The Cherished Wife by Chweety

Charles smiled as he pulled Noelle into his arms, using his right arm to cradle Noelle's arm as he drew comforting strokes along it. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't confident in what I had planned!" "Alright!" Noelle nodded. "Are you really going to meet your uncle tomorrow? What did you say he's here for this time?"

"To find out the truth!" Charles sneered. "My uncle is very meticulous, and he never misses a detail in his plans. He'd never trust anyone but himself to execute what is planned, and he'll only rest easy when he's the one working on things." "So, you'll be meeting him tomorrow just to put his mind at ease?" Noelle asked as she raised an eyebrow. When she saw the surprised look in Charles' eyes, she could not help but laugh. "Did I get that right?"

"You're brilliant, Nelly. You're an amazing student," Charles said as he gently tapped Noelle's nose and said lovingly, "He won't be doing anything this time. It doesn't matter how fond he is of Janet. He'd never allow her to ruin his plans."

"Which means that Janet might merely be one part of his plan?" Noelle did not know what Charles was getting at, but from what she heard, it seemed that Milo Baker would be tough to deal with.

"Perhaps! I don't know what his ultimate goal is, but he's got plenty of ambition. He was not pulling this many moves several years ago when the relationship between the Hoffman and Baker families wasn't as bad as it is now. Looks like he's getting impatient." Charles chuckled. "This matter will have to be dealt with sooner or later!"

"Oh, right. You mentioned something about three years ago. What on earth happened three years ago?" Noelle recalled the way Charles had gritted his teeth when he mentioned the incident three years ago and his foul expression when speaking of Milo.

An odd look flitted through Charles' eyes, and his eyebrows furrowed together slightly upon hearing that. However, he soon regained his calm composure and turned toward Noelle, gazing at her before saying, "It's nothing much, just some friction between the Hoffman family and the Baker family. It's a long story, and it's getting late. I'll tell you some other time!"

Noelle nodded. Though her instincts told her things were not as simple as they seemed, she would not force Charles to tell her anything when he did not feel like talking about it. "Let's get an early night! You'll need to rest up so you can meet your uncle while

...

They were in Bamboo Grove House's largest private room,

over, and the

before opening it to allow Milo entrance. Meanwhile, he stood waiting outside. "Mr. Hoffman, Mr.

Milo, please take a

said before he

he turned to Milo. "It's been three years since

Milo said as he took his coat off and placed it over his arm. His gaze landed on

been three years since they last met, and the youthful-looking boy of his memories had changed