The Cherished Wife (Noelle and Charles)
Chapter 420

"You ungrateful brat..." Jade's hand was raised, poised to strike, but the door swung open again, halting her mid-slap. "Hey, what's going on here?" Sean leaned casually against the doorframe, his eyes a narrow slit as they locked with Jade's. Her hand hung in the air, awkward and motionless. Noelle's lips twisted into a wry smile, but she did not give Jade another glance. Instead, she turned to Sean. "Back so soon, Mr. Smith?"

Sean's smirk was loaded with unspoken amusement. "I just remembered something I needed to hash out with Ms. Shaw. Lucky me, walking in on such an entertaining scene." Jade's face drained of color as she quickly dropped her hand. "Mr. Smith, was there something urgent you needed to discuss with Noelle? I was just..."

"Mrs. Jones, I've got eyes. I can see for myself!" Sean cut Jade off, his voice icy. "I had no clue that Miss Noelle of the Shaw family had always been treated like this."

Jade's face went red as if she'd been slapped, stinging with embarrassment. "What are you saying, Mr. Smith? Noelle and I are tight. It's just that, well, because of..."

"Mr. Smith, let's get out of here," Noelle said, not wanting to waste another minute with Jade, especially not to hear any more of her two-faced comments. Jade was only nice to her because she was useful, and Noelle knew it all too well.

Sean smirked. "Alright then, I'll take you home, Ms. Shaw! Would you want to stay with the Shaw family though, or..." He trailed off, giving Jade a pointed look.

Noelle gave a small, tight smile. "I've got my own place, so if you could drop me off, Mr. Smith, that'd be great." Her words were a clear slap to Jade's face, contradicting her earlier claims about Noelle living with them and always bringing up Bob. Once Noelle and Sean stepped out of Mooncliff, Sean burst out laughing. "You know, your mom is one of a kind!"

Noelle arched an eyebrow. "Yeah." She could not replace it in herself to laugh, though, because no matter what, she could not change the fact that Jade was her mother. No matter what she did, Noelle was

powerless to argue.

Sean must have realized he said something stupid because he gave a half-hearted smile. "Oops, sorry about that. I didn't mean anything by it."

"I get it." Noelle's voice was tinged with resignation. "It's just that nobody gets to pick where they come from or who their parents are."

"You're right!" Sean agreed with a nod. "Come on, hop in. Charles just called me and made me promise to get you home safe and sound." He swung the car door open with a flourish.

Noelle gave a wry smile. "I've got my own ride, thanks. No need to go out of your way."

"Come on, it's no big deal. Tell you what, just leave your car at Mooncliff for now. Charles can swing by and

pick it up later." Sean had a qα

reason to be insistent today.

Apparently, some shady characters were lurking around the area today.

Noelle saw the concern in Sean's eyes and relented. "Alright. Thanks for the lift."

"Don't mention it. We're all family here!" Sean ushered Noelle into the passenger seat before circling the car to the driver's side. In no time, they were just another pair of headlights blending into the evening rush. Meanwhile, Xavier watched from a distance, his hands balled into fists and his eyes blazing with a cold fury.

Was Noelle actually with Bob?