Chapter 7

"Hendrix, thank you for speaking up for me earlier," Sandra said from the back seat on the way home.

After that, she continued yammering nonstop, "I had no idea Mom would talk to Madam Freeman about this. I was so scared! Luckily, you stepped in, or I wouldn't have known what to do. I don't want to get married so soon."

Hendrix was driving. He merely said a faint "hmm" in response. He seemed to be flippant toward her, but Sandra knew that was just the way he was. So, she didn't mind.

She turned her attention to Noelle, who was in the passenger seat. "By the way, what did Madam Freeman say to you when you both went upstairs?"

"Nothing," Noelle replied dismissively, not even bothering to entertain Sandra at all.

Sandra pursed her lips in slight dissatisfaction but quickly changed the subject. "Oh, right. Did you know that Max is coming back to the country?"

Noelle's composed expression shifted slightly at those words.

At that moment, the traffic light ahead turned red. Hendrix smoothly brought the car to a stop. The braking wasn't abrupt. Noelle was caught off guard by the news for a moment, so her body jerked forward slightly. The seatbelt snapped her back into place.

Hendrix glanced at Noelle.

"Mom said he's doing really well abroad. It's been so many years. Haven't you two kept in touch at all?" Sandra asked.

"No," Noelle responded. Her voice remained calm, although her hands on her lap were clenched tightly.

"Such a shame. You two were so close back then," Sandra murmured. She then turned to Hendrix. "Do you remember him, Hendrix? Max was—"

"I know. He's the illegitimate son of the Quinlan family," Hendrix replied quickly this time.

He said the words "illegitimate son" without any hesitation. Noelle couldn't help but frown at that.

Even Sandra seemed momentarily stunned, but she nodded in agreement shortly after Hendrix's blunt words. "Yes… That's him. He was classmates with Noelle, and we all used to hang out together. It's a shame he went abroad.

"I always thought he and Noelle would stay in touch, but I guess not..."

Sandra's voice trailed off, her gaze fixed on Noelle.

Noelle thought Sandra was being ridiculous. She couldn't understand why the latter was bringing all this up in front of Hendrix. Was she trying to drive a wedge between them? Or was she hoping to make Hendrix jealous?

If that was her plan, she had grossly miscalculated the situation—Hendrix wasn't the type to care about such things. Perhaps realizing this herself, Sandra grew quieter during the rest of the trip.

By the time Hendrix stopped the car, Noelle noticed that Sandra had fallen asleep.

Even though Noelle didn't particularly like her, she had to admit that Sandra had a beautiful appearance. With her eyes closed, she looked peaceful in sleep. Her petite figure evoked a sense of tenderness and stirred one's instinct to protect her.

As Noelle wondered whether she should wake Sandra, Hendrix walked over and opened the back door. Without hesitation, he lifted Sandra into his arms.

The movement roused Sandra slightly. She opened her eyes, still half asleep, and murmured, "Rix."

Then, she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. After settling into a comfortable spot in his arms, she fell asleep again.

Their actions were so smooth and natural as if they had done it countless times before.