The Sway and Slide of Love

The room was suffocatingly silent.

Noelle had no intention of speaking to Hendrix anymore. She sat on the couch, her eyes fixed on the door, as if she were ready to bolt the moment it opened.

Hendrix, on the other hand, desperately wanted to take a shower. But he was worried she would disappear while he was in the bathroom.

Even though the door was still locked-and if she could leave, she probably would have by now-Hendrix couldn't bring himself to go.

Fighting the high fever had left him utterly exhausted, but he refused to sleep. Instead, he sat on the bed, quietly watching Noelle.

"Are you going to marry Dylan?" he suddenly asked her.

The question felt jarring in the silence. It reached Noelle's ears clearly, and Hendrix knew she had heard him. But she only paused slightly, not even turning her head, as if refusing to answer.

Hendrix knew she had heard it, but she only paused for a brief moment.

He couldn't help but smirk. "To be honest, Noelle, I'd rather you marry a complete stranger. As long as he's a decent person who treats you well. But Dylan... Well, you know exactly what he's done before."

"That's all in the past," Noelle finally replied.

But her answer didn't satisfy Hendrix. "Some things can't just be brushed off like that. If that's the case, then-"

He suddenly stopped speaking because he knew that if he continued, he'd only end up saying something foolish. Besides, there was no point in rehashing old arguments.

Noelle seemed to know what he was going to say. She turned around and shot him a glance. "If I say that's all in the past, then that's the end of it. Besides, all that matters is Rosie likes him. Not to mention, he can provide a comfortable life for her."

"What did you just say?" Hendrix had been listening calmly, but at her last sentence, he immediately tensed up.

Noelle didn't repeat herself because she knew he had heard her perfectly well.

Hendrix stared at her for a moment

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then suddenly laughed. "So, that's why chose him, huh? You're willing to be with him because think he's rich now?"

"In a way, yes," Noelle replied calmly.

The scene reminded Hendrix of that night over two years ago-when he had returned home from detention exhausted and desperate for some comfort from her. But what he got instead was her cold, calculated decision to leave.

Now, she was laying out her reasoning just as plainly. It was so transparent that Hendrix found it laughable.

"If money is so important to you, why didn't you take anything when you left?" he asked.

"Because I didn't want anything of yours," Noelle replied bluntly, as if he were some kind of virus she couldn't bear to touch.

Hendrix was at a loss for words.

The room fell into silence again, even more suffocating than before.

Then, Hendrix suddenly stood up. When he started walking toward her, Noelle stiffened, and she instinctively got ready to retreat.

But Hendrix didn't even look at her. Instead, he grabbed the vase beside him and smashed it into the mirror.