Noelle slept through the night, but she was not in very high spirits when she awoke. As she gazed at her pale face and puffy eyes reflected in the mirror, she vehemently splashed water at her eyes until some color returned to her cheeks. Then, she propped her hands against the sink dispiritedly and gazed at herself sadly. “Wake up, Noelle! There aren’t any hardships that you can’t get past!” After preparing herself mentally, she began putting on makeup. She heaved a sigh of relief when all signs of disheveledness could no longer be seen on her face. However, she frowned when she saw her grandfather, Sebastian, her maternal grandfather, calling her. She hurriedly answered, “Hello, Grandpa? What’s the matter?” “You haven’t forgotten that I asked you to come home today, have you?” Sebastian’s voice rang out. He might be getting on in age, but his voice was filled with as much vim and vigor as it had during his younger years. He had his many years of delivering lectures to students t
Sebastian caught on to what Charles was hinting at almost instantly. His face tensed for a split second before he regained his composure. "Noelle just got back from a trip, so she’s still mixing up timezones! Hey, Charles, you might as well stay for dinner since you’re here."He waved May over. "We need some groceries, May. Noelle and Charles are both dining in tonight, so make it snappy!" Sebastian handed her a wad of bills.May had been with the family long enough to read between the lines. With a knowing squint, she grabbed the cash and headed out the door. "You three have a good chat."Seizing the moment while Sebastian was busy giving May instructions, Noelle's gaze fixed on Charles. How on earth did Charles know her granddad?Charles's eyes, which were sharp and narrow, met Noelle's with a light-hearted laugh. "Ms. Shaw, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.""Give me a break. Aren't you the least bit shocked? You're really my granddad's student?" Noelle's skepticism was palpab
Charles squinted, his gaze dropping to the slender hands pushing against his chest. Noelle looked like she was playing hard to get, but Charles knew better that she was not the type to send mixed signals. Right now, her hands were shaking slightly, the warmth of her touch making his eyebrows rise a little. His eyes lingered on Noelle's overly made-up face.Charles reached out with a frown and touched her cheek, his voice laced with annoyance. "Lay off the heavy makeup next time. It's not your style."Noelle's temper flared instantly, and she shoved Charles back, "Back off! It's my face, so I’ll do whatever I want with it. I'll wear as much makeup as I want. Keep your opinions to yourself."Noelle stood up with a huff. "I'm going to check on what Grandpa is up to!"She made her way to Sebastian's study, tapped lightly on the door, and called out, "Grandpa, can I come in?""Come in!"Upon hearing Sebastian's voice, Noelle swung the door open and found him by the bookshelf, thumbing
Noelle gritted her teeth and turned to Sebastian, who gave her an awkward glance. She huffed, "Grandpa, I usually go along with your ideas, but not this. This is about who I spend my life with, and I can't afford to make that decision lightly. I don't want a repeat of the Xavier disaster. That would just be... tragic."Sebastian did not know what else to say. He had hoped that introducing Noelle to Charles might ignite a spark, but with Noelle so against it, he could not push it. "Okay, okay, I won't mention it again. But you should know that Charles is a great guy, and...""Grandpa!" Noelle's frown deepened. "If you keep this up, I won’t visit you again!”Noelle cut off Sebastian, saying, "We should head out. It doesn't feel right to leave Mr. Hoffman by himself in the living room.""You and your stubbornness..." Sebastian sighed, resigning himself to her will.As Noelle and Sebastian emerged, Charles's eyes twinkled with a teasing glint as he looked at Noelle. His lips curled in
"Ms. Shaw, don’t fight it. If you can't avoid something, then just try to enjoy it. Makes sense, right?" Charles's gaze held a hint of mystery as he spoke. Noelle bit her lip, her fight fading away.When Charles felt Noelle's resistance ease up, he let go of her hand. "Hop in, Ms. Shaw."Noelle shot Charles a reluctant look but followed him into the car anyway. Charles flashed a grin. "Buckle up!"Noelle had barely settled into the car seat when she rattled off her address to Charles, then clammed up, only piping up to correct his driving once or twice. Charles was not clueless and picked up on Noelle's cold shoulder. Pulling up to her place, he shot her a look. "Remember what I said before? The offer is still valid, Ms. Shaw. Call me if you’re thinking about it again."Noelle bit her lip, "Look at you, Mr. Hoffman. You’re successful, loaded, and the town's most eligible bachelor. You could snap your fingers and have the ladies of Brookville lining up from here to kingdom come. Why
"Throwing myself at some random guy? Xavier, do you hear yourself?" Noelle could not help but laugh at the absurdity of it all."I get that you're not over what happened with me and Winter, but you're young. You'll find someone who's just for you. I'm your brother-in-law now, right? I wouldn't do anything to hurt you," Xavier said, stumbling a bit over the words 'brother-in-law.' He glanced at Noelle, noticing she looked even prettier than she had just a day ago."Oh, I should be so grateful for your concern!" Noelle's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Do me a favor, will you? Just stay out of my life from now on." She was not the type to cling to what was gone. Sure, she could not just switch off her feelings for Xavier, but she would not let him see her crumble."Noelle, why do you have to be this way? If things had worked out, it would have been great, but otherwise, we should go our separate ways. We’re not a thing anymore, and I'm really into Winter.""Okay, I get it. You're head o
"How can you even suggest something like that about me and Winter? It's not because...""Stop! Just stop. I can't listen to another word, Xavier. You're making me sick. Get out now before there's nothing left of you in my heart." Noelle shoved Xavier back, shooting him a look that could freeze lava. "And don't you dare come back."With that, she fished her keys out of her bag, strode to the apartment door, flung it open, and disappeared inside. She felt like she would totally lose it if she spent one more second with Xavier.Xavier watched Noelle's back as she left, completely lost. How had things between them gone so horribly wrong?Even if they could not be a couple, the bond they had once shared still lingered. He believed that if Noelle had even the slightest affection left for him, she would be mindful of his feelings. She should be cool about him and Winter being together, especially since Winter had once saved her life.He planned to make things right with her, hoping they
The Frotconn weekly Monday meeting was the time to wrap up the previous week's work. This was Noelle's first time back at the familiar table since she had left a year ago. The board members did a double-take when they saw herSome were clueless about her return, while others had their opinions of her colored by the recent scandal.Noelle pretended she did not see a thing, grabbed the papers, and plopped down in her chair. Her gaze was steady as she ignored the buzz around her. The bigwigs, the chairman and the general manager, had not shown up yet, so the room was buzzing with chatter. Some of the older, more seasoned directors were acting like uncles at a family reunion, rehashing the drama from the engagement party with flair.One of the directors, who had butted heads with Noelle before over work matters, could not resist stirring the pot. "Some people embarrass themselves and still strut into the office like nothing happened."Noelle's brow creased ever so slightly. She meant to