"What do you mean?" Hendrix asked."Literally what I just said." Noelle smiled. "I don't know how you feel about me, nor do I want to know now. I've moved on, and I will not be tied to the past. In other words, Mr. Freeman, you're out."As her words fell, Noelle pried open Hendrix's tightly clenched fingers one by one."The wounds are already treated. They're shallow enough not to require bandaging. You can leave now."With that, she moved to stand up, but in the next moment, Hendrix suddenly spoke, his voice laced with subtle resentment, "You're truly indifferent, aren't you? Saying you've let go, just like that?"There was a trace of bitterness in his tone, as if accusing her of being "irresponsible."Noelle found it almost laughable.Turning to face him, she said, "Mr. Freeman, you must be joking. I'm not as indifferent as you think. If I truly could let go as easily as you say, I wouldn't have gone to Dynalis alone back then. "I wouldn't have drunk myself into oblivion jus
The banquet ended smoothly.Dylan wanted to invite Noelle to his house, but she rejected, saying, "I can stay in the hotel.""I can stay with you.""It's fine. You finally came back, so you should accompany your parents more." She smiled.She remained calm and composed as usual. After a moment of eye contact with her, Dylan finally spoke, "I'll have a good talk with my mother about this."Noelle raised an eyebrow, initially thinking that Dylan must have overheard her conversation with his mother, Leah Neuman, tonight. However, the next moment, Dylan added, "No matter what, you're my guest here, and the way she treated you was definitely wrong."Only then did Noelle realize she had misunderstood. While Leah's attitude toward her tonight had been unpleasant, it was nothing compared to the things she had said behind her back.Noelle didn't elaborate further and just shook her head. "It's fine. After all, our relationship is just a contract, so I don't really care about how your m
Serene Street hadn't changed much in the past several months.It still felt like a forgotten corner of the bustling city—no towering skyscrapers, no luxury cars, and no designer stores. Just uneven rows of buildings, air conditioners dripping water nonstop, and barbecue joints downstairs that probably didn't even have a business license.Noelle walked along the street. Finally, she flagged down a cab and returned to her hotel. This time, she slept surprisingly well. She didn't even dream once throughout the whole night, and when she woke up, it was already well past noon.Her flight was scheduled for early tomorrow morning, but when she picked up her phone, she noticed a message from Dylan, inviting her to dinner at his place that evening.Noelle had planned to decline, but before she could even type out her reply, another message from Dylan popped up. This time, he mentioned that his family thought their relationship had grown too distant and was already planning to set him up wit
Not satisfied, Mabel stormed over and shoved Noelle hard. "I told you to leave! Get out now!"Noelle frowned, and just as Mabel was about to push her again, she grabbed her hand firmly."What are you doing? Let go, you bitch!" Mabel's voice grew sharper, and it was clear she was about to draw more attention. In the end, Noelle released her grip and turned to leave without a word."Go ahead! Get out! Mrs. Freeman doesn't want to see you! It's all because of you, you shameless bitch! And you—how many times have I told you not to let people in? This is how you do your job after taking Mr. Freeman's money? If this happens again, I'll tell Mr. Freeman—"Noelle didn't hear what Mabel said next, because just then, someone stepping out of the elevator grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward with such decisiveness that she barely had time to reach out. By the time she came to her senses, he had already pulled her back into the room.Judging by the smile on her face, Mabel had been happy
Mabel began to plead, "Please, Mr. Freeman! I'm already so old. Where else could I go if I leave the Freeman family? And what about my sons and—"She was about to say something more, but Hendrix shot an impatient glance at the person standing in the doorway. The security guard immediately stepped forward and escorted Mabel out.Mabel had planned to make more of a scene, but with the guard dragging her away, she couldn't get a word out. In the end, all she could do was shoot Noelle a pleading look, but Noelle remained almost entirely expressionless.When she first saw Hendrix, she was taken aback, but she regained her composure. Even with everything that had just unfolded before her, she watched it all quietly, as if she were nothing more than a bystander.The other onlookers in the room were also sent away. The caregiver glanced at Hendrix timidly before making an excuse to go buy lunch and quickly turned to leave. Before she left, she made sure to close the door behind her.Once
The Pritchett family's villa was located in the outskirts of Coppersville. Nestled against the mountains, the view from the upper floors of the villa looked out over a lake in the distance. The surroundings and air were both pristine and refreshing.This was Noelle's second time visiting. For the occasion, she had even gone to the mall to buy some gifts. Roland's was a selection of supplements, while Leah's gifts were a set of makeup and a scarf.Noelle wasn't sure what Dylan had discussed with them the night before, but when she arrived today, Leah's attitude toward her was noticeably warmer. At least when Noelle greeted her, Leah responded with a nod.It was clear that what Dylan wanted was just a formality—a polite exchange for appearances. After a bit of small talk, they all moved into the dining room.Roland Pritchett had previously taught at a university, but it seemed he knew quite a bit about the business world as well. Once they were seated, he quickly brought up the Conti
Noelle simply smiled. "I don't think that way, but I recently just got out of a failed marriage, so I'm not ready to jump into another one just yet, let alone have children.""I've told you. You just need to have the baby, and I'll help you raise them," said Leah.Noelle put down her cutlery and, with a smile, said, "But I'm not ready to become a mother yet. I don't want to do anything that would be unfair to the child.""Then, what about Dylan? Aren't you being unfair to him, too? He's already 34 years old. If he doesn't get married and have children soon—""That's his business.""What did you say?"Leah's expression immediately darkened. She was so upset that she stood up abruptly.Then, she turned to look at Dylan. "Did you see that? You always say I can't tolerate anyone, but look at how she's treating me! After all these years of raising you, is this what you brought me—a woman who's hellbent on giving me a stroke?""Alright. Calm down," Roland finally spoke up.But as so
As a leading city, Coppersville's airport buzzed with activity even in the early hours of dawn.The moment Noelle boarded the plane, she requested a blanket from the flight attendant and then shut her eyes to catch up on sleep.It wasn't until someone sat down beside her that she stirred. She felt a hand gently adjusting the blanket draped over her. Startled awake, Noelle's eyes flew open and locked onto the person next to her.She had just been dreaming, though a fleeting one. In it, she had seen this same face. He was dressed in a sleek black suit, sliding a wedding ring onto her finger and leaning in to kiss her. But now, the person next to her had jolted her awake.In that moment, the man before her seemed to blur with the one from her dream, making it impossible for Noelle to tell if she was still dreaming or if this was real.He reached out again, gently brushing aside the stray strands of hair on her forehead. The cool touch of his fingertips against her skin jolted Noelle
Hendrix hadn't planned on telling Noelle all of this. As the doctor had said, once the blood clot dissipated, she might remember everything on her own. So, he didn't want to push her.And if she never remembered, that was fine, too. He had come to think that staying here for a while longer might not be a bad idea because Noelle could get the maternal love she had always longed for from Irene.As for their relationship… Well, it had been an arranged marriage from the start. The moment she was of age, they had wed without hesitation. Even their first kiss had happened during their wedding photoshoot.So Hendrix thought, if she had forgotten all of that, he could just court her again. It would be a chance to make up for the romance they had missed out on before.But now, he had no choice but to tell her. He had finally found her, and it would be the biggest joke of all if she ended up marrying someone else because of what others said. There was no way he would ever allow that to happe
Noelle couldn't help but frown.But before she could say anything, Hendrix suddenly asked, "Why didn't you come?""What?""I'm asking why you didn't come to the hospital. Was it because you were too busy getting married?"As Hendrix spoke, he took a step closer to her. His intense gaze felt as if he were trying to pull something out of Noelle.Noelle froze for a moment but quickly replied, "I never said I would definitely go.""You said you'd take care of me.""I didn't say that. That was your own assumption," Noelle quickly retorted. Then, she looked up at him. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you have plenty of people taking care of you.""What do you mean?""You've definitely had a lot of women before, right?" Noelle forced a smile. "I don't know why you're staying here, but I'm not like those women. So, if you're just looking for some fun, don't waste your time on me."Noelle's voice was laced with sarcasm. But her eyes were slightly red, and her throat moved as if she was tryin
The woman who had shouted was about to continue making a scene, clearly intent on drawing the entire neighborhood's attention. But Hendrix quickly turned around.To her, a thief should have looked guilty. Yet, when he looked at her, his eyes were sharp and piercing. That gaze made the woman swallow her words before they could leave her mouth.Just then, Irene came out, holding something in her hand. When she saw Hendrix, her expression darkened. "How dare you show your face here again, you scoundrel? Do you have a death wish or something? Fine. I'll send you straight to hell right now!"As she spoke, she raised the object in her hand, ready to strike Hendrix—just like she had done several times before.But this time, Hendrix didn't dodge. Instead, he expressionlessly grabbed her hand. One of his arms was still in a splint. But even so, it was enough to stop Irene completely. Her eyes widened in shock.Noelle also came out from inside. When she saw Hendrix, she was momentarily stun
"Yes, Daddy promises you," Hendrix replied.He had initially felt unfamiliar and uncomfortable with this identity. But at this moment, he spoke that work with complete naturalness. His voice even carried a tenderness he hadn't even realized was there.After receiving his confirmation, Rosie finally hung up the phone.Hendrix put down his phone but remained in a daze for a long time. When he finally came back to his senses, a slow smile spread across his lips. Then, he turned to look out the window.Although it was already late summer, he felt the weather today was unusually perfect.…However, Hendrix's happiness didn't last long. Because the next day, Noelle didn't come to see him. Not just the next day, but also the third and fourth days.Hendrix couldn't sit still any longer. Ignoring the doctor's objections, he went ahead and arranged for his discharge. He didn't inform anyone else, simply hiring an unlicensed car in town to take him back to the village.He didn't even both
Hendrix's request for discharge was denied. This wasn't entirely unexpected.After all, with Austin personally instructing the hospital to take good care of Hendrix, they wouldn't dare make the slightest mistake.However, Hendrix soon realized that staying in the hospital wasn't without its benefits. After all, the signal here was significantly better than in the village.Although he had handed over matters in Coppersville to Erwin, he still had to keep a close watch. After all, Erwin had no sense of restraint, and Hendrix didn't want things to escalate into an ugly mess.More importantly, he didn't want Noelle to find out he had taken actions against the Swift family. He still wasn't sure what exactly happened to her that night. But he knew the Swift family was definitely involved.The Swift family's attitude toward Dylan had reached a point that was almost incomprehensible. Hendrix even wondered if Dylan had cast some kind of spell on them.Otherwise, how could someone who had
Hendrix slipped his hand effortlessly under her clothes, tracing up along Noelle's waist, inch by inch. He was more than familiar with this motion by now. After all, he had done this countless times in the past.He knew Noelle's body better than she did herself. But in the heat of the moment, he forgot one crucial thing—Noelle had lost her memories.She hadn't shown any resistance toward him, but that was only because she still had some lingering feelings for him. Some habits of hers—almost like subconscious reactions—remained. But those habits clearly didn't include being intimate with him right now.When Hendrix touched a certain spot, Noelle reacted like a startled cat—her eyes flew wide open. The next second, she shoved him away. And as a bonus, she slapped him across the face. Now that was her true instinctive reaction.Her slap wasn't particularly strong, but the crisp sound rang out loud and clear—especially in the silence of the hospital room.Hendrix, however, didn't reac
"Mr. Freeman, it's time to change your dressi—" The doctor's voice suddenly broke the silence.The unexpected interruption sent a jolt through Noelle. It was as if she had suddenly snapped back to reality. In a flurry, she pushed Hendrix away.She looked as though she had been caught doing something wrong. She stumbled backward several steps, her hands rising and falling repeatedly. Her lips quivered as if she wanted to speak but couldn't find the words. Panic filled her eyes, unmistakable and clear.The doctor, however, was tactful. "My apologies. I didn't mean to interrupt," he said quickly before excusing himself and leaving.Noelle's face turned an even deeper shade of red at this. She wanted to chase after the doctor, but Hendrix grabbed her hand again."Let go of me," Noelle said when she finally managed to find her voice.She had intended to reprimand him. But after the kiss and the nervous tension, her voice came out slightly hoarse, sounding almost alluring. Even Noelle
Noelle hadn't expected Hendrix to bring this up, so she was stunned for a moment. Then, she looked at him with confusion."I wanted to use the bathroom," he answered with a cheeky grin."Oh." Even though Noelle felt flustered, she still quickly stepped aside.Hendrix, however, remained seated. Noelle looked at him, puzzled.He chuckled and said, "My arm is injured. I can't even feed myself—do you think I can go to the bathroom on my own?"Noelle's expression changed instantly. "W-What do you mean?"Hendrix reached out and took her hand. "Help me," he said in a low and raspy voice.Noelle immediately shook her head. "No way!"As she spoke, she tried to pull her hand away.But even with only one good hand, Hendrix's grip was still strong.Not only did he not let go, but he slid his fingers through Noelle's and pressed his palm firmly against hers. The dry, burning warmth of his hand made Noelle's cheeks flush instantly. It was as if, at this moment, she wasn't holding his hand
Inside the bag was a thermos of soup she had made that morning. It was made with chicken and mushrooms she had bought early at the market. She had simmered them for half an hour, and as soon as she opened the lid, the rich aroma of the soup spread throughout the hospital room.Hendrix suddenly remembered the bowl of soup Noelle had given him late that night two days ago. Good food was never something he lacked. In fact, to him, food was just a necessity for survival. But that night, something about that simple bowl of soup had brought him to the brink of tears.He had found her. There had been a time when he truly believed she had vanished from this world. He thought he would never see her again. It was also in that moment that he fully understood what Noelle meant to him.After all, he had seen the light, so how could he ever return to the darkness? His life had been set on a certain path. Even Beatrice had never cooked him a bowl of soup before, and he had accepted that kind of li