"In the end, isn’t it all about the shares Winter has? " Xavier glared at his dad, Joseph. "Why can't anyone see why I'm with Winter? Don't you get it, Dad?" Xavier was upset. "Noelle and I were great together. We...""Enough!" Joseph cut him off. "You're being so ungrateful. Can't you see that I'm doing this for you? Marry Winter and get her shares. Someday, you’ll get the whole City Ring Corp. and the Shaw family. What's Noelle got to offer? If she was capable, would I care if you two were together?""Noelle..." Xavier tried to say something but stopped. He remembered Noelle's harsh words from earlier and felt like he had been slapped.He thought back to his school days when he was free-spirited and full of life, a star student with so much drive. However, working life had trapped him, making him overthink every move.Today, he really felt Noelle's scorn.Xavier's hands balled into fists, his veins popping out.He thought about Noelle saying she would sell her shares to anyone
Charles's fingers hit the decline button, but Xavier kept calling back. Charles's eyes swirled with an icy anger. He just let the phone keep ringing, holding it tightly.Noelle came out of the shower and saw Charles with her phone. "What's up?"Charles just lifted an eyebrow and handed her the phone. Noelle saw who it was, frowned, and declined without a second thought. She looked at Charles and started to say something, but the phone interrupted her, ringing again. Noelle's frown got deeper as she declined again. Before she could get a word out, Charles asked, "Didn't you think to grab a towel for your hair?"Noelle paused, watching Charles's tall silhouette head inside the bathroom. She bit her lip as he came back with a towel, signaling her to sit down.Noelle hesitated. "Um...""Come over here!" Charles called out, not even glancing at the buzzing phone that displayed Xavier's incoming call. Noelle felt a bit unsure about what Charles was thinking, but she walked over and sat
Noelle's smile turned playful. "Sure, but you'd only have one customer—me!"Charles chuckled and playfully tapped Noelle's nose. "You're such a tease!"Noelle blinked and stretched her neck, trying to reach Charles's face with her hand, but she was too far away. She pouted. "Come down a little!"Charles gave her a look, holding her wriggling hand still. "Settle down. Your hair isn't dry yet!""Hey, duck down a bit!" she exclaimed, trying to get up, but Charles gently pushed her back down. "No more playing around!" He did lower his head, though, and Noelle was delighted. She playfully rubbed and pinched Charles's smiling face, noticing his eyes seemed to sparkle even more.Noelle raised an eyebrow when she saw the look on Charles's face and quickly let go. "Come on, don't be lazy. Dry my hair already!"Charles gave her a soft look and then tenderly held Noelle's face, planting a kiss on the tip of her nose. Noelle giggled, feeling ticklish, and tried to push him away, but Charles
The landlord was fast on his feet, but the police were faster. When they saw Xavier looking like a mess, they did not hesitate to take him away.Xavier was pretty drunk, but he could still think straight. The sight of two cops made him a bit more alert. "I'm just looking for my girlfriend. What's going on? Let go of me!""Girlfriend? You're out here making a scene in the middle of the night. People say you've been hanging around here a lot. And hey, I recognize you! Didn't we just bring you in for questioning the other day?"One cop remembered Xavier right away after seeing him like this. The other cop glanced over and said, "Yep, it's you. Let's go. You're making too much noise, and it's late. You know that's not allowed, right?"The cops did not wait for an answer before they took Xavier with them. He did not want to go and kept yelling for Noelle, "Noelle, come out! Tell them I'm your boyfriend, Noelle!"After spending two hours at the police station, Xavier finally started to
The police officer noticed something was off. “Could you have made a mistake?” “What do you mean, a mistake? Noelle is my girlfriend!” Xavier tried to make another call as he spoke, but the police officer took the phone away. “You’re a funny one. Your girlfriend called the police and got you arrested for disruption? I think she might not even be your girlfriend! Or did you guys break up? I’ve seen plenty of scenarios like this. Also, what’s a man like you doing at a young girl’s house this late at night?” “It was just a small misunderstanding. We didn’t break up, officer. Please give me the phone so I can make another call!” The officer said exasperatedly, “I can give you the phone, but I don’t think you should be calling your girlfriend. Call your parents instead!” Xavier took the phone and dialed Noelle’s number once again. The phone rang twice before someone picked up. “Hello?” This time, it was Noelle who answered. “Who’s speaking?” “It’s me, Noelle!” Xavier forced himsel
“Married? That’s impossible!” Xavier shot to his feet. “That’s impossible… Noelle may hate me, but she would never get married to another man just to get back at me. She’s still in love with me. She…”“That’s enough. I don’t have time for your convoluted dating history. Ms. Shaw has already claimed to have nothing to do with you, and you should stop harassing her late at night. I think you should just call either of your parents or your fiancee and have them drop by. It’s getting late.” Xavier dropped back onto the bench, a dazed look on his face. Several minutes passed before he dialed Emilia’s number, his movements robotic.By the time Emilia and Joseph rushed over, Xavier was still sitting on the bench inside the station, seemingly in some sort of trance. Emilia flew into a panic when she saw Xavier sitting dazedly on the bench. “Xavier! Xavier, are you alright?! Don’t scare me!” “Mom!” Xavier looked up woodenly at Emilia. “Mom, she’s abandoned me. Mom, she really doesn’t want
Noelle did not feel like going back to bed after hanging up the phone, so she grabbed a towel to begin drying Charles’ hair. “Why didn’t you wake me up just now?” When she thought about how she had somehow managed to fall asleep despite how sticky her body was, she added, “Didn’t you say you would help me clean up?” “You were fast asleep!” Charles said, the look in his eyes gentle as he reached up to take Noelle’s hand. “I can do it myself!” However, Noelle shook her head. "Let me help you!” Then, she added, “Xavier probably got himself into some trouble, so he used another person’s phone to call me,” she said ruefully, “How did I never notice the kind of person he was?!”Charles smirked, and he chuckled when he heard the obvious displeasure in Noelle’s voice. “What kind of person is he?” “I don’t feel like talking about him,” Noelle said, feeling frustrated. “I just don’t understand why he keeps coming back to rile me up when he’s already decided to get together with Winter i
Joseph Harris had always been a crafty, calculating man. He had been planning this for so long, and there was no way he would allow things to fail in the final stages. Charles smirked. “So, Joseph must be thinking about how he can get Xavier and Winter to get married as soon as possible. He won’t have anything to worry about once they’re married.” Charles patted Noelle’s hand as he said, “Xavier’s smart, but he’s not very charismatic, and would never dare go against Joseph. So, he’ll inevitably go down that path.” “You thought of everything." Noelle sighed, thinking to herself how exhausting all this thinking must be. Charles noticed the change in Noelle’s mood and took her hand in his as he lowered his head so their foreheads were touching. “We can’t control what others do, but we can at least live our lives the way we want to. Don’t you think so?” Noelle chuckled as she nodded. "Yes, I know that. Don’t worry. I’ve set clear boundaries with them, and I know what I should do mo
The medicine was clear and tasteless, and it would disappear after a while. Linda wanted Janet to fall into a deep sleep fast. In no time, she noticed Janet's eyebrows twitch, and then she was out like a light."You're so mean, poking so many holes in people. Well, let's see how you like it," Linda said.She hopped onto the bed, grabbed some silver instruments from her bag, and with quick, sure moves, she stuck them into Janet's body. Janet, fast asleep, did not feel a thing.Linda had always been fascinated by special treatments, even though her family did not want to teach her. She had learned it all on her own, sometimes even practicing with Saxon. Saxon himself said Linda was better at it than he was. In fact, Linda's talent was way better than Saxon's.However, Linda was not done. She felt like she had not had enough fun. She took out another bottle from her bag and popped a pill into Janet's mouth. "This pill? I made it from a virus I got from those dead rats of yours. It mig
"Don't worry, these small fries are no match for me," Linda boasted with confidence. "Even if I can't beat them physically, one poke with my instrument and they'll be begging for mercy!"Sean smirked when he heard that. "Alright, I've already scoped the place out. The first floor is where the servants bunk, so let's not stir them up. The second floor is Milo's and the Baker family head's pad. Janet and Jace are on the third floor — remember, Janet is our mark, so don't mess up the rooms."Sean pointed at the floor plan he had managed to get his hands on.Linda shot Sean an impatient look. "Okay. I'm not a kid, you know!"After stashing their gear, Sean gestured to the side. "You take the southeast approach, and I'll start from this end."With that, they set off on their mission.The guards might have had some fight in them, but to Sean and Linda, they were a walk in the park to deal with, especially in the dead of night when guards were sleepy and dropped their guard. Seizing the
Liliana bit her lip, "Brother, I...""Don't rush to give me an answer. Think about it. It's late, so you should head back."Liliana nodded, "Okay, I'll go then." She got up, hesitated for a moment, and added, "Brother, your wife is going to be okay!"Charles gave a small smile, "I know." He had always known.Once Liliana was gone, Charles sat down next to Noelle, watching her sleep peacefully. He gently touched her skin.While she had been sick, he might have looked composed and calm, but nobody knew the pain he felt better than he did. He knew he could not let himself worry, especially not in front of Noelle.Yesterday, when he walked into the bedroom and saw Noelle sleeping so deeply, he fought hard to keep his feelings in check. He did not want to lose his composure.Today, all of the poison was finally out of her system, and he felt like he had gotten back something very special that he had lost. He gently stroked Noelle's face and said, "I've waited so long for you. No more
Those people were so irritating. Could they not see Noelle was still out cold? There they were, acting all lovey-dovey right in front of him? Charles was really upset.Peter and Yves caught each other's eye and had to stifle a laugh. Charles had been all about showing off his own romance before, but then he could not handle a bit of theirs?"Are you guys going or what?"Peter smirked and replied, "Sure thing!"Once everyone had left, the big hospital room was quiet with just Charles and Liliana left. Liliana paused, looking from Charles to Noelle.She had thought about leaving with Peter and the rest, but she stayed because she had something on her mind. Charles could tell. He gently fixed Noelle's blanket before turning to Liliana, "You wanted to talk?"Liliana nodded, "Yeah.""Let's hear it."Charles had a pretty good guess already. It was all about old family drama. He had not wanted Liliana to go back to the Hoffmans, and it was not just to be mean. With her awkward place i
"Yes." Tania agreed with a nod. "Ms. Holt told me mine is the first-generation poison."Saxon gave a small laugh. "You're lucky that little Linda didn't wear you out completely." However, even as he said that, he checked them over with care. "You're all okay. Linda used silver instruments to get the poison out, and what else did she give you?""Um... Ms. Holt said it was sugar, and it was really sweet," Tania recalled that Linda had indeed given them lots of candy.Saxon smiled again. "Well, keep on eating!" Actually, the candies Linda had were not the ones she made, but the special ones Saxon had switched with hers. Those candies were like treasures, and he never thought she would give them all away to help. It looked like these folks meant a lot to her.Saxon pulled out some more candies from his pocket and handed them to Tania and Kelly. "This is all I've got right now. We'll figure it out once you've finished these."He seemed pretty relaxed about it, but the one who had poiso
"Okay, as soon as Noelle gets out of the hospital and Ves comes back to the Hoffman family, we're going to throw a huge party. It's been ages since we've had such a good time, and with Yves and Liliana both here, it'll be perfect!" Maxwell announced, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he looked at Yves.Maxwell had thought his brother's family line had ended, but to his surprise, there was still Yves. He was beside himself with joy. "Ves, please come back home to the Hoffman family, and to the Collosus Group too!"Yves scrunched his face and was about to respond, but Kelly cut in quickly, "He'll definitely come back!"Yves paused, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes, but he quickly smoothed out his expression, hiding the flurry of emotions inside.The two families could not just stand around forever. After spending a little more time admiring the two adorable babies, they visited Noelle's hospital room. Since Noelle was still asleep, they all decided that it was time to head
Bran's innocent comment had everyone laughing. "Oh, Bran, they just haven't opened their eyes yet. When they grow up, they'll be as cute as you!""Really?" Bran asked, tilting their head, "Okay then!"Liliana had been quiet the whole time, just watching the babies in the incubator.She had not really wanted to come, since the Hoffmans and the Smiths were not exactly her biggest fans. However, she wanted to see those babies, to see the little ones who belonged to Charles and Noelle.Today, both families were filled with joy, and nobody paid much attention to Liliana. Even if they were not fond of her, they would not send her away on such a happy day.Liliana gazed at the two little babies in the warm nursery, and her eyes quickly filled with tears. She placed her hands gently on the glass, a small smile spreading across her face as she whispered to herself, "They are so beautiful."Clarisse watched Liliana and felt a mix of emotions stirring within her.She did not feel very clos
Yves gave a gentle smile and stroked Seth's hair. "Are you having a good time?""Yes!" Seth bobbed his head enthusiastically. "Bran and Bobby are really nice!" Seth had clearly made friends, and Yves' smile grew wider. However, then he turned to Kelly. "Would you like to visit the hospital?"Kelly's eyes lifted. "Is that okay?" She had been worried about Noelle's safety, but she knew that her presence might not help and might even be a hindrance. Besides, the kids needed someone to watch over them, so she had been trying to stay calm.When Yves made the offer, Kelly wanted to go. "How's Noelle doing?""Charles just called. The mom and babies are all doing great!" Yves told Kelly with a big smile, looking really happy. "It's a boy and a girl, but they came a bit early. They're still in their cozy incubators for now.""And how's Noelle?" Kelly asked quickly."She's fine too, just getting some rest," Yves replied, softly touching Kelly's forehead. Kelly blinked in surprise, looking
"Winter mailed the package. I thought Mrs. Hoffman would open it, but she didn't!" The maid's face showed a flicker of disappointment. "Winter promised the item would surely frighten Mrs. Hoffman, so...""So, you tried to scare her?" Yves thought that Winter must really hate Noelle, especially since she was pregnant.Yves squinted and asked, "What happened next?""When Winter heard that it didn't work, she met with me and handed me a lamp. She said it was from Mr. Baker and told me to light it while Mrs. Hoffman was fast asleep. She said that it would go unnoticed!"After she spoke, the maid fell to the ground, too much in pain to stand. The guard service member, seeing that, stabbed her thigh with a knife, "Ahh..."The maid screamed again, but the guard service member quickly covered her mouth.The pain had nearly knocked her out, but then she was wide awake again, "I've told you everything I know, I don't know anything else, I really don't.""How do you two keep in touch?" Yve