Winter felt a bit resentful. Why did Charles remember Noelle yet remain indifferent to her?Ever since she was little, there had never been anything Winter wanted that she could not get. She stepped forward and walked to Charles' side as she said, "Mr. Hoffman, do you like these high heels too? These shoes are—""Wrap these shoes up," Charles interrupted her while turning to the sales attendant.The sales attendant immediately understood. "Yes, sir," she said. She then added, "Sir, is the size right?"Charles squinted, his long eyes falling on Noelle. As if sensing something, Noelle looked up at Charles.She pressed her lips together, feeling slightly nervous. She feared that Charles might say something shocking.Charles smiled slightly."Size seven," he continued while looking at Noelle. "But, Ms. Noelle, could you do me a favor?"Noelle felt a bit relieved and smiled. Holding the pair of flats she had just taken off, she said, "Of course, as long as you don't mind.""Let Ms.
The sales attendant looked at Winter in disbelief when she heard this. "Miss, what you said isn't quite right. Mr. Hoffman saw these shoes first, and you haven't paid yet, so it's only fair I give them to Mr. Hoffman. "Besides, no matter who you are, everyone is a customer to me. Should I give you special treatment just because you're someone important?""You..." Winter was at a loss for words after being blocked by the assistant's response. As the eldest daughter of the Shaw family, she was used to people granting her wishes. Her fans treated her like a treasure, yet this small-time sales attendant dared to speak to her like this. "Get your store manager… No, get your general manager here! I can't believe I have to take this nonsense just to buy a pair of shoes!"Winter was truly furious, almost to the point of losing her temper. Annie and Suzy were about to say something when the sales attendant replied while smiling in anger, "Alright. I'll get our manager right away. Please w
"Yes."Charles' attention was drawn to Noelle's feet. He found them unusually attractive.Though not a foot fetishist, he genuinely liked Noelle's feet. He smiled slightly. "They do look very nice!"He had thought these shoes would suit Noelle earlier, but seeing them on her was even more astonishing. "Ms. Shaw, they look great on you!"Noelle blushed slightly. "Well, I'm glad you like them," she said, sitting down to remove the shoes.At that moment, the manager arrived after being called in by the sales attendant. He wondered who could be causing such trouble that it required his intervention. As soon as he entered and saw Charles, his eyes widened in surprise.Especially when he saw Charles crouching down to help a woman take off her shoes. It revealed a rare gentle side of him.The manager was quite frightened, never expecting Charles to be there personally. "Mr. Charles, what brings you here?"Mr. Charles Hoffman?Annie and Suzy exchanged looks. They had speculated about
Winter did not understand these matters, so she asked her father for help. However, her father said he was powerless.It turned out the malls in Brookville were all owned by the Hoffman family? If that were the case, why was Charles not helping Frotconn? Was Xavier not related to Charles?"I...""Miss? What do you want to complain about?""I..." Winter bit her lip. "I want to buy those shoes, but your store refuses to sell them to me. Don't you want to do business? Do you know who I am?"Winter continued, "I have money, yet you refuse my business. Does that make sense? And your sales attendant is very rude. She's completely lacking manners. Why did your store hire such people?"Winter did not dare to direct her anger at Charles, but she could still vent about the sales attendant.The manager raised an eyebrow and looked at Winter. He was surprised she still dared to speak like that. Those shoes were chosen by Charles. Hardly anyone in the world would dare to compete with him for
Charles chuckled and shook his head. He gently patted Noelle's head. "Do you think she wouldn't hold a grudge against you if you didn't do this?"Noelle sighed, reluctantly admitting the truth in Charles' words. Still, she decided to avoid Winter as much as possible in the future. "You don't understand. Winter doesn't let things go easily. She—"Charles shook his head. "It seems like she bullied you often in the past, didn't she?"Noelle gave a bitter smile. "I guess it's pretty obvious!"Moreover, she would always end up on the losing side. To avoid direct confrontations with Winter, Noelle moved out early and only returned for family gatherings to see her grandfather, Samuel.Charles' deep eyes settled on Noelle, and he could tell from her resigned expression that she had often been at a disadvantage with Winter over the years. "She's quite something."Noelle raised an eyebrow. "I didn't expect you to compliment her!" She noticed the shoes being packed by the sales attendant, a
Charles curled his lips. "That's it? Two words? Just a simple thank you?""I said thank you very much. That's four words," Noelle replied before smiling. "Well, what else do you want?"Charles raised an eyebrow. "It's no wonder you can't compete with her." He walked briskly to Noelle's side, took the bag from her hand, and quickly held her hand with his other.Noelle was stunned. Her face was flushing as she said, "What are you doing? There are so many people watching. Let go of me!" She struggled but could not break free. She looked genuinely worried as she glanced around nervously.Charles glanced at Noelle. Seeing her reaction, he lifted his eyebrows slightly. "Am I so embarrassing to be seen with?" Many women would love to walk with him, but this woman seemed to despise the idea.Noelle laughed awkwardly. "It's not that. I'm just worried Winter hasn't gone far. If she finds out about our relationship, I'm afraid...""Afraid of what?"Charles snorted lightly. "I didn't think
"I'm not joking. For the sake of 200 million, he casually handed me over to a man with a terrible reputation and character. He has never cared about my feelings. If he knew we were married, given your status and position, you'd be entangled with the Shaw family in unnecessary ways for life." This was not something Noelle wanted to see.Charles, however, laughed at Noelle's words. It was genuine laughter. "Silly girl!"Noelle pressed her lips together. "I'm being serious. Why are you calling me names?""I'm not calling you names!" Charles squeezed her fingers gently. "Since I chose to marry you, I've already considered all these things. And now that we're married, shouldn't we share our blessings and face difficulties together? Isn't that what marriage is about?" He continued, "If I were so easily manipulated, I wouldn't be Charles Hoffman. Trust me, I'll handle these things."Seeing Noelle's confused expression, Charles patted her head again. Noelle was annoyed and pushed his
"Well..." Ronald hesitated, but Charles took the phone."Send the video to my phone," Charles instructed before hanging up.Noelle's demeanor was clearly disturbed. The moment Charles took the phone, she seemed dazed.Although she had been groggy that day, she was still aware of what had happened to her. Now, she felt lost and unsure of what to do as she did not know who had done it. She looked at Charles, her eyes pleading for help. "Charles!""Don't worry," Charles said, holding the steering wheel with one hand while keeping the other around Noelle's hand."Nelly, don't be afraid. I'm here!" He gently squeezed her hand to reassure her. "Let me handle this."Ronald quickly sent the video over. It was short but clear enough to identify who was in it.Noelle was lying restlessly on a bed. The video was taken up close, probably with a phone. At that time, Noelle was still unconscious, and her movements were all subconscious. She stared at the person on the video, and her face turn
The kid shivered when he saw Peter's piercing eyes. "I don't know where he is!""You're lying!" Peter said, spinning a scalpel in his hand with a smile that did not reach his cold eyes. "If you don't take me, let's see if you can run faster than my knife can fly!"Peter pretended to throw the knife at the kid, who shook with fear and quickly gave in. "I'll take you!"Peter raised an eyebrow and put the knife away. "Move it!"The kid did not know who Peter was, but after seeing what he could do, he did not dare say no. "Not just anyone can meet Mr. Holt!""Oh, really?""Yes!""Where are you from, sir?" the kid asked Peter in Spanyric."Zyphonia!" Peter answered, then looked at the kid and said, "You've been hiding behind that mask for a long time. Isn't it time to take it off?"Surprised, the kid did not react fast enough, and Peter quickly pulled off the mask, revealing a young and innocent face underneath.She had a soft and detailed face, like that of a girl around fifteen
Peter covered his mouth with a handkerchief, crouched down, and with his trusty military knife, he flipped over a body to take a closer look. To his surprise, he found some strange marks on the body, like a secret code.He squinted his eyes and checked the other bodies. They all had the same mysterious marks.With a chill in his gaze, Peter stood up, cleaned off his knife, and hopped into his car. He followed the path the kid had taken just moments before.Bodies were everywhere, and only a few people were still alive. Most were in shock, and some were rescue workers.However, Peter's sharp eyes quickly spotted a group of people and zeroed in on the kid. Something told Peter that the kid was in trouble. He got out of the car fast and followed the kid's tracks.That kid was no regular Joe. He knew he was being followed after just a few hundred feet and started dodging through the town littered with bodies.Peter's smile grew. He was getting more and more curious about that little
"I know, but Noelle, I had no other way. He put a virus in you. Do you understand what that means?" Charles's piercing eyes softened a bit. "You know I couldn't just do nothing. I couldn't stand to see you in pain!""But my sister is innocent too!" Noelle inhaled deeply. "What if that man didn't care about my sister? Isn't doing this like throwing her into a fire?" Noelle could barely imagine what had become of Kelly then.Noelle had seen that man before, and she knew just how harsh and mean he could be. They had only talked for a little bit, and she did not really get to know him, but she could tell he was the type of person who would do anything to get what he wanted.He was the kind of guy who would put a virus in people like Tania and Bran, and even in women and kids like her. Noelle was scared to think about what he might do to her sister, Kelly."Noelle, you've got to believe me!" Charles pleaded.However, Noelle shook her head. "It's not that I don't believe you. It's just.
Kelly was gone. The day after she vanished, little Seth cried his heart out because he could not see her. Tania and Nancy tried everything to calm him down, but nothing worked. They had no choice but to tell Charles about the situation.Noelle and Kelly could have been twins. They were so alike. That was why everyone thought it would be a good idea for Seth to meet Noelle. However, Charles was dead set against it, and nobody had ever seen him so stubborn.Nancy and Clarisse were in the dark about the whole thing, but Tania knew the score. There had not been a peep from Peter lately, and Tania was getting worried that something bad had happened.That day, Tania and Bran headed to the hospital. Charles had moved all his work there, and Ronald was dealing with everything, big and small, right in the hospital.Charles kept Noelle out of the loop, though. She figured she was just there because they had not gotten her sickness under control yet. She knew she had a virus, so she went alon
"What's the matter? Is looking at me enough to fill you up?"Yves turned to Kelly, pulling out a chair and sitting beside her. His long fingers picked up the silverware and served her the meal. "Eat up. Isn't this your favorite?"Her favorite?Kelly stared back at Yves, her gaze frosty. "Do you even know what I like?"Yves put his hands down and gazed at Kelly. "What's wrong? Don't you like the food?" Without waiting for her answer, he quickly summoned the two servants from earlier. "Madam doesn't like the food. You know I don't keep anything around that isn't useful.""Please, madam, have mercy! Sir, have mercy!" The servants' faces turned ghostly white as they stood stiffly on the marble floor, apologizing repeatedly. Kelly's heart raced with fear. "Stop, please. I'll eat, okay? Isn't that enough?"She bowed her head and started gobbling up the food, scared that Yves, who she thought was crazy, might do something unpredictable if he got upset.Kelly could not see the slight
Kelly felt a chill run through her. "Yves, you're just too scary."Kelly did not know much about the Lennon family, but she remembered how Peter had single-handedly brought down Lennon Group six months ago. What if they had not fallen? What about Peter's uncle..."Scary? What I've done is nothing compared to the Hoffman family. They're the real filth. Once you get involved with them, you're tainted too. Don't you think so?" Yves's eyes burned with undisguised hatred as he mentioned the Hoffman family."It's getting late, and you must be hungry by now!"Yves ignored Kelly's protests, bent down, and scooped her up in his arms.Kelly tried to wriggle free, but Yves held her tight. "Unless you fancy going hungry!"Realizing she was getting nowhere, Kelly stopped struggling. She had used up a lot of energy arguing and messing around with Yves, and then she felt drained.Once Kelly was calm, Yves carried her down to the restaurant on the ground floor.Several people stood guard in th
"What did you say?"Just a second ago, Yves might have looked totally calm and unbothered, but then he was like a scary fighter from the darkest night. He grabbed Kelly's hand, his frosty stare locking onto her. When he squeezed just a little, Kelly was trapped, unable to move at all.It hurt so much, like her heart was being drilled into.Kelly's face went white as she looked at Yves, whose face was hidden behind a mask.Somehow, even though she could not see his face, she could tell from his icy, sharp eyes that he was surprised, shocked, and hurting.He held onto Kelly's wrist so tight. His eyes looked like they could eat her up. "Say that again!" he said through clenched teeth, like he was so mad he could gobble her up.Kelly had never seen Yves look so ruthless and fierce, like a messenger from the underworld. She shivered, totally scared, but Yves kept his gaze right on her. "How could you, how dare you!"Was this woman out of her mind? She actually dared to inject herself
Yves just laughed when he heard her. "You've lost respect for me?" He towered over Kelly, who was sitting on the bed. He reached out and gently lifted her chin with his finger, gazing intently into her eyes. "There's no such thing as an innocent person in this world, right?""Let me go!" Kelly jerked her head away. "That's just your dark heart talking. Noelle never hurt you, and neither did Tania or Bran. I can't figure out why you're after them. Sure, you have issues with Charles and the Hoffmans, but go after them, not innocent people!"Yves squinted, then let go of her chin and looked at his finger. "Going after the Hoffmans, huh? Just wait and see what happens.""Yves, are you out of your mind? What did the Hoffmans ever do to you? Aren't you a Hoffman too?"Kelly was confused about Yves's motives, so she tried to get him to spill the beans. However, Yves took her words the wrong way, thinking she meant something else."Do you feel bad for Charles?" "I don't know what you're
Kelly trembled from head to toe when she heard Yves's words. She tried to push him away, but Yves was too strong, and she could not get free. "Let me go, Yves! You're crazy, a creep, let me go!" Kelly kept struggling. She tried to slap him, but Yves caught her other hand.Yves pulled Kelly close, and his chilly breath wrapped around her. She shivered, but Yves just hugged her tighter. "After all these years, you haven't changed a bit!"Kelly felt a chill all over her body. She wanted to push him away, but she could not muster the strength.Yves held Kelly in his arms. His firm chin was visible outside his mask, and his cool lips brushed against Kelly's cheek as he softly laughed. "Kelly, I've missed you too!"Kelly suddenly looked up, her surprised eyes meeting Yves's deep ones.His eyes were different from Charles's. Charles's gaze was icy and emotionless, like chunks of ice.However, Yves's eyes were different. They were just as deep but had a touch of warmth. His eyes were lik