"You're not late at all!" Noelle smiled when she saw Brian standing at the door, noticing a slight change in his demeanor. "Mr. Click is inside!"Brian nodded slightly, his face looking a bit pale. He then followed Noelle into the room.George spotted Brian immediately. He set down his teacup and stood up to greet him, "Brian, it's been a long time!""George, long time no see." The two men shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.Noticing that Brian still looked unwell, Noelle poured him a cup of warm water. "Mr. Parker, you didn't have to come if you weren't feeling well!""I'm fine." Brian accepted the cup politely but set it aside.He adjusted his coat with his slender fingers while Teresa served a cup of warm tea to George. She then stood up. "Mr. Parker, may I take your coat for you?"Teresa extended her hand politely. Brian paused, directing his gaze at Teresa for the first time. His dark eyes deepened as they lingered on her.Since Brian had arrived late, he did not kno
Peter smirked. "Didn't expect you to care about these things!" Then, he added, "It's the weekend. I thought you'd be busy.""I am busy, and I didn't really want to come," Charles replied bluntly. Peter narrowed his eyes, his piercing gaze landing on Charles. His long fingers tapped lightly on his knee. "About the West City project, are you sure you want Lennon Group involved?""What else?" Charles paused, rubbing his thumb against the base of his index finger. "I thought Lennon Group would be an ideal partner in Brookville.""But you should also know that I'm not the one in charge of Lennon Group anymore," Peter remarked casually, though his tone did not reveal much emotion. "The old man divided my power and gave part of it to Rex.""I trust you can handle it. Plus, that's an internal matter, and I won't interfere. But let's be real—are you seriously not planning to take full control of Lennon Group?" Charles asked, his sharp eyes flashing.For Charles, Lennon Group was like an un
Peter said he knew nothing about such feelings, but he knew better than anyone—he had waited a year—no, ten years—and he had endured it all.Charles reached out and patted Peter's shoulder. "In that case, hurry up and get the West City project done for me. After that, whatever you do with Lennon Group is none of my business."Peter smiled faintly. He brushed Charles' hand off his shoulder and stood up. The two equally formidable men faced each other, neither losing ground. "You've got it all planned out, haven't you? The West City project won't be finished in a year or two. Are you trying to delay Tania's return?"Charles narrowed his eyes. "Or maybe you've got a better plan? Do you even know where Tania is now?"Peter pressed his lips together. "Charles, if you ever fall into my hands, I'll make sure you experience what this feels like!"Charles smirked. "We'll see when that day comes." He then asked, "How's the investigation I asked you to do last time?"Peter raised an eyebr
"What more do you want? I've only been investigating for a short time, so there isn't much information yet. If you really want answers, you might be better off digging into Sebastian or Samuel directly; it could be faster!" Peter explained that this was all he knew and did not have much more to offer.Charles furrowed his brows. This matter was indeed difficult to handle. With so many years gone by, finding any clues would not be easy.Not to mention, if someone was deliberately hiding the truth, uncovering it would be even harder."Jade and Sebastian's relationship doesn't seem very good." Charles recalled that when Sebastian had been his student, he had actually seen Jade a few times.However, Jade likely did not recognize him back then and certainly had not paid him any attention. "For your next steps, start with Sebastian and Jade.""Alright! I'll give it a try!" Peter shrugged. "Fancy a game?"…Meanwhile, Noelle's group was engaged in a lively conversation. Brian and Georg
George had heard of Saltgrass House for a long time. A few years ago, he had planned to visit, but he had to rush back due to time constraints. This time, George was clearly pleased to be able to make it here."Charles, your wife is truly very considerate," George remarked.Noelle and Teresa walked ahead. The owner of Saltgrass House, who recognized Charles, hurried over to greet them.Seeing that Charles seemed engaged in conversation, Noelle stepped forward to greet the owner first, "Hello, we have a reservation for Celino Room.""Oh, Ms. Shaw, correct?""Yes." Noelle gave a polite smile. "Please lead the way.""Right this way, Ms. Shaw."The group reached Celino Room, where Noelle went in first to arrange the seating. Charles and the others followed leisurely. Hearing George praise Noelle, Charles smiled warmly. "Thank you, Mr. Click."By the way, earlier, Brian and I were discussing the West City project. Brian mentioned that the situation this time is a bit complicated?"
Charles smirked and gently tapped Noelle on the nose. "If you make it this obvious, aren't you worried your friend will feel awkward?""Was it that obvious?" Noelle blinked. "I'm just trying to do something nice for them. Teresa is a great girl, and I think my mentor has a pretty decent character. He seems to have a good impression of Teresa too!""That's not necessarily true." Charles remained neutral. "Matters of the heart are best understood by those involved. You should stay out of it.""I'm not meddling! I just noticed they seemed interested in each other, so I thought I'd help them along. Even if they don't end up together, at least they got to know each other." Noelle chuckled. "By the way, how did your talk with Peter go today?""Not bad."Noelle held the water bottle up to Charles' lips. Charles glanced at her, catching the mischievous glint in her eyes. He shook his head in resignation but still took a sip."Didn't you say yesterday that you had Mr. Wells deal with Wint
Suzy quickly pulled the young assistant away. Once the assistant was steadied, Suzy whispered a few words to her, and the assistant ran off with tears in her eyes.Winter was about to lash out, but when she saw that it was Suzy, her anger found no outlet. She could only glare at Suzy. "What do you think you're doing?""I should be asking you that!" Suzy said as she poured another cup of water for Winter, subtly gesturing for Winter to look around."This is a film set. All these eyes are on you. You're a big star now, constantly under scrutiny. The issue with Ethel from the other day hasn't even fully blown over yet. Do you really want to give people more ammunition against you?"Suzy handed the water to Winter. "If you don't like the assistant, I can get rid of her—as I've already told you. I'm here with you now, and I can handle these things!" Suzy continued, trying to calm Winter down.As it was Suzy talking, Winter listened because she felt guilty toward her. Winter reflected o
As for Winter, Jane really did not have the time or inclination to deal with her anymore; she just hoped Winter would stay out of trouble.The next day, Winter directly paid off the young assistant and sent her away, leaving Suzy as Winter's sole assistant."Suzy, isn't it a bit beneath you to be my assistant?" Winter asked, knowing full well that Suzy came from a wealthy family and did not need to be working as her assistant. Even so, Winter thrived on the feeling of superiority. Having Suzy, who was on the same level as her, working for her fueled her vanity.Suzy squinted slightly, inwardly sneering but outwardly maintaining her smile. "Not at all. Ever since I started working with you, I've found peace of mind. I just want to focus on my job now and try not to think about anything else."Suzy handed Winter a towel. "Wipe your sweat first. You'll need to get your makeup done soon, and while you're getting your makeup done, we can run lines together. That way, you'll be ready w
The Majestic Lounge was Charles's next stop after leaving Phoenix Tree Residence. He had agreed to meet there and went straight to the private room. Sean was there, drinking non-stop.Charles walked up, took Sean's drink from his hand, and looked over at Peter. "What's happening?"Peter's eyebrow shot up. "Wow, drama!" He could not help but chuckle. "This is the first time I've seen him so worked up, acting like it's the end of the world, and he won't even tell us why!"As he spoke, Peter poured a glass of wine for Charles. Charles squinted and shook his head. "No thanks, I've stopped drinking."Peter's mouth gave a quick twitch. "Come on, really?""For real, I've quit!" Charles insisted. "I've got kids now, and I need to be a good role model for them!"Charles said it with such a smug tone that Peter almost wanted to toss a wine bottle at him. Sean, with his heart recently broken, just could not take it. He looked up, his eyes red with emotion, glaring at Charles as if he was
Charles gently tousled Noelle's hair. "Weren't you just saying how tired you were? What happened? Not sleepy now?" He teased her as she acted all wiggly and giggly like a little kid.Noelle blinked her big eyes. "Nope, I just want to hug you!"Charles smiled softly. "Okay then!" He closed his eyes. "Time to sleep!""Alright!" Noelle closed her eyes, too.When she woke up, Charles was gone. Noelle looked around, got out of bed, and after getting ready, she went to check Ice and Glitter's room, but they were not there.She went downstairs and found Maxwell holding Ice and Glitter, playing together with a caregiver nearby.Noelle was surprised. "Grandpa, when did you get here?""Ah, Noelle, you're up?" Maxwell smiled warmly and waved her over. "Come sit with me!""Where's Charles, Grandpa?" Noelle asked since she had not seen Charles since she woke up."Oh, he just said he had some stuff to take care of and went out," Maxwell said, not too worried. "I haven't seen the kids for a
"You don't need to lose any more weight," Charles said, playfully squeezing Noelle's waist. His eyes grew serious. "It's not good to be too thin."He preferred her with a little more weight, looking strong and huggable. "Being a bit plump is nice. It's comfy to cuddle!""Oh, stop it!" she protested, feeling he was teasing her.Blushing, Noelle looked down, too shy to meet Charles's gaze.Even after being married for so long, whenever Charles playfully teased her, Noelle's heart would still skip a beat. It raced so fast she could hardly keep up."I'm doing all this for you!" Noelle snuggled against Charles's chest. "You only get one wedding day, and I want to be the most beautiful bride!" She sighed, tilting her head. "You wouldn't believe it, but the wedding dress and gown mom and Aunt Nancy picked out yesterday were all too tight!"Remembering yesterday's dress-fitting fiasco, Noelle felt a twinge of frustration. "I told Mom my size from before I got pregnant. I could fit into i
"Look at this, look at this, now you're mad at me!" Maxwell started to make a scene. Charles held his head, feeling a splitting headache, "Noelle and the kids are asleep, do you want to wake them up?"Hearing that, Maxwell immediately quieted down, "You little scamp, why didn't you say so sooner? If you wake Ice and Glitter, I'll tan your hide!"Maxwell pretended to swing at someone in the air while Charles gave him an annoyed glance and then asked the servants to bring Maxwell's bags inside.Then Maxwell started ordering the servants around to get his room just right. After a lot of commotion, he finally settled down and asked for some coffee.Charles, nursing a headache, asked Maxwell, "What brings you here?" "Hmph, didn't you hear? Your dad and Uncle Henry don't want me anymore. So what's it going to be? Are you going to start looking down on me too?""No way!" Charles thought Maxwell was really getting too cranky with age. "This isn't like the old family home. There's no one
Kelly got it, "So, Grandpa, you're planning to?""I'm going to stay with Charles for a bit." He added, "Or you could come with me. I could have the driver drop you off at the school to take a look first?""No need, Grandpa, I'll take Seth myself. I've already talked to the folks there.""Alright then!" Maxwell nodded, "That's fine, but does Yves know about the school thing for the kid?"Maxwell was not just concerned about Charles and Noelle's wedding. He was also anxious about Yves and Kelly's situation.Since Maxwell had made his feelings clear last time, he would not let Yves and Kelly leave the family home, insisting they stay. Kelly could not argue with Maxwell and had to agree.Kelly nodded, "He knows, he's been really busy lately, I'll go have a look myself!""Oh yes, he's swamped since he took over the Collosus Group. There's so much he has to do himself. However, dear, if you don't want him to overwork, just tell me, and I'll get Charles to go back and lend a hand!""N
"Okay."Seeing that, Ronald breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I'll be off then, Mr. Hoffman."Once Ronald was gone, Noelle spun around and gave Charles a stern look. "Why don't you go to work? You're always just hanging around the house, getting in the way!" Noelle noticed that Charles had changed a lot since Ice and Glitter came into their lives.He used to be so passionate about his job, often bringing work home and staying up late in the study. However, then? He was always cuddling with Glitter, eating, napping, and not doing much else.Ronald was his assistant, after all. However, what about then? That look of disdain he had just given him.Charles squinted and raised an eyebrow. "Are you tired of me, Noelle? Don't want me around?"Noelle pressed her hand to her forehead. "That's not what I'm saying. I'm trying to have a serious talk with you, you should know...""I know, you're jealous!" Charles cut her off, stood up with Glitter in his arms, walked over to Noelle, and wrap
Although Charles and Noelle were not in a rush to plan their wedding, the Hoffman and Smith families certainly were. Everyone was eager to make sure every detail was perfect as no one wanted anything to go wrong.Clarisse, who had initially been preoccupied with the Bakers' situation, found herself too busy with the wedding preparations to think about anything else. Once she got caught up in the planning, there was simply no time to spare.Meanwhile, Nancy's health had improved significantly. Given how significant this wedding was for the Hoffman family, she naturally wanted to be involved.However, Henry remained concerned about her physical condition, only allowing her to oversee the decorations and review the guest list rather than taking on anything too strenuous.Charles and Noelle's wedding had become one of the grandest social events in Brookville's elite circles. Ever since the news of their marriage broke, countless socialites had secretly mourned the loss of another eligi
Sean felt a deep irritation rising within him. Savannah always assumed that Liliana was still clinging to him, unaware that she had long stopped loving him.Now, she probably wished he would disappear from her sight altogether. How could she possibly still be chasing after him?Yet every time Savannah spoke like this, it felt like a knife twisting in his heart, making it even harder to bear.He desperately wanted to find an escape, some way to let go, but he could not do it no matter what he did. He simply could not bring himself to let go.To Savannah, his impatience only added to her displeasure toward Liliana. "I'm talking to you! Are you even listening?" she snapped. I don't care what that woman does. I'll never approve of your relationship with her, so you'd better give up!"Sean's eyes remained fixed on his phone. On the screen was a private message from Charles. It was a video taken just moments ago in the Hoffman family's living room, where they had been discussing Liliana
Liliana flinched slightly. "Grandpa, I'm really not in a hurry right now.""How can you not be?" Maxwell sighed. "Look at the rest—they're all married. You're the only one still single in the Hoffman family. How can I not be worried?"He let out another heavy sigh, shaking his head. "I'm getting old. I've spent so much of my energy worrying about you all."Liliana could not help but smile wryly. "Grandpa, don't say that. I really have been thinking about it. Once Bobby recovers, I'll take my future more seriously.""Really?" Maxwell's eyes lit up. "Well then, don't you worry about Bobby's illness. If you don't want to go to the Smith family's hospital, that's fine. I'll find an even better hospital for him."I'll make sure someone takes care of it. You just focus on yourself, and leave the rest to me."Liliana chuckled. "Alright." She gently patted Bobby's back, soothing him as he drifted off to sleep.Once he was completely asleep, she stood up. "Grandpa, Bobby is asleep now. I