The Cherished Wife (Noelle and Charles)
Chapter 449

When Winter entered the banquet hall, Xavier had already calmed down most of the guests, with many having already left.

Only a few remained, including Noelle, who seemed to be waiting for her.

Winter took a deep breath and approached. "Noelle."

Noelle curled her lips into a smile. "You look upset, Winter. It's understandable. After all, having something like this happen at your birthday party would upset anyone. Especially when the main person involved is your best friend!" She smiled. "But are you more upset that your birthday party was ruined or that your good friend was taken advantage of?"

"Noelle, how could you say that? I didn't want something like this to happen either. I can hold my birthday party anytime, but... I didn't know this would happen.

"I'm sad because Suzy is my best friend, and she was hurt like that. But I'm also relieved that you weren't the one involved. Otherwise, it would've been you..." "Yes, I'm relieved and happy too." Noelle smiled brightly at Winter.

"But don't be angry with me. I'm not happy that something bad happened to your friend. Actually, I feel sad about it too. But I'm really relieved that it wasn't me who was affected today. You're happy for me too, aren't you?" Winter clenched her teeth. "Of course, I'm relieved."

She then looked at Noelle's face with her anger barely contained. Noelle must have known about the plan. She was deliberately saying these things to provoke her. "But Noelle, even so, my best friend was hurt, so you..." "I know, you want me to stop smiling, right?" Noelle grinned. "But she's your best friend, not mine."

Noelle narrowed her eyes, her gaze turning cold. "Winter, have you ever heard the saying..."

"What?"

"The best way to hide a misdeed is not to commit it." Noelle's smile deepened, and she noticed Winter's face turning pale.

"And there's another saying about shooting yourself in the foot. That shot you took, it must hurt a lot, doesn't it?"

"You..." Winter could not hold it in any longer. "Noelle, you wretch! You knew all along, didn't you..."

Noelle swayed slightly, raising a hand to rub her forehead, her face paling. "Yes, I knew. You drugged me, didn't you? You thought I wouldn't notice?

"When you asked Annie to bring me away, you were acting like you were being so thoughtful. Winter, you might get off drugging people once or twice. But any more than that, and it's bound to leave a trace."

QUMS

Winter's face turned ghostly white as she stumbled back a step. She noticed Simon suddenly appearing from the shadows.

A mischievous smirk played on his lips, his eyes glinting with amusement. Winter's gaze met Simon's sly and rebellious look, and she gulped nervously.

Noelle narrowed her eyes when she

е

realized the truth. Simon must have

lov

known t was a trap, so he played along, which led to Suzy's humiliating situation.

"What's going on here? Why is everyone gathered around?" Simon's long legs swiftly closed the distance between them.

"Ms. Shaw, you don't look well. That

won't do. You're the star of today's party, after all. If someone sees you like this, they might think something truly awful has happened to you!"