The Sway and Slide of Love

Noelle paused for a moment. It took her a few seconds to process what was happening, and then she started pushing him away. "What are you doing here? Go back to your bed! Where's your IV? Are you crazy? You're still injured!"

Her voice was filled with urgency.

Hendrix looked at her and smiled softly. Then, he reached out and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

Noelle pressed her lips together and gently pushed him again. "Go back now! Where's the nurse?"

As she spoke, she reached for the call button. But Hendrix grabbed her hand instead. In one swift motion, he pulled her back into his arms.

"What's the hurry?" he said. "It's not like I'm going to die if I don't have the IV drip for a few minutes. Besides, don't you know you're actually in worse shape than I am?"

Then, he frowned and continued in a low voice, "Right when everyone else was evacuating, you just charged toward the fire without a second thought. Even the firefighters had gas masks on. Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

Noelle listened to his reprimand with her head lowered, saying nothing. She looked just like a child who had done something wrong but refused to admit it.

Seeing this, Hendrix stopped scolding her. He then pressed his lips together and said, "Dan told me Tony and his people contacted you. You even prepared the money and planned to deliver it alone, right?"

"Mm."

"Weren't you afraid?"

"Why should I be?" Noelle countered. "If all they wanted was money, then as long as I gave it to them, the matter would've been settled."

Hendrix looked at her determined expression and found himself momentarily at a loss for words.

Noelle met his gaze for a moment before suddenly asking, "Actually, you knew, didn't you?"

"Knew what?"

"That they didn't just want money," Noelle answered. "If they wanted more compensation, they could have just asked for it from the beginning. Given how big the incident was, from a public relations standpoint, you wouldn't have cared about the money.

"But they insisted that you had to go to their village to attend the deceased worker's funeral and even demanded that you go alone. Given d you

the circumstances, how could

not have noticed something was off? So, if you knew it was dangerous, why did you still go?"

As Noelle spoke, her voice grew calmer. Her eyes remained fixed on him.

That gaze made Hendrix pause for a moment. Then, he tried to change the subject. "Why isn't the nurse here yet? You just woke up, so you should have the doctor check on you."

"Hendrix Freeman!" Noelle clenched her teeth and grabbed his arm tightly.

Hendrix looked down at her and finally sighed. "I just wanted to see who was behind all this."noveldrama

Noelle's gaze darkened.

"And actually, was the one who

started the fire," Hendrix added. "But before I did, I had already planned an escape route. The window led straight to the alley outside. I was

closest to it at the time, and set fire

to the curtain beside it.

"The moment the flames caught, I climbed out. That was the first place to burn, so there was no way they could follow me. Once I was out, I just had to circle back to the courtyard, which took some time. And Nathan—he's a cripple.

"When I tried to drag him out, the falling beam hit my hand. But that bastard still tried to take me down with him. He was the one who stabbed me in the abdomen."