The Cherished Wife

After that display, everyone got the message loud and clear about how Charles felt toward Clarisse, Janet, and the whole Baker family. Anyone who had been scheming to cozy up to Clarisse today suddenly put their plans on hold. The heir of the Hoffman family had spoken, and the Bakers were off the list of allies.

The room fell into a hushed silence. This was Hoffman family drama, and no one wanted the fallout to land on them.

As Charles turned to leave, Janet scrambled to her feet, wanting to follow, but Clarisse caught her by the arm. "Janet."

"Aunt, Charles was just spinning tales, wasn't he? He tricked me, right?"

Clarisse's face was stormy. She was the Baker family's darling, but today, her own son had made her look like a fool. Clarisse, who always wanted to look her best, could not stand it.

Mateo was about to call Charles back, but Chloe cut him off with a subtle shake of her head. "Dad, don't."

Charles walk away, a frown creasing his forehead. "Chloe,

does. What happened today..." Chloe's eyes flicked to Janet, still crumpled on the ground, and

her real mom. She could do without this kind of mother, just

on the shoulder. "Bro, the kid's grown up, and he's got his own ideas. Chloe's got a point. Charles always knows what he's after, and maybe today's drama is actually

let's get back to the

handle Dad. You take care of the

into his

who'll still have the guts to mess with the Bakers after today." Charles's face was a mask of shock. He fired up the engine and glanced

registered surprise at the command, but he nodded in agreement after one look at Charles's grim expression. "Got

was not until Charles's car disappeared down the road that Ronald allowed himself to wonder what could have pulled Charles away from the Hoffman house at such a crucial time. Had something gone terribly