The Cherished Wife (Noelle and Charles)

Charles gave a slight smirk and raised an eyebrow. "Take a guess."

"I couldn't care less if you tell me or not!" Sean checked the time on his watch. "Hey, you're not expecting me to bunk here all night, are you?" Sean's brow creased. "You know I've got a ton on my plate, and besides, you and Noelle need your alone time..." "What's the hurry?" Charles stood, pulled a set of keys from his coat, and tossed them to Sean.

Sean smoothly caught the key tossed his way. "What's this for?"

"From today on, you're my neighbor!" Charles announced, swinging the door wide open. "It's late, come on in!"

"Wait a second..." Sean's mouth quirked in disbelief, his finger pointing at the door across the hall. "Charles, you've got to be kidding! This isn't for real, is it?"

"Do I seem like I'm kidding?"

Charles nudged him through the doorway with a grin as innocent as Sean's. "It's all set up. Just move yourself in!"

"Charles, man, you can't just spring this on me! You taking off without a word is just... Look, I'm not thrilled. This place is miles from my job, and you know that I..."

"Isn't this us discussing it right now? Plus, you get free meals three times a day once you're here. What's the downside?" Charles steered Sean into the apartment, scanning the room. "I'm worried about Noelle. She might be in trouble, and I can't be here 24/7." Charles's brow creased. "You're the perfect guy for the job."

Sean's mouth hung open as he took in his new digs, and then he reluctantly nodded. "Fine, I'll stay for the free dinners. However, this isn't a fix, Charles. What's your plan?"

"Don't sweat the details. Just make sure you check in daily."

"You're slick, you know that? You're using me to cover you. Your uncle isn't someone to mess with, huh?" Sean pocketed his doubts. "Alright, it's late. Time to check out my new place!"

Charles stepped away from Sean and caught Noelle lingering by the door. He flashed a grin. "Why are you hanging out by the door?"

"You actually got Mr. Smith to swing

by? Isn't that al

bit much? I mean, I could've handled things alone.

There's no need to make Mr. Smith hustle over here every single day!" Noelte had caught bits of Charles and Sean's chat earlier and could not shake off the guilt.

"No worries! He's gotta head home daily anyway, so it's all the same," Charles reassured her, guiding Noelle into the room. "Plus, Sean's the man for the job on this one!"

Sean had been a regular at Noelle's place for days, and word of his visits had trickled down to Janet.

The sleuths reported back that the guy was an anomaly, decked out in fancy threads and often spotted with Noelle. Janet had her people dig a little deeper into Noelle's circle, and they sniffed out some leads.

"So, you're telling me this dude's with

the Smiths?" In the Windsor Hotel, a middle-aged guy scrutinized a photo. The face was a blur, but he could not peel his eyes away from Sean's image. "How's the digging coming along?"

"Dad, there's this guy named Bob Smith. A few months back, Mrs. Jade from the Shaw family hooked him up with Noelle. Rumor has it

two peas in a pod. Jade Teat

that Bob's mom and Jade are like

really gel with Noelle, but she's all smiles when it comes to Winter. She probably set Noelle up with Bob to cut ties with Noelle's ex, Xavier, and maybe she's even trying to get Noelle hitched to the Smiths for some family alliance scheme."