The Sway and Slide of Love

"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 had refused to go back with him, as the person closest to her, he had every right and reason to take her.

But he did no such thing in the end.

It wasn't because of Sid. What really stopped Hendrix was the moment Noelle ran to Irene and called her "Mom".noveldrama

He knew what her childhood had been like. He also knew that even after returning to the Swanson family, she had never truly experienced the warmth of a real home.

Cynthia was still lying in the hospital. And at this point, her vitals were so weak that it was only a matter of time before she passed away.

So, he understood just how much she longed for the warmth of this makeshift family and the way Irene protected her. And if he took her away now, she would definitely hate him.

Moreover, seeing her being

protected like that-and hearing her

so affectionately call out

"Mom" brought him comfort. Even if it wasn't real, as long as it filled the emptiness in Noelle's heart, he

believed it was a good thing.

Of course, Sid was a different matter altogether.

That same day, Hendrix went to the bank and withdrew 100,000 dollars in cash. Then, with Jerry as a witness, he placed the money in front of Sid.

Sid had been about to kick them out of the house, but he immediately fell silent when he saw the stack of cash. Then, he stared at Hendrix with wide eyes.

"You said you gave Mrs. Wallace 8,800 dollars as a wedding gift, right?" Hendrix said. "Here's 100,000 dollars. That's ten times the amount, plus a little extra interest. Is that enough?"

"I-I never said I wanted the wedding gift back! Sid stammered, trying to pull his gaze away. "Who do you think you are? Everyone in the village knows about my engagement with Nelly. We-"

"Her name is Noelle, not Nelly," Hendrix interjected. He then tossed a death certificate in front of Sid "The Nelly you're talking about died eight years ago. See if that's Mrs. Wallace's signature at the bottom."

Sid's eyes widened in shock as looked at the document. "This-"

"So, your so-called engagement is invalid," Hendrix said. "And you'd better not think of me as some pushover. Take the money, and stay away from Noelle from now on. Got it?"