The Cherished Wife

Simon swirled the wine in his glass, taking confident strides toward Noelle. "Ms. Shaw, it's been a while," he greeted her.

Noelle was surprised to see Simon in such a setting. Her astonishment was evident in her eyes. Raising an eyebrow, she looked at Simon and said, "Mr. York!" Frankly, she had not expected Winter to invite Simon to her birthday.

Noelle's impression of Simon was far from positive; her previous encounters with him had led to some dangerous situations. His presence at this event only heightened her suspicions about why Winter had insisted on her attending. Frowning slightly, she asked Simon, "Are you close with my sister?"

Simon raised an eyebrow in return. "No. To be precise, it's you and I who are more familiar with each other, no?"

He gave her a suggestive look, his eyes lingering over her in a way that made Noelle uncomfortable.

Seeing the clear disdain on Noelle's face, Simon's eyes briefly flashed with something unreadable before he quickly masked it. "You seem rather unfriendly toward me," he remarked. "You're overthinking it, Mr. York," Noelle responded with a forced smile.

Simon found her discomfort amusing and continued to gaze at her. "You know,

she could no longer sit there. She stood up, nodding slightly. "Excuse me, I

watched her as she hastily distanced herself from him. His smirk deepened as

left the hall,

she sped up, so did

quickened her pace, rushing into the restroom and attempting to close the door quickly, only to have it

she exclaimed

stepping inside and shutting the door behind her. "Yes, it's me," she confirmed, glancing around the

today, and you can guess why. She's planning to

to pretend to be drunk and out of it. After that, I'll lead you to