By the time Noelle realized it, Hendrix's lips were already on hers. They had been through many intimate moments together, their familiarity with each other's bodies surpassing even their understanding of their own.

Yet, it wasn't until this moment of shared kiss that felt like it belonged solely to lovers-devoid of desire, yet deeply meaningful.

Hendrix's movements were gentle, his lips softly enveloping hers and his tongue lightly grazing against them in careful, deliberate strokes. It was as if he were handling a precious yet fragile treasure, his tenderness boundless and cautious.

Noelle suddenly felt a little fuzzy in the head. At some point, her hands had instinctively gripped the collar of his shirt, twisting it tightly in her grasp.

And then, her phone rang.noveldrama

The crisp ringtone was like an invisible hand, yanking Noelle out of the ethereal world of fleeting tenderness.

Hendrix tensed for a moment, but Noelle reacted even faster, shoving him away with a firm push. At the same time, she pulled back the foot he had been holding.

"Hello," she answered the call, her voice carrying a slight rasp, though she had already regained her usual composure. "Yeah, I see you. I'm in the car."

The call was from the designated driver. Noelle rolled down the window to confirm the details with him before letting him into the car. With the arrival of a third person, the previous intimate atmosphere in the car vanished completely.

To keep herself alert, Noelle left the window open.

"How's your foot-"Hendrix attempted to pick up the conversation from earlier, but Noelle cut him off immediately, "It's just a minor scrape. Thanks for your concern."

As her emotions subsided, even the faint rasp in her voice disappeared. She was now calm and

detached, much like the version of herself earlier in the day outside the elevator-the one who had firmly maintained her distance

from him.

Hendrix said nothing more.

The evening rush hour had long passed, and about half an hour later, the designated driver pulled into the parking lot of Galaxy Grove.

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Noelle was the first to step out of the car. However, after just taking a couple of steps, she suddenly stopped in her

tracks.

"What's wrong?" Hendrix quickly stopped as well.

Noelle glanced at the pillar ahead, then turned to look at him. "My foot hurts."

Hendrix was caught off guard by her reply. After all, just moments ago in the car, she had confidently told him it was just a minor scrape.

But then, he seemed to quickly catch on to her meaning. Without hesitation, he smoothly crouched down and said, "I'll carry you up."

Noelle hummed in agreement and got onto his back.

Hendrix wrapped his hands around her legs as he stood and began walking steadily toward the elevator.

With her arms wrapped arou. nis neck, Noelle asked, "Do you think Mr. Mueller noticed our relationship tonight? What if he spread rumors about it?"

"He won't"

"How do you know? You should be aware that I have a boyfriend now. If something like this gets out, it'll definitely hurt my reputation."

"I know." Hendrix pressed the elevator button and tilted his head back slightly to watch the numbers change. Don't worry. As long as you don't want to make it public, no one will find out."

With a soft ding, the elevator arrived, and Hendrix carried Noelle inside.

Whatever the two of them said after that, Sandra couldn't hear a single word.

She stood silently behind the pillar and kept watching as the elevator numbers climbed higher and higher.

Only then, as if all the strength had been drained from her, did she collapse onto the ground.

Suddenly, Noelle's words from earlier that evening echoed in her mind-she had said that the one leech was Hendrix.

clinging like a