The Cherished Wife by Chweety

"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.

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

because no matter what,

powerless to argue.

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

Noelle's voice was tinged with resignation. "It's just that nobody gets to pick where they come from

and made me promise to get you

ride, thanks. No need to go out of

on, it's no big deal. Tell you what, just leave your car at Mooncliff for now.

it up later." Sean had

be