The Cherished Wife

Noelle yawned and drifted back to sleep. By the time she woke up again, it was already around 7:00 pm. The sky outside had turned dark.

She rolled over in bed, and her slender hand reached out only to find the coolness of the sheets-Charles' warmth was long gone.

Fully awake now, Noelle blinked a few times, her sleepy eyes squinting. After rubbing them for a moment, she finally threw back the covers and got out of bed.

The curtains had been drawn, so she could not see outside. Curious, she walked over to the window and pulled them open, revealing a pitch-black night outside. Occasionally, she heard the wind rustling through the leaves. After stretching, Noelle turned around and saw Charles standing at the bedroom door, holding a cup. She could not tell what was inside.

It seemed Charles had timed it perfectly; he arrived just as she woke up. Noticing her standing by the window in her thin clothes, he frowned slightly.

When he saw that she was barefoot, his expression darkened further.

She hurriedly ran to put on her shoes and then approached Charles

the cup in his hands and asked, "What's that? The color looks strange." Leaning in to sniff it, she wrinkled her nose. "Charlie, what did you bring this up

"It's all because of someone," he

Noelle pointed to herself. "What did I do? I'm not sick. Did you make this for yourself? Go ahead, drink it. I'll watch,"

flicker of amusement crossed Charles's eyes. Seeing Noelle's resistant expression made him feel both exasperated and amused. " noticed your voice sounded a bit off this afternoon," he

a cold this season. So, drink this herbal tea. I've already

I really have to?" Noelle whined, her face instantly dropping. "I'm not sick at all. You must've misheard me earlier. She had no intention of

while holding her hand, "Be good, or you'll regret it when you

drink it. And even if I do get sick, I'd rather just take

preventive measure. Come on, just down it in one go. You won't even taste it," Charles urged,