The Cherished Wife



Charles flashed a mischievous grin, noticing Noelle's cheeks were red. He slowly stood up, still cradling her waist, and gently set her down in his seat before taking the spot next to her, oblivious to the stunned looks from the crowd.

Noelle was mortified. She was convinced Charles had lost his mind. She glanced around at the silent onlookers and let out a nervous chuckle. "Looks like everyone's here, huh? What's the occasion? Are we having a party today?"

The crowd gave her blank stares as if she had just said the most ridiculous thing.

Noelle thought, 'I'd better just shut up.'

"Don't be shy!" Peter said, breaking the ice. "You two remember me, don't you?"

"Absolutely, Mr. Lennon!"

"Please, call me Peter!" he insisted with a firm tone, then changed the topic of conversation. "Sean, you set this up today. What's the plan now? Where are we going?"

"We're off to grab some food. I've already told Noelle's two friends over here," Sean said with a whistle, standing up. "Ronald's got us a reservation." "You sure have a way with my people!" Charles commented with a light scoff, though he did not seem truly bothered.

Sean quirked an eyebrow. "You're just as good at giving orders, aren't you? Come on, let's head to Bamboo Grove House!" Sean led the way out, then asked, "Are Noelle's two friends riding with me or with Peter?"

Rowena and Teresa looked at each other. "We'll stick with Mr. Smith since we came in your car."

Rowena and Teresa were pretty sharp. They could tell that Peter, who seemed like a chill guy, would be tough to talk to, and Steven would be even tougher. Out of the so-called Four Young Masters of Brookville, besides Charles, who they sort of knew, Sean was the easiest to get along with. As long as Sean was not in one of his moods, he seemed like a pretty normal guy.

Hearing that, Sean quirked an eyebrow and shot Peter a playful look. "See, Peter? I'm way more popular than you!"

Peter just huffed and ignored Sean's cocky grin, grabbed his coat, and bolted out the door.

Eloise, of course, hopped into Steven's car while Rowena and Teresa joined Sean. Peter ended up driving solo.

Noelle and Charles were the last ones out. Charles held Noelle's hand and asked, "How'd you guys get into another fight?"

"We weren't supposed to!" Noelle

would have preferred to avoid

Winter, especially during the holidays. However, she knew

all too well-she loved to cause

et

drama, especially at No Winternovelbin

expense.

S

Noelle was not someone Winter could just push around. She used to try to smooth things over between them, always looking the other way when Winter pulled her stunts, but she had changed now. She was not about to put up with it anymore. Besides, ever since she found out about her ties to the Shaw family, she realized that playing nice would not change how they treated her. She decided it was high time to start living for herself.

"You know how Winter is. She always thinks I'm going to take something from her!" Noelle said.

Charles grinned slyly. "Well, you do have a way of making people sit up and take notice!"

Noelle arched an eyebrow and let out a laugh. "So, what made you decide to hit up this party today? Also, isn't Steven supposed to head back to Cascade City?"

Noelle thought about Steven's

connection to the Naylor family and then about Eloise. She had assumed Steven's trip was about bringing se back to reconnect with her

Eloise

u

roots, but she was not so sure that was his real reason for coming.

"He's got his own agenda," Charles said with a nod.

Noelle nodded back, not digging any deeper. "Hey, did you assign some bodyguards to watch over me?"