The Cherished Wife

The story of Charles leaving the Hoffman family's old house had become the talk of the town, and everyone knew about his cold treatment of Janet that night. It was obvious that Charles would never marry Janet, which meant the Hoffmans and the Bakers would not be uniting their families through marriage anytime soon.

With that realization, everyone was walking on eggshells around the Baker family, handling any partnerships with utmost caution.

Charles was a calm man, but once he decided to act, you could bet it would not be a simple affair.

Clarisse heard alarm bells ringing too. She was no stranger to family drama, having grown up in the Baker household where backstabbing was as common as breakfast cereal. However, Clarisse was not just clinging to the Baker name because of her marriage ties to the Hoffmans. She had her own bag of tricks. Over the years, she had woven a web of connections within the Baker family. However, she never seemed to find her footing with the Hoffmans, which was partly why she never liked the idea of returning.

bundle of nerves, haunted by the events of the gathering that night. Charles, her own flesh and blood, had turned on her like she was some

even listening to

at

just drop the whole Janet thing." She figured Charles had no real reason to go after her unless it

how ruthless they could be. Sure, they had always given

her the full freeze-out, and it was not just her-they were icing out the whole

had been trying to patch things up with Charles for ages. However, Janet was always the wrench in the