"Mrs. Wallace, look. This is a photo of Mr. Freeman's wife, and she looks exa—"Irene cut Jerry off, "What photo? What do I care what his wife looks like? This is my daughter!" "I understand, but since there's doubt, why not settle it with a DNA test? Once the results are in—""What DNA test? I won't do it! You're all out of your minds! How could my daughter suddenly be someone else's wife? Nelly, we're leaving!"With that, Irene grabbed Noelle's hand and turned to leave.Jerry was about to step forward and say something, but Hendrix stopped him."Mr. Freeman, what are you—""Where do they live?" Hendrix asked."What?""The village they mentioned—where is it?"…People always said it wasn't unusual for two people in the world to look alike. But Hendrix knew he hadn't made a mistake. There was no way he could have been wrong.In truth, he could have taken Noelle to the hospital right then and there, and a simple DNA test would have confirmed her real identity. Even if she h
"Nelly?" a voice called out, and Noelle snapped out of her thoughts."Mom, what's wrong?" she asked."I should be asking you that," Irene said, tapping the edge of Noelle's bowl with a frown. "You're supposed to be eating. What are you daydreaming about?"Noelle let out a soft "oh" and obediently lowered her head to continue eating.With a frown still on her face, Irene asked, "Are you still thinking about what happened today? Those cops were talking nonsense! Anyway, the date is already set, so we'll go ahead with the wedding. "You're not getting any younger. Once you're married, hurry up and have a baby. I can help take care of them.""Who am I marrying?" Noelle asked."What are you talking about? You're marrying Sid, of course. I've already accepted the wedding gift. What else do you want?" Irene furrowed her brows tighter as she spoke.Noelle quickly shook her head. "It's nothing. I was just asking.""You must be over the moon, huh? Wasn't this already decided before? Bes
Noelle froze for a moment."We meet again," Hendrix said softly. "Do you live here?"Noelle looked at him and nodded slowly."I live here, too," Hendrix told her.Noelle's eyes widened. "But I've never seen you before.""Yeah, I just moved in today.""Oh, but this house is pretty old. It might even leak when it rains."As Noelle spoke, she frowned slightly. She didn't know why—she didn't even know his name, since they had just met today—but the moment she heard what he said, she instinctively felt something was off.The house didn't seem to match the man in front of her. He shouldn't be living here. But where should he live? Noelle didn't know, either.While the two were talking, Irene suddenly noticed Hendrix was holding Noelle's hand. Her expression immediately changed, and she charged forward with a broom in hand."You scoundrel! How dare you touch my daughter? Let go of her right now!"Before Hendrix could react, Noelle quickly stepped forward and hugged Irene."No, no.
The signal in the village was terrible. Jerry had his team clean up the house, making it somewhat livable, but there was no fixing the poor reception.After trying various spots in the house, Hendrix finally managed to get through to Erwin.The moment Erwin picked up, his tone was dripping with sarcasm. "I thought you were dead.""Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm doing just fine," Hendrix replied."Well, I'm not," Erwin said darkly. "Do you know what people at the company are saying right now? They're all demanding answers from me! I get it now—your so-called 'inconvenience' was just an excuse to make me take the fall for you, wasn't it?""I'll give you half of my share once this is done," Hendrix said bluntly.It was no small sum. But for people like them, money was just a meaningless number. In their line of work, what they truly craved was the thrill of the game.They could have wrapped this up in one move. Erwin had even picked out the wine for the celebration. But then, Hen
After Hendrix finished speaking, there was a brief silence on the other end of the line. Then, Erwin chuckled. "Hmm, that does sound interesting.""Then, I'll leave it to you.""What did you just say?""As far as the world is concerned, I'm already 'dead.' And as for the Swift family, for certain reasons, it's not exactly easy for me to do anything to them. Besides, haven't you always wanted to break into the market in this country? Well, here's your chance now, no?"Just as Erwin was about to respond, Hendrix heard a soft knock at the door. The villagers went to bed early, and the surroundings were eerily quiet, so the sound was especially clear to Hendrix.He immediately moved the phone away from his ear and asked, "Who is it?"Still in work mode, his voice carried a sharp edge.The person outside the door seemed to hear it, and the knocking stopped abruptly. But there was no response to Hendrix's question.A frown immediately appeared on Hendrix's face. For a moment, he thou
Noelle immediately turned around with panic written all over her face.Irene narrowed her eyes. "What were you doing outside so late in the night?""I-I thought I heard a cat meowing, so I went to check.""A cat?" Irene frowned. "What's so strange about a few cats in the village?"Noelle fell silent.Irene didn't press further, simply telling her to go to bed early before turning and heading back to her own room.Noelle followed behind her. The window in her room faced the house across the street—the one with the lit window, where Hendrix was staying.The broken glass in the window had been repaired earlier that day. The warm yellow light shining through matched the glow in her room. Noelle stared at it for a while before finally lying down to sleep.The night passed quickly.Irene didn't need much sleep. Before dawn even broke, she had already taken her hoe and headed out to work in the field.After making her bed, Noelle started preparing breakfast. Just as she was beating
Hendrix wasn't a particularly delicate person, but even he found the environment hard to endure. Not long after, he was woken up by a commotion outside. He opened his eyes and pushed himself up, just in time to see what was happening outside the window.Irene was chasing someone off with a broom. Despite her age, she still had the energy to scold while giving chase, her voice so loud and full of vigor that it startled everyone inside and out. And then, she turned around and scolded the onlookers as well.Noelle followed closely behind her, sheltered under her protection. Her eyes were curious as she glanced around, but she didn't dare stray more than half a step from Irene.Just as Hendrix was watching, Noelle noticed him, too. She seemed to freeze for a moment, then quickly looked away and tugged at Irene's hand.After a bit more commotion, Irene finally pulled her inside and shut the door with a loud bang.Once inside, Irene turned to Noelle and said, "Don't worry, Nelly. Sid's
Irene owned a plot of land in the village. She used to grow corn on it, but in the past two years, a contractor from the neighboring village had come by, so she switched to growing strawberries instead.It was now the season for planting seedlings. After the morning's commotion, Noelle had convinced Irene to rest at home and took over the planting work herself.The task wasn't particularly strenuous, but bending over for long periods was exhausting. Noelle squatted down, but after a while, she started feeling dizzy. She closed her eyes, preparing to take a short break, when somebody suddenly yanked her up.Hendrix frowned at her and asked, "What are you doing?"Noelle was startled for a moment, then clumsily pushed his hand away. Only after taking several steps back to put a safe distance between them did she finally ask, "What are you doing here?"Hendrix's frown deepened at her reaction. "Are you afraid of me?""No," Noelle quickly denied it. Her flustered expression made it se
"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
The moment Noelle saw her reflection in Hendrix's eyes, and when he stood under the streetlight and smiled at her, those feelings of resistance and fear vanished instantly.At the time, Noelle felt as if she had known him for a long time. Even under the dim light, she could vividly trace the contours of his face in her mind. It was as if she had done this countless times before.Even though her memories of the past remained a blank, just seeing him made her heart race. The feeling was unfamiliar, yet she knew exactly what it was and what it meant.She liked him, and it felt like she had liked him for a long time.…That night, Hendrix had to stay in the hospital. His whereabouts were supposed to be confidential, but the local authorities were already aware of his presence. After receiving Jerry's report, Austin Warren immediately came to visit with his team.Of course, Hendrix didn't tell them the truth about how he got injured. Instead, he simply claimed he had tripped and falle
Noelle wasn't quick enough to stop Irene this time.When Irene swung down her hoe, Hendrix instinctively raised his arm to block it. As a result, the wound he had just had re-bandaged at the hospital that day split open again. There was even a faint cracking sound, as if a bone had been fractured.Even for someone as tough as Hendrix, the intense pain was enough to make him frown, and cold sweat quickly beaded on his forehead."Mom!" Noelle rushed forward and grabbed Irene's arm.But was still in the heat of anger. She pushed Noelle aside and was about to strike again when Jerry, who had received an emergency call, arrived on the scene.Jerry felt his vision darken for a moment when he saw Hendrix's injury. Then, without hesitation, he and his team restrained Irene."What are you doing? You bunch of ass-kissers! Let me go!" Irene struggled fiercely, her curses never stopping.Jerry was at a loss. He was about to have her taken to the police station when Hendrix grabbed his arm.
"I haven't eaten yet. Will you grab a bite with me?" Hendrix asked Noelle.Noelle was stunned. But before she could react, Hendrix had already taken her hand and started leading her forward.Jerry had wanted to say something to Hendrix, but all he got was a distant wave as Hendrix took Noelle straight to the car.This was the car Hendrix had someone bring over yesterday. The once gleaming paint was now covered in splatters of mud after driving through the village's dirt roads. But he didn't mind.It wasn't until they had driven for a while that Noelle finally snapped out of her daze. "My mom will find out!""Don't worry. If she gets mad at you, I'll explain it to her.""She'll definitely hit you."Hendrix, holding the steering wheel, glanced at her. "What? Are you worried about me?""Of course not!" Noelle replied immediately. Then, she turned to look out the window.Hendrix watched her for a moment before reaching over and taking her hand."What are—" Noelle's eyes widened.
Irene owned a plot of land in the village. She used to grow corn on it, but in the past two years, a contractor from the neighboring village had come by, so she switched to growing strawberries instead.It was now the season for planting seedlings. After the morning's commotion, Noelle had convinced Irene to rest at home and took over the planting work herself.The task wasn't particularly strenuous, but bending over for long periods was exhausting. Noelle squatted down, but after a while, she started feeling dizzy. She closed her eyes, preparing to take a short break, when somebody suddenly yanked her up.Hendrix frowned at her and asked, "What are you doing?"Noelle was startled for a moment, then clumsily pushed his hand away. Only after taking several steps back to put a safe distance between them did she finally ask, "What are you doing here?"Hendrix's frown deepened at her reaction. "Are you afraid of me?""No," Noelle quickly denied it. Her flustered expression made it se
Hendrix wasn't a particularly delicate person, but even he found the environment hard to endure. Not long after, he was woken up by a commotion outside. He opened his eyes and pushed himself up, just in time to see what was happening outside the window.Irene was chasing someone off with a broom. Despite her age, she still had the energy to scold while giving chase, her voice so loud and full of vigor that it startled everyone inside and out. And then, she turned around and scolded the onlookers as well.Noelle followed closely behind her, sheltered under her protection. Her eyes were curious as she glanced around, but she didn't dare stray more than half a step from Irene.Just as Hendrix was watching, Noelle noticed him, too. She seemed to freeze for a moment, then quickly looked away and tugged at Irene's hand.After a bit more commotion, Irene finally pulled her inside and shut the door with a loud bang.Once inside, Irene turned to Noelle and said, "Don't worry, Nelly. Sid's
Noelle immediately turned around with panic written all over her face.Irene narrowed her eyes. "What were you doing outside so late in the night?""I-I thought I heard a cat meowing, so I went to check.""A cat?" Irene frowned. "What's so strange about a few cats in the village?"Noelle fell silent.Irene didn't press further, simply telling her to go to bed early before turning and heading back to her own room.Noelle followed behind her. The window in her room faced the house across the street—the one with the lit window, where Hendrix was staying.The broken glass in the window had been repaired earlier that day. The warm yellow light shining through matched the glow in her room. Noelle stared at it for a while before finally lying down to sleep.The night passed quickly.Irene didn't need much sleep. Before dawn even broke, she had already taken her hoe and headed out to work in the field.After making her bed, Noelle started preparing breakfast. Just as she was beating