The Cherished Wife



"You sound happy. Did Bob take it easy on you yesterday?" Charles teased with an icy laugh.

Sean felt a rush of frustration but held back his words when he saw who was at his door. He gulped, trying to look harmless under the man's sharp gaze. "Hey, bro. What brings you here?" he asked with a nervous grin.

Bob, Sean's cousin, gave him a chilly look. "You don't need to know about my deal with Charles. All you need to know is that you've got to go to that party, or else....." Bob's lips twisted into a sly smile. "If I head back to Cascade City, you'll be stuck with the Smith family business, and you wouldn't like that, would you?"

Sean's heart sank. "No, I wouldn't. I think you should stay in Brookville. You're too important to the Smith family!" Sean was ashamed of his own words. "But what does your mom want by sending you to the party? Does she know the Shaws?"

"That's not your concern," Bob said, his face hardening. "It's getting late," he reminded Sean.

Sean snapped to attention. "Oh no, I'm really running late." He checked his phone and realized Charles was still on the line. "Charles, did you hear everything?"

From the other end, Charles snorted. "Scaredy-cat!" His voice was smooth but mocking. "Sean, you know I always record my calls. Imagine what Steven and Peter would think if they heard you sounding so scared!"

"Charles, are you threatening me?"

"Get over here fast! If you're even a minute late, I'm sending this recording to Steven and Peter!" Charles's voice was steely and firm. Then, he hung up.

Sean let out a loud yelp, but Bob shot him a look that quieted him down.

Noelle got to the wedding just as most of the guests were arriving. Xavier was the first to spot her.

He had been keeping an eye on the door, hoping to see her walk through it.

It was not that he just happened to

see her-he could not take his eyes off the door. He was waiting for Noelle. He could not admit it, but deep down, he really wanted her to show up. He even wished she was the bride at this wedding instead of Winter.

Xavier had spent a long time thinking and finally figured it out: he was truly in love with Noelle.

However his dad would not let them be together because Noelle did not own any shares in her family's company. To his dad, Noelle was a woman with no value to offer.

Xavier was torn about whether to tell Joseph the truth-that Noelle actually had more shares in the Shaw family than Winter did.

However, he was scared to sau

anything. If Noelle gave her shares away, then they would never be able to get married.

While Xavier was lost in his thoughts, Noelle walked in. She signed her name and handed in a gift at the door.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

Winter loved to live large and show off, so almost all her college classmates showed up. They were all buzzing about Charles. They figured that if he was related to Xavier, he would definitely be there.