eyes at her. "And you are?""I'm her friend. We were out shopping together today. What a surprise to run into you like this!" Hailey said with a grin. "Amy's always bragging about you. Now, I finally see why she's been hiding you from us."As she spoke, Hailey moved to slip her arm through Hendrix's. She was wearing
Lately, Amy had been living in the lap of luxury. Hendrix not only bought her jewelry and designer bags but even a sports car—a bright red one, with the emblem of an angry bull on the front.When Amy drove it out, she immediately attracted the envy of countless people. They spoke words of admiration and praise for Amy. But behind her back, they were practically grinding their teeth in envy.Of course, Amy could see through their little games, but she didn't care. Even if they cursed her behind her back, she acted like she never heard a word of it.To be honest, if they had been in her shoes, they probably wouldn't have been able to seize the opportunity. They would have likely been kicked out due to overstepping the first time Hendrix made them sleep on the couch.So, some things were just meant to be hers.Besides the jewelry, bags, and car, Hendrix had also given her a black card with no spending limit. Now, when she entered those stores, she no longer had to carefully check the
On the contrary, Hendrix seemed to care a lot about Noelle. Otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed over like that. Even Amy could feel the passion in the way he looked at Noelle—it was intense and almost burning. There wasn't a trace of the indifference he had shown back at the party.So, it was very likely the two of them were acting. But for what reason?Amy couldn't figure it out, but she knew one thing—she might have just uncovered a huge secret. And this secret could very well…Amy was still thinking when the door suddenly opened in front of her. Startled, she instinctively took a few steps back, staring in shock at the person before her.Hendrix was standing there, looking at her."I didn't say anything!" Amy blurted out without hesitation. She even held up her phone, as if offering it for inspection.He gave it a glance, then quickly looked away and said, "Come on out. We've got a business deal to discuss."…"Who sent this to you?" the tanned-skin man asked.Only then did D
"Do you not trust me?" Noelle asked.Hendrix was momentarily stunned, then he slowly frowned. "What did you say?""Do you not trust that I can protect myself or that I can help you? Or do you think I'm just a burden?""Of course not," Hendrix immediately denied it, his expression growing darker. "How could you think that of yourself? If I thought that, why would I bring you here?""Since it's not that, then why don't you want to—""Because I don't want you to be in any danger," Hendrix said in a low voice. "Clearly, we could have used other methods, couldn't we?""But right now, this one is the fastest and most convenient, right?"Hendrix couldn't answer.Noelle smiled. "See? You're admitting it, too. And honestly, you don't have that much time, either. So, weighing the pros and cons, doesn't it make the most sense to choose the most efficient option right now?""No," Hendrix said through gritted teeth.Yet, he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong.After meeting his gaze
"I know things aren't that simple," Noelle said quietly.Her sudden change of topic caused Hendrix to furrow his brows slightly.He wanted to say something, but Noelle continued, "If it were that simple, you wouldn't have agreed to let me use this method to lure Dylan out from the start. This isn't Coppersville, and more importantly, the people around you now are only driven by self-interest."So, it would be impossible for them to help you find Dylan and make him lose everything. That is—unless he makes a move against you first. But in that case, Dylan would definitely be extra cautious. He might even hide for years or decades."As Noelle spoke, Hendrix suddenly laughed. "So what? You think I can't wait?""I know you won't wait." Noelle looked up at him. "I know you're not as indifferent as you appear to be about what happened to the Swifts. If I don't do this, you'll definitely think of other ways, right?"And I also know that those ways of yours would be even more dangerous tha
The text message Hendrix had received just now was from Noelle. It contained the motel's address and the room number she had booked.The two of them hadn't seen each other at all these past few days—not even a phone call. Noelle wasn't sure if Dylan had sent anyone to watch them, and even the slightest trace of contact could become the reason everything fell apart.Noelle knew she wasn't clever enough to cover every detail flawlessly, so instead she put on a performance so convincing, even she almost believed it.She understood that in Dylan's mind, he always believed himself to be a noble man. The belief came from the way his family had raised him and the public image he maintained.Dylan and Hendrix were completely different. Hendrix had never cared about what others thought of him. Even in public, if he disliked someone or found them disgusting, he wouldn't bother pretending otherwise. The fact that he didn't humiliate someone outright was already the limit of his courtesy.Wh
Amy figured that maybe Hendrix had somehow found out what she had been thinking earlier and wanted to kill her now to keep her quiet. After all, no one who could survive in that circle was really normal.She knew how this worked. To people like him, women like her weren't even human. If he was in a bad mood and decided to use her to vent, that would be totally normal to him.She licked her lips, just about to try explaining, when she realized that he wasn't even paying her any attention. He got out of the car without a word and walked straight inside.That reaction left Amy completely thrown. For a moment, she was at a loss for what to do.Should she follow him? But what if he really was planning to do something to her? If someone like her died here, no one would even notice.But if she didn't follow, and he wasn't planning anything, wouldn't she be missing a golden opportunity?Amy felt completely torn.As she watched him disappear into the motel, she threw all her concerns away
This was the second time Amy had seen Hendrix. The last time, he had picked her out of a group—and today, he did the same.More importantly, Amy was now wearing the jewelry he had bought her. That piece alone had cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he hadn't even blinked at the price.From that alone, Amy was certain that she had won. She had stood out among the prey and become the object of his favor. The only thing she wasn't sure of was how long his interest toward her would last.In the social circles of Nuvark, women like Amy had their own internal rankings—a list sorted from most to least desirable targets. Hendrix wasn't on that list, but Amy knew that he was easily one of the top players in the game.She could tell that just by how Erwin and the others treated him. So, the fact that she hadn't hesitated and went straight for the win was the right call. And now, all the others could only look at her with envy and jealousy.The uniquely styled sports car sped down the
Then, Dylan hesitated a little. "Are you pitying me?""No, no!"Noelle quickly shook her head. "I just feel like I dragged you into this. It's like because I almost married you back then, Hendrix has been targeting you ever since. If not for that, you'd probably still be doing fine back home, and the Swift family wouldn't have ended up like this. So, I feel guilty."Her voice grew more hoarse as she spoke.Dylan stared at her for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter. He laughed like he had just heard the funniest thing in the world, completely delighted."So, now you finally see Hendrix for who he really is?" he asked. "I told you before—he's never treated you right. Otherwise, why would you have taken Rosie and run to another city in the first place?"And back then, if it hadn't been for me, you never would've been forced to marry him. So, Noelle, have you remembered now? The one you actually love is me."Noelle stared at him, stunned.Dylan stood up at that moment, closin