The Cherished Wife

"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..."

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,

want to stay with the Shaw family though, or..." He

gave a small, tight smile. "I've got my own place, so if you could drop me off, Mr. Smith, that'd 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 know, your mom is one of a

eyebrow. "Yeah." She could not find it in herself to laugh, though, because no matter what,

powerless to argue.

a half-hearted

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

a nod. "Come on, hop in. Charles just called me and made me promise to

got my own ride,