When Noelle caught sight of the woman's face, her eyes widened slightly. Without a second thought, she pulled Rosie behind her.The woman couldn't help but laugh at the gesture. "Do you really have to be so dramatic? For a second there, I thought you might've forgotten who I am."Forgotten who the woman was? Of course, Noelle hadn't forgotten! How could she?In fact, Noelle remembered all too clearly how it felt when Jean sliced her face open with a knife, and it had taken years for the scar it left on her cheek to fade.And now, as Jean stood before her again, the same sharp pain—along with the terror she'd felt back then—came rushing back.Noelle's grip on Rosie's hand tightened instinctively."Your daughter is quite adorable," Jean remarked with a smile, her gaze flickering to the child behind Noelle.At the mention of Rosie, Noelle immediately frowned. Her shoulders, which had been slightly hunched, straightened as she stared firmly at Jean.Jean's smile deepened when she s
"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
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
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 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
"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 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
"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
"I was the one who had the surveillance camera installed." As if reading Noelle's mind, Hendrix quickly explained, "But I did it for your safety. Take what happened tonight, for example. If it weren't for—"Noelle cut him off, "If you hadn't suddenly moved in, that man would never have entered our lives in the first place."Hendrix was momentarily stunned, then he couldn't help but laugh. "What are you trying to say? Are you saying this is my fault, too?""Isn't it?" Noelle shot back. "You were the ones who hired those movers!""I only hired the moving company. Who they employ is beyond my control.""But this all started because of you. If you hadn't moved here, none of this would have happened!"Hendrix fell silent because it finally dawned on him that Noelle was determined to pin the blame on him, and no amount of arguing would change her mind. So, he decided to say nothing more.Noelle didn't bother with him, either. She turned around and took Rosie back inside.But once the
Noelle's expression immediately darkened. She rushed forward and snatched the keys from Hendrix's hand."Did you—" She wanted to accuse him of stealing them, but before the words could leave her mouth, she realized how absurd that sounded.Hendrix, as if reading her mind, quickly explained, "You dropped them when you were taking something out of your bag earlier. I just picked them up.""Then, why didn't you give them to me right away?""You didn't give me a chance, did you?" Hendrix smiled faintly, his tone almost innocent. "Besides, Rosie was literally about to burst, and I was worried she'd pee herself."His explanation sounded perfectly reasonable.For a moment, Noelle was unable to come up with a retort. She stared at him for a few seconds before finally taking Rosie's hand and leaving."Aren't you going to drink the juice?" he called after her.Noelle didn't even glance back. She knew he had done it on purpose. Otherwise, he would have handed her the keys in the elevator.
"Hold the door!" a voice called out from outside the elevator.If it had been anyone else, Noelle would have pressed the button to keep the doors open. But this time, she lowered her gaze and began frantically pressing the close button instead.Alas, she was still too slow. Just as the doors were about to shut, a hand shot out and blocked them, causing them to slide open again.Noelle pressed her lips into a tight line.Despite being the one who forced the doors open, Hendrix still thanked her as he stepped inside.Noelle didn't respond. Instead, she silently pulled Rosie to the side, as if trying to put as much distance between them and him as possible.Hendrix noticed but said nothing, simply staring at the changing numbers on the elevator panel. Soon, they reached their floor, and Noelle stepped out with Rosie first.Noelle then reached for her keys to unlock the door, but she quickly realized her keys were missing."Mommy, I need to go potty," Rosie said."Okay, sweetheart
Dan was Hendrix's chief assistant, someone who was practically inseparable from him. So, who else could command Dan to do something like this if not Hendrix himself?Sure enough, the next moment, Noelle saw Hendrix step out. He was wearing a simple shirt with the sleeves rolled up, the white cuffs smudged with dust. His hair was slightly disheveled, but this touch of disarray made him seem more human.Noelle stared at him expressionlessly.After two seconds of eye contact, Hendrix said, "What a coincidence!"Coincidence?Noelle wanted to throw something at him because only a fool would believe this was a coincidence.She didn't even bother giving him another glance. When the elevator doors opened, she took Rosie's hand and stepped inside.Rosie, of course, recognized Hendrix. She had been staring at him intently, only turning to Noelle when the elevator doors finally closed. "Mommy, why is he here?""I don't know."This answer clearly didn't satisfy Rosie. She muttered under h
The host of the live stream continued to try steering the conversation back to Noelle's personal life, but every time she brought it up, Noelle shut it down with a firm denial.From start to finish, she never mentioned Hendrix's name.Perhaps frustrated with Noelle's lack of cooperation, the host cut the one-hour interview short, ending it under 30 minutes.As soon as the stream ended, Noelle received a call from Evelyn, profusely apologizing to her."I had no idea they were planning to take that angle. Seriously, are they out of their minds? Both the male and female leads are trending right now—they should've focused on the characters instead! Why must they bring your personal life into it?"Her words sounded sincere, but Noelle felt no emotional pull. She didn't respond, simply listening in silence.After rambling on for a while, Evelyn finally noticed Noelle's lack of reaction and timidly asked, "Are you mad?""There won't be a next time."With that, Noelle hung up the phone
The fans of both leads were at each other's throats, but the production team and the streaming platform were more than happy to see this. After all, in this day and age, even explosive controversy was better than being ignored entirely.Around this time, Evelyn reached out to her with a new project.Noelle hadn't released any new works in the past two months, only taking on smaller, freelance gigs. With the TV drama gaining so much attention, the company naturally wanted to capitalize on the momentum and give her career a boost."I haven't had much time or inspiration lately. Let's talk about it another time.""Come on. You've been saying that for months now.""I know, but Rosie's still young, and it's not like she can grow up overnight.""Alright, fine. If you're not ready for a new project, how about an interview? Surely you can do that?""What kind of interview?""It's a live podcast interview hosted by a publisher we've worked with before. Since the drama's doing so well, t
All afternoon, the movers across the hall were busy moving things in. Even with the door closed, Noelle could still hear them talking loudly. It sounded like the new tenants were doing some renovations, too. For hours, the sound of hammering and drilling echoed nonstop.As exhausted as she was, Rosie tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. In the end, Noelle had no choice but to lie down beside her, gently patting her back.But Rosie's eyes remained wide open, staring at Noelle.Noelle couldn't help but laugh, then said helplessly, "Alright. What do you want to do?""I can't sleep.""Close your eyes, and you'll fall asleep soon."Rosie obediently closed her eyes, but within seconds, they popped open again. "See, Mommy? I just can't sleep?""So, what do you want to do instead?""I want to draw. Or read a book.""In other words, you just don't want to sleep, right?"Rosie giggled sheepishly.Noelle was about to say more when there was a sudden knock at the door.Rosi
"Yeah, they've got four elderly parents and two kids to take care of. One of them got laid off, and the other had their salary cut. If they don't sell the house, they might not be able to make ends meet.""True. That's why it's better to work for a big company. The benefits are good, and the job's more stable.""Exactly.""By the way, Noelle, that friend of yours runs a company, right? How's he doing these days?"Noelle had been listening quietly for a while without chiming in, so when the conversation finally turned to her, she couldn't help but feel a sense of "I knew it!".She almost wanted to laugh, but she held it in and instead asked, "What friend?""You know…""Rosie's dad!" someone quickly interjected, finding what they thought was an appropriate way of addressing Hendrix. But almost immediately, they seemed to regret it and cautiously added, "He is Rosie's dad, right?""I don't know much about him," Noelle replied bluntly. "We've been divorced for years, and we hardly
Noelle wasn't surprised to see Hendrix's name on her phone screen. Without hesitation, she answered the call.Her decisive action seemed to catch Hendrix off guard. There was a brief pause on the other end of the line before he finally asked, "What did you call me for earlier?"Noelle knew he was waiting for her to take the initiative. That was just the way he was. No matter what it was, he always expected others to make the first move.Only after he got what he wanted would he consider giving a little in return. And even then, he'd act as if that little bit was some grand favor, making him a textbook egotist through and through."Why aren't you saying anything?" After just a couple of seconds of silence, his impatience flared, and he urged her to speak.Noelle snapped out of her thoughts and replied, "It's nothing important. I just wanted to say I'm sorry."Though her words sounded apologetic, Hendrix detected no trace of remorse in her tone. He couldn't help but let out a cold