The Cherished Wife by Chweety

"Uncle Charles, it's been a long time since you've seen me. Did you miss me?"

"Of course, I did!" Charles playfully pinched Anna's nose. "Did you miss me, Anna?"

"Yes, I missed you very much." As if afraid Charles would not believe her, Anna took his hand and planted a big kiss on his cheek, making everyone in the Hoffman family burst into laughter.

"Now that everyone's here, let's start dinner," Maxwell said. As the head of the family, he understood the situation between his children but chose not to mention it.

Fortunately, Anna's presence helped ease the tension. With the child around, the conversation topics became much lighter.

After dinner, Chloe carried Anna over to Charles. "Was the urgent phone call just about this?" She glanced at Clarisse and Janet in the living room. "Mother really shouldn't have brought her along." Chloe harbored no goodwill toward Janet, stemming from an incident years ago. "It's getting late, and Anna needs to sleep," she said.

"Yes, I should be going too. Let's leave together," Charles replied. He had never planned to stay overnight at the Hoffman residence.

Chloe smirked. "You've become quite cunning lately."

his eyes and took Anna

could not help but smile. "You're not getting any younger.

his eyes hiding

paused. "You've found

confirm it, so Chloe could only shrug. "Well, it's your business.

previous incident,

despite

mercy. If he

not be chatting so comfortably with him now, given

nodded slightly. "When the time is right, I'll certainly bring her over

great. I was worried you'd be stuck in the

Charles exclaimed, seemingly

alright. I'll stop,