The Sway and Slide of Love

As soon as Hendrix reached a secluded spot, he got straight to the point and asked Noelle, "Did Nathan come to see you before? What did he say to you?"

There was an urgency in his voice, and his gaze was fixed intently on Noelle.

Noelle was slightly taken aback. She then frowned and said, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm asking you—during the time when I was in trouble, Nathan came to see you, didn't he? What did he threaten you with? It was because of what he told you, wasn't it? You were afraid it would affect me, and that's why you chose to divorce me, right?"

Hendrix had tried his best to keep his voice and emotions steady, but even now, he couldn't completely suppress the slight tremor in his tone. His gaze remained locked on Noelle.

He had arrived at that conclusion after thinking about it for days. It seemed like the only explanation that made sense. Yes, Nathan must have threatened Noelle back then.

Otherwise, if she had truly left him for wealth and status, if she had abandoned him because he had fallen from power, why would she have walked away with nothing?

In that moment, all of Noelle's contradictory behavior made perfect sense to Hendrix, and a wave of relief washed over him. The lingering bitterness he had carried for years vanished in that instant.

He wanted to ask her more questions. Why hadn't she told him? What had she chosen to bear the burden alone? She could have confided in him.

But all that didn't matter now, because the truth was finally-

"You've got it wrong," Noelle said.

This casual remark shattered all of Hendrix's assumptions. He looked up at her.noveldrama

"Nathan did come talk to me at the time, but he didn't threaten me with anything," Noelle said.

Then, she continued with a frown, "Well, that's not entirely true. If I had to be precise, he did threaten me with something. But I didn't leave because I was afraid it would affect-I left because I was afraid you would affect me."

Hendrix was completely baffled by her words. For a moment, he even questioned his own intelligence. After all, if there wasn't something wrong with him, why couldn't he understand what Noelle was saying?

"I've told you before-if it had been just me, I might have stayed and faced everything with you," Noelle continued. "But I was pregnant at the time, and I didn't want the baby to take that risk with me, so left. I'm pretty sure I've explained this to you before, right?"

There was a trace of confusion in her voice, and her gaze reflected the same emotion as she looked at him. It was as if she truly didn't understand why she would need to repeat something so simple and one that she had explained before.

Hendrix met her gaze for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. "Yes, you did tell me all that before."

At that time, he had heard her and believed that, in Noelle's heart, the baby was more important than him. So, her decision to divorce him wasn't surprising, nor was it unreasonable.

But when he learned that Nathan had met with her, a sliver of hope ignited within him. He longed to hear a different answer, for someone to tell him that she had left for his sake. That she had no other choice and that it wasn't because she didn't love him enough.

But the truth was far simpler than that he had lost. After weighing all the pros

and cons, Noelle had simply chosen to let him go.