The Cherished Wife

Wife 59

Charles‘ slender hand picked at the seatbelt on Noelle, then he smiled and said, “I hope you were joking.”

Noelle gazed at Charles, her breath catching in her throat. She could not read him, he was way too close for comfort. His presence and unique scent were overwhelming. A crisp blend of passionfruit and lemon lingered in the air, light yet impossible to ignore.

She turned away, her heart racing. “I get it,” she said with a quick nod.

She knew she was no match for Charles in this game they were playing.

Charles noticed her unease and softened his expression, “Hey, I didn’t mean to freak you out. Look, stuff happens, right? Why run from it? Face it head–on, accept it, and who knows? You might see things in a new light.”

Noelle inhaled deeply, trying to steady her nerves. ‘Fine. I’ll give it a shot. Three days, right? You promised me three days.”

A hint of a smile played on Charles’s lips. He found Noelle’s mix of fear and feistinessng, not the usual reaction he got. “I’m a man of my word. Just don’t act like this after the three days, Ms. Shaw.”

Biting her lip, Noelle mumbled, “I should head out now.

“Sure thing.” With a click, Charles unlocked the car door. Noelle’s spirits lifted. She flung the door open and bolted, not even bothering with goodbyes, as if she could not get away fast enough.

Charles could not help but chuckle as he watched Noelle sprinting with her skirt hiked up. Her clumsy steps gave her away, and remembering how she had second–guessed herself earlier, he just shook his head, a mix of amusement and pity in his eyes

A knock on the window snapped him out of his thoughts. Charles glanced up to see someone standing right outside the car.

His eyes narrowed, a frosty smirk spreading across his face.

Xavier had been camped out at Noelle’s place since dawn. She had vanished last night, and even though Xavier was partly relieved she was okay, he could not shake off his worry. He had bolted from the Shaw’s and had been staking out her doorstep ever since.

No answer came last night despite his endless knocking, nor any answer to the calls he had made all

night long.

That morning, having spotted the car parked under Noelle’s apartment, he kept a close watch. The had been there for ages, and he had no clue what was going down inside. Just as Xavier was about to bail, he caught sight of Noelle dashing out of the car.

That car was not just any car–it screamed money and indicated that some high–roller owned it. Seeing Noelle’s scramble from It, Xavier realized she had been dropped off home by this car before. Rage bubbled up inside him, and before he knew it, he was pounding on the car door.

The guy inside might as well have been a ghost for all the attention he paid to Xavier’s knocking.

“Open up! Who the heck are you, and what’s your deal with Noelle?”

Charles gave Xavier a look that could freeze boiling water, a wicked grin playing on his lips. Without

another word, he floored it and zoomed away.

Did you want to see her? Good luck with that. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Xavier did not have what it took!