The Cherished Wife



Julian was surprised, but he knew today was a special day and that he should act appropriately. He remembered that Charles had brought a gift for Sir Shaw's birthday back then and had just mentioned playing chess with him, so they must have met in private.

After thinking it over, Julian guessed that his father must know Charles, even though he had never mentioned it. His father did seem to enjoy going out more recently.

Julian looked Charles over and said, "My father is inside, having a rest. Does Mr. Hoffman want to go in and talk to him?"

Charles gave a quick nod. "I must be going now!"

This whole time, Charles had not even bothered to say hello to Joseph. He just glanced at Ronald and walked away. Ronald quickly passed the present he was holding to Julian. "This is a gift from Mr. Hoffman to Ms. Shaw and Mr. Harris."

"Thanks a lot, Mr. Hoffman!" Julian winked, and someone hurried over to take the gift.

Joseph watched Charles and Ronald leave, his face turning a stormy shade of gray and his hands balled into tight fists.

He could not believe Charles had just dismissed him in front of everyone. He had tried to say hi, but Charles acted like he did not even see him. It really made Joseph mad.

He could feel the stares from everyone around him, and they felt like a million slaps to the face, especially since Charles seemed to favor Julian over him.

Joseph shot a look at Julian. Even though Julian was part of his family, Joseph still felt embarrassed. He thought Charles had come to back him up, but it turned out Charles had trapped him instead.

Joseph was far from okay with that. He had wanted to befriend Charles, but he was left hanging.

Julian could tell Joseph was not too happy, and thinking about what had just happened, he started to get a bit wary too.

Charles followed the hotel manager down the hallway to Samuel's room. Samuel was pretty old and had come for the wedding, but he did not want to wear himself out meeting all the guests, so Julian got him a room to rest in.

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As they walked, the hotel staff kept sneaking peeks at Charles. Everyone in Brookville knew about Charles Hoffman but hardly anyone had. actually met him. Now, the famous Charles Hoffman was right in front of them, and it was hard not to be curious.

The door swung open. "Mr. Hoffman, Sir Shaw is right this way."

Charles gave the man a quick glance and went inside. There was Samuel, taking it easy, and Sebastian with him.

They were in the middle of a chess game. When they heard Charles come in, they both looked up and stopped playing. "Hey, Charles. You're here?"

"Yep. Hello, Grandpa, Granddad!"

Charles walked over, shrugged off his coat, and hung it on his arm. Hẹ stood next to the two old men. "Are you guys having a chess match?" He saw the black and white pieces fighting it out and grinned. "You both got here pretty early, huh?

Samuel greeted Charles with a warm smile and invited him to sitContent (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

down. "It's getting late. I didn't really want to come, but I knew Noelle

would be here today, and I just ne

I

couldn't stop worrying about her," Samuel said with a sigh, glancing around. "Where is Noelle, anyway?"

Charles gave him a small smile. "She's outside. We didn't come together."