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 explained, "Now, I realize I was wrong. If it was the wrong choice, then I should do everything I can to fix it. That's exactly what I'm doing now. "To be honest, I used to think people who were controlled by their emotions were foolish. But when it happened to me, I realized it's not such a bad feeling. The profits in business have always been meaningless numbers to me. But if those numbers were tied to you, they'd actually make me happy."The plane had already taken off. Hendrix powered off his tablet, his unwavering gaze locked on Noelle. In the depths of his eyes burned an undeniable sincerity and longing.Noelle met his gaze, then suddenly laughed. "Honestly, if I'd heard you say this in the past, I'd probably be overjoyed.""And now?" Hendrix asked."It's too late," she said, her voice calm.Hendrix's eyes narrowed slightly, but he quickly composed himself. "You're going to say it's because you have a boyfriend, right? I already know about you and Dylan. You're jus
"I don't know, either. But considering everything that's happened between us, you won't mind if I take a little more time to think, right?" Noelle asked.That was the final response she left for Hendrix. And she was right—too much had happened between them, so taking more time to think things through was only fair.Hendrix had always considered himself a patient man, or at least he used to believe so.Take Amity Group's situation, for example. He had been laying the groundwork since last year and had only recently begun to reel it all in. So that was why he had always believed himself to be a skilled hunter.But as the days passed, Hendrix found that his patience wasn't as steadfast as he had once believed. Looking back, he realized he had done countless irrational things when it came to Noelle.Every time Hendrix thought about reaching out to her, he would remember the serious look on her face that day. If it meant a good outcome, then waiting a few more days wasn't unbearable. A
Hendrix grasped her meaning immediately. "What you're saying is you want me to be the one without the official acknowledgment, right?""Something like that. After all, we're still business partners, and it wouldn't be appropriate for us to be overly showy with our relationship. How would others see you? So, I think it's best—"Before she could finish, Hendrix suddenly strode forward and punched the wall right beside her. The sudden movement startled Noelle, cutting off whatever she'd been about to say."Noelle, are you kidding me? Who the hell do you take me for? In your eyes, am I really that pathetic and lacking in dignity?"Hendrix found the whole thing utterly absurd. Who would have thought that he would one day be asked to become a lover hidden in the shadows, someone who couldn't even be acknowledged publicly? Why should he let her reduce him to that? And more than that, how could she reduce herself to this?Hendrix clenched his teeth tightly, and the veins on his forearm an
"Aren't you afraid that he'll take revenge on you?" Dylan asked helplessly from the other end of the phone."Nope," replied Noelle without hesitation."Have you forgotten how you ended up in the hospital last time?" he reminded her.Noelle, of course, hadn't forgotten. But now, she was inexplicably certain of one thing. Someone as egotistical as Hendrix would never let anyone know about what happened tonight. Most likely, he wouldn't even want to see her again."You could have just agreed to get back together with him. I can explain things to my parents," said Dylan."Forget it," Noelle replied. "Besides, you're just an excuse I came up with. I never actually planned to get back together with him.""Why? Don't you still have feelings for him?""Feelings that feed on pain. Do those count?" Noelle poured herself a glass of wine and let out a soft laugh. "You've liked someone before, and you've been hurt because of it, so you should understand. Everyone only has so many times they
At that moment, Noelle only had one thought in her mind—no normal person would ever agree to the condition, let alone someone like Hendrix. After all, he was worshiped from a young age and now at the top of the hierarchy.Noelle was so shocked that she suddenly didn't know what to say. It took her a long while before she finally found her voice again. "Hendrix, do you know what you're saying?""I do.""You're drunk." Noelle finally reacted and pushed him away."I'm not."She pursed her lips. "The smell of alcohol on you isn't very convincing.""I told you I'm not drunk. In fact, I'm very sober right now." As Hendrix spoke, he took two steps closer to her. "And I know exactly what I'm doing.""Then, do you know why I did what I did?" Noelle asked him.Hendrix frowned."I did it so you would stay away from me! Even if you agree to this way of getting along, I won't love you anymore. In fact, I might even use you and then dump you when you have no value left. Is that something yo
Hendrix had indeed drunk quite a bit. After leaving Noelle's place, he had gone straight to the bar, and he couldn't remember exactly how much he had drunk. But when Lana appeared in front of him, he suddenly became incredibly clear-headed.So, he called Dan, asking him to handle things with Lana. He had already wrapped up the Amity Group matter. Thus he no longer needed Lana as a cover.Moreover, when he looked into Lana's eyes, he suddenly became painfully clear about one thing—she wasn't Noelle, nor could she ever replace Noelle. So, he went back to Noelle's place.Noelle said he was crazy. In truth, Hendrix felt that way too. Because if he wasn't crazy, how could he have agreed to her conditions? He knew full well she was degrading him, but at that moment, he suddenly wondered—maybe she was just trying to force him to leave in this way? And why would she do that?Maybe it was because she still had feelings for him, and she was afraid she would fall for him again if she were t
"Look at what they did to my son! My son was perfectly fine, and now he's lying in a hospital bed! I'll make sure that bastard rots in jail forever!"Joanne's shrill voice pierced through the door.Noelle sat on a chair, clutching a cup of hot water. Beside her sat Irene, her face dark with fury.The yelling outside continued, "Nelly is nothing but a slut! I knew from the start she was no good! Just look at that face. Who wouldn't she try to seduce? Sid isn't that kind of person! She must've failed to seduce him and then conspired with her lover to frame my son!"Irene couldn't take it anymore. She flung the door open, and the shouting stopped instantly.It was no surprise that Joanne would be scared of Irene since the old woman was holding a hoe in her hand."Get lost," Irene said simply.Joanne paled but stood her ground.Seeing this, Irene was just about to charge forward with her hoe when Joanne panicked and quickly turned to leave.But the onlookers lingered nearby, watch
But that was only if Sid had been willing to accept it. The way Hendrix had looked at him back then—cold and disdainful.And when he'd spoken, his voice had been so certain, as if he'd known Sid would take the money. And in the end, he had. But that didn't give Hendrix the right to look down on him.The more he thought about it—the way he'd been overjoyed when he first met Noelle during their matchmaking, the time and emotion he'd wasted on her—the more resentment burned in his chest."What do you want?"Noelle could feel the danger radiating off him. She kept stepping back, but Sid only advanced, step by step."What do I want?" Sid let out a cold laugh. "Simple. You just need to sleep with me once.""What did you say?" Noelle stared at him in disbelief.For a moment, she thought she must have misheard."Stop playing dumb!" Sid snarled impatiently. "Cut the act! I know you're no longer pure. I saw that bastard sneaking out of your house this morning. You've got some nerve. You
Noelle ended up leaving the room first. The moment she stepped out, she shut the door firmly behind her.Irene thought that was weird. "Why did you close the door?""No reason. Just a habit."Noelle's cheeks were still faintly flushed, and she avoided Irene's gaze, brushing off the question with a vague reply.Irene found it odd but didn't press further.After breakfast, Irene announced she was heading to the back mountain to gather herbs to sell at the market in a few days.Noelle had been thinking about how to divert her, and this played right into her plans."Come with me," Irene said. "And bring two more bottles of water."Noelle hesitated for a moment. She usually accompanied Irene on these trips, so refusing now would seem suspicious. In the end, she nodded.But before leaving, she suddenly called out, "I'm closing the door!"Her voice was loud, ensuring the person inside her room could hear.Irene gave her a strange look. "Who are you talking to?""You.""I'm standi
"I haven't slept all night. Can you just let me rest for a while?" Hendrix asked."Why don't you go sleep in your own place?" Noelle argued."I can't sleep without you."The moment Hendrix spoke those words, Noelle's cheeks flushed bright red.She wanted to argue, but in the next moment, Hendrix's breathing seemed to steady.Surprised, she lifted her head and saw the dark circles under his eyes. Even his usually clean-shaven jaw now bore a faint stubble.Her hand, which had been ready to push him away, slowly dropped.Hendrix hadn't expected to fall asleep so quickly. Though he had finally found Noelle, he hadn't been sleeping well these past few days. Aside from constantly being jolted awake, the terrible conditions here only made things worse. But in Noelle's room, none of that seemed to matter.Even in this cramped, damp little house, even on this rickety wooden bed that cracked beneath him, he could still catch the faint scent of her skin and the sun-warmed fragrance of the
Night fell quickly.Hendrix had been restless since evening. With no Internet here, he couldn't even distract himself with work. He could only lie in bed, flipping through the photos on his phone while listening intently for any movement outside.He didn't like having his photo taken, and neither did Noelle. So there were very, very few pictures of the two of them on his phone. During the time Noelle was missing, he had already memorized every single one of the photos.After scrolling through them several times, he finally couldn't take it anymore and got out of bed. To prove he wasn't joking, Hendrix was really planning to climb over the wall to find Noelle.But then, he quickly remembered something—his arm was still in a splint. So there was no way he would be able to climb that wall.In the end, he could only stand outside the wall, staring at the door. Only after confirming that Noelle wasn't coming out did he turn and go back inside.As dawn broke, he finally heard movement
And was the man in front of Noelle really her husband? Because they had once been the closest people in the world, he knew everything about her.That was why Noelle had felt an inexplicable familiarity toward Hendrix before and why she had instinctively wanted to get closer to him.Sensing her concern, Hendrix asked, "You don't want to leave your mom, do you?" After a moment of hesitation, Noelle nodded."Don't worry. I'm not planning to take you away right now," Hendrix said. "There are still things to deal with in Coppersville. I have to wait until everything is settled before we can go back. As for your mom, we can take her with us when we go back. Don't worry. I'll take good care of her for saving you."But you can't just listen to her and marry someone else. You're already my wife. If you marry another man, you'll be committing the crime of bigamy. And more than that, it would be completely irresponsible to me."Noelle didn't respond.Hendrix couldn't help but frown when h
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