The house in Stormridge hadn't been lived in for quite some time. After returning, Noelle spent several days cleaning before it was finally somewhat livable.Throughout the process, Rosie followed her around with a rag, buzzing about like a busy little bee. Just when Noelle thought their days would continue peacefully, an unexpected apology statement surfaced online.It was about the scandal involving her and Ebony from a few months ago. The person who had spread the rumors admitted that they had never actually seen Noelle harassing Ebony. They had simply been unhappy about Ebony working with Noelle and had chosen to fabricate the story to ruin her reputation.By now, most people online had already forgotten about the whole thing. But the entertainment industry was what it was—especially when it involved a celebrity with a massive following like Ebony.The moment the news broke, it immediately sparked widespread attention.Ebony also took to Twitter, stating that he and Noelle h
"It's me," Noelle said."I know," Hendrix replied."Did you handle the situation with Ebony?"Though she phrased it as a question, her tone said otherwise.Hendrix paused on the other end before responding with a quiet, "Yes.""Thank you for your help, but let's end it right here. There's no need to blacklist him.""What's the matter? Are you feeling sorry for him?" Hendrix asked, a hint of mockery in his voice. "Why would you feel sorry for a man who threw you under the bus the moment things went wrong?"Noelle naturally understood his implication but simply replied calmly, "If he had spoken up for me back then, it would've only made things worse. Besides, we were just colleagues, so he had no obligation to defend me. And it's not like he was the only one who stood by and did nothing, right?"Hendrix was left momentarily speechless by her words.Noelle didn't wait for his response and continued, "Regardless, I still appreciate what you've done. As for the rest, let's just for
Dylan had brought another gift for Rosie—a fluffy, white bunny plushie.This time, Rosie didn't refuse it. After getting Noelle's permission, she thanked Dylan and hugged the bunny tightly to her chest.Dylan smiled at her before turning his attention to Noelle. "How have you two been lately?""We've been doing well.""That's good. I saw the news today. It's great that everything's been cleared up. Does that mean your work can move forward smoothly now?"Noelle nodded. "More or less.""Awesome!" Dylan said with a nod.But soon, the conversation between them lulled into silence. Before coming here, Dylan had planned to say a lot to Noelle. Yet now, he suddenly didn't know how to begin. In the end, it was Noelle who broke the silence first. Is work not keeping you busy?""Oh, it's been manageable lately," Dylan replied. "The last quarter's projects wrapped up nicely, so I've got a bit of a break these days. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had time to come see you. Actually, I was ab
In the end, Noelle agreed to go on the trip with Dylan.Rosie was thrilled. She even packed her toy shovel into her suitcase, declaring that she was going to build a sandcastle for Noelle at the beach.Noelle smiled and agreed, helping her fit everything into the suitcase.Seline only found out about the trip later, and she was fully supportive. She even sent a package to the hotel for Noelle to pick up upon arrival.She had been mysterious about it, and Noelle had a bad feeling. When she finally received the package at the hotel, she had the urge to just throw it away.At the time, Dylan had gone ahead to check in while Noelle and Rosie waited in the lobby. Noelle was holding Rosie's hand as the two of them admired the fishes in the large fish tank there.When Dylan returned with the room keys and a pink bag, Noelle was puzzled."This… This is from Ms. Swift," he said.Noelle was taken aback. When she opened the bag and saw its contents, her face flushed red.Dylan quickly av
"Ms. Swanson!" a man called out excitedly from behind just as Noelle and Rosie reached the beach.He was wearing only swim trunks and a pair of sunglasses. His tall frame and striking features drew plenty of attention from those around him, but he seemed completely used to it.He walked up to Noelle with a grin. "What a coincidence to run into you here! By the way, where's your boyfriend?"Noelle pursed her lips before replying, "Hello, Mr. Lawson. It's been a while.""It has," Erwin said, removing his sunglasses and giving her a once-over.He seemed unimpressed by her modest swimsuit. He clicked his tongue before asking, "Why aren't you wearing the outfit from earlier? Or is that just something special for your boyfriend?"His words bordered on disrespectful, but Noelle knew he wasn't trying to flirt with her. Simply put, he didn't see her that way. From the woman who was just by his side, it was clear that he liked tall women with perfect figures.Hendrix had mentioned before
"We're fine with anything," Noelle said as she moved to sit beside Rosie. "You can just focus on work if you're busy. We can make our own plans.""It's a vacation. How can I just focus on work?" Dylan replied.Just then, Erwin suddenly walked over to them. "Ms. Swanson, may I interrupt for a moment?"Hearing his voice, Dylan immediately turned around. But Erwin didn't even spare him a glance. Instead, he handed his phone to Noelle."I'm not familiar with the apps here. Could you help me send my location?"Noelle looked at the screen. It was a chat log between Erwin and Hendrix. They had just finished a call, and Erwin was asking her to send his current location to Hendrix.Though Erwin lived abroad and might not be familiar with local apps, Noelle knew his intelligence far exceeded such a simple task. He was purely toying with her."You can ask your companion for help," Noelle told him."But she's not here right now, is she? Besides, it's just sending a location. You wouldn't r
After Erwin left, Dylan finally asked Noelle, "That man earlier is Hendrix's friend, right?""Yeah," Noelle said softly while keeping her focus on building the sandcastle."So, the person he mentioned who will be arriving soon is also Hendrix?""Probably."Dylan fell silent.Only then did Noelle realize something. She looked up and explained, "I have no idea why he's here, either."Her explanation sounded weak, but after a moment of studying her, Dylan smiled and nodded. "I believe you."Noelle thought his smile seemed a little off but didn't press further. She slowly lowered her gaze instead."How about seafood for dinner? I found a good place nearby," Dylan said.Noelle nodded. "Sure."Erwin's lingering presence that afternoon had left Noelle on edge. During dinner, she kept glancing toward the entrance, half-expecting Hendrix and Erwin to walk in at any moment.But to her surprise, they didn't.Her constant looks toward the door didn't go unnoticed, prompting Dylan to as
Dylan thought that as long as Noelle was by his side, that was enough. So, he quickly smiled and said, "It's okay. Honestly, just being with you two makes me happy. Really."Noelle raised an eyebrow but didn't respond."You don't have to force yourself," Dylan added. "We can take things slowly. It's fine to just get along like friends."Noelle met his gaze for a moment before finally nodding.Dylan couldn't help but reach out and gently stroked her hair. "I'll head back to my room now.""Okay. Get some rest," Noelle said with a smile before closing the door.Dylan walked a few steps down the hallway but suddenly felt something was off. He paused, then slowly turned around.At the other end of the hallway, another door was open. A man stood there, watching him expressionlessly. A cigarette dangled from his fingers, and it was unclear how long he had been standing there.Dylan raised an eyebrow in surprise but still offered the man a polite smile. Then, he opened the door to his
"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
As soon as Noelle asked that, the man across from her clearly froze for a moment. Then, he chuckled softly.Noelle didn't say anything else. She just stared at him, steady and sure. There was something in her gaze—something unmistakably certain.Dylan no longer tried to keep up the act. He simply raised a hand and took off his sunglasses.His appearance had changed a bit since the last time. His beard was longer, his eye sockets deeper, and his overall presence had taken on a sharper, more dangerous edge.But when he looked at Noelle now, he smiled slightly. "So, you remember me?"Noelle didn't respond. Of course, Dylan hadn't forgotten the last time they had seen each other. And he wasn't sure if Noelle actually remembered everything, which made his smile a little stiff.But the next moment, Noelle asked, "Why are you here?""I'm working here. I couldn't survive in Coppersville anymore, remember?" Dylan replied.As he spoke, he kept his eyes on her, clearly watching for her r
Erwin was even beginning to wonder if Hendrix had actually lost his mind.But Hendrix just looked at him and countered, "Weren't you always the one telling me to live this way? Now that I'm finally enjoying it, why are you calling me crazy?"Erwin had no comeback for that.Hendrix glanced at him, then suddenly slung an arm around Erwin's shoulders and pointed at a woman up ahead. "Check her out. What do you think?"…Noelle spent three days alone in the hotel. During those three days, Hendrix never came back.She ate alone and sat alone in a hotel lobby, staring blankly into space. In the end, she decided to book an early flight home.Just as she lowered her head to check flights on her phone, someone suddenly sat down across from her.It was still bright outside. The hotel lobby lights were on, and a hanging lamp above them cast the man's shadows long across the floor.Noelle kept her head down. But the moment the man sat down, it was as if she could sense something. Her hand
Noelle hadn't gone far. When Erwin came downstairs, she was standing at the entrance of the hotel, lost in thought.This wasn't Coppersville. Even in a place this well-lit, as a woman, she was still in danger. Moreover, she had obvious traits that made her an easy target—an innocent face, small frame, and delicate appearance.Hendrix had brought Noelle to Nuvark before. But at that time, he treated her like a fragile porcelain doll. Wherever she went, he followed closely, as if terrified that the slightest accident might befall her.But tonight…Erwin felt the situation was a bit too complicated. This, he thought, was more complicated than having to analyze hundreds of data sets at work.However, he didn't say much. As a host, he simply walked over to Noelle and told her he would have someone send her back to the hotel.Upon hearing his voice, Noelle slowly turned her head to look at him. When their eyes met, Erwin immediately frowned."Thank you," Noelle said softly, her eyes ev