The Cherished Wife (Noelle and Charles)
Chapter 416

"Mother." Noelle had reached her limit. She felt like her mother was being completely absurd, treating her as if she were some kind of disappointment. Every word dripped with scorn. Was she really that terrible?

"I didn't get kicked out of Frotconn; I left on my own terms," Noelle retorted, noticing a flicker of surprise on Jade's face, which gave her a sense of satisfaction. "I moved on because I got a better job. You know what they say, right? Aim high." "You? Getting a better job?" Jade's skepticism was palpable.

"It's a pretty good one! I'm working in the project department at Collosus Group now." Noelle sat with a calm poise, catching the swift change in Jade's expression. "Collosus Group? Isn't that Charles's company? Xavier's uncle?"

"Xavier's uncle?" Noelle chuckled. "I've been with Collosus Group for quite a while, and I've never heard a peep about Charles having a nephew. A niece, sure, but she's just a little tyke, five or six years old!"

"You..." Jade's hand hit the dining table with a thud. "Are you kidding me? So you work at Collosus Group, big deal! Your sister just got signed as a new artist there. If you're saying Xavier isn't connected to Charles, then explain why Charles would sign your sister!"

"Well, you've got to hand it to my

sister, she knows what she's doing. They recognized her business potential and signed her to cash in What's so bad about that?" Noelle could not deny that she was being a bit snarky at that moment. She just could not fathom why, when they were both Jade's daughters, both from the Shaw family, everything Winter did was golden, and she was always looked down upon?

She had tiptoed around the Shaw family for more than twenty years, and the more she backed down, the more they pushed. Now, stripped of everything else, she clung to her last shred of dignity, unwilling to let even that be trampled.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you trying to tick me off today? Noelle, after all the years I've taken care of you, this is how you thank me?" Jade was livid, her face turning a shade of stormy gray.

She never saw it coming, Noelle's

newfound boldness, her words laced

with hidden meanings and her fearless stance. "Just a heads up, you're nothing more than an employee at Collosus Group. What's there to gloat about? Remember who your mom is. You keep this up, aren't you scared of karma biting back? And here I was, worried sick you'd end up alone, even setting you up with my bestie's son. Looks like I was just wasting my breath."

"Well, I'm so sorry about that. Sorry for all your trouble." Noelle replied with an icy smirk. "If that's how it is, I'll make myself scarce before Mr. Smith shows up."

"You - don't you dare!" Jade's hand

thundered down on the dining table, sending teacups jittering like a drumroll. Her chest rose and fell

Pel

with barely contained fury. She had only meant to give Noelle a good scare After all, Bob was set to inherit the Smith fortune, and with Winter married off, Noelle was their ticket to a bond with the Smiths. Reluctant or not, they had no other play. "Sit down and put on a happy face when Mr. Smith gets here. Make sure you put on a good act, or you can forget about me calling you my daughter!"