The Cherished Wife by Chweety

The horse ranch lay on the outskirts of town. It was a vast and open space frequented mostly by the sons and daughters of the rich. Noelle had heard Rowena talk about it plenty of times, yet she had never seen it herself.

Rowena's family was not rolling in dough, but they had enough to be comfortable. Back in the day, Noelle had big dreams for Rowena and would often whisk her off to fancy spots where the rich and famous hung out. However, Rowena once told a story about coming to this ranch at fifteen years old and almost getting stomped into the ground by a horse. That scare kept her away for good.

Noelle was excited at first, dreaming about galloping around. However, when push came to shove, she got cold feet. She had only seen horse riding on television and had never been on one herself before. She had seen some pros in competitions, but that was a whole different league.

Charles picked up on Noelle's jitters and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't sweat it. I've got your back. Nothing bad's gonna happen!" He flashed a grin. "This place is super safe, but if you're still worried, you've got me to count on!"

"Yeah, Noelle. If Charles isn't enough, you've got me and Peter here too," Sean chimed in, strutting up without a care in the world. "Peter's way better on a horse than Charles, and he's got good skills." Not one to be outdone, Sean thumped his chest. "And if Peter's off his game, you've still got me. I'm the real deal, even more than those two!"

at Sean's antics. "I can believe that Peter might outdo Charles, but I don't believe you claiming to

"You know, I really

you believe these two? Charles just tied the knot, but they're already showing off their love like it's a competition. How is that fair? You didn't go

vanished in an instant, replaced by a stormy frown. His

sorry! Isn't that enough? I know I shouldn't have mentioned her

glanced at Charles, who was not finding any of this funny either. "Do you guys really have to gang up on me? I get it, but it's been years since Tania left us, Peter. Can't

lips tightened, and