The Cherished Wife

"You... have quite the sharp-tongue!"

Clarisse had not expected Noelle to be this difficult to deal with. It was clear that Noelle had no intention of taking her seriously.

"Do you really think that by saying these things, you can compare yourself to me?"

Noelle smiled calmly. "I never thought that. In fact, I'd rather you compliment my eloquence. After all, Charlie thinks I'm quite articulate too."

"Insolent!" Clarisse slammed the table with a harsh thud. "It seems you really won't leave Charlie, will you?"

"I have no reason to leave my husband. So, I'm not sure what you hope to achieve by meeting me today. Which mother doesn't wish happiness for her child? Yet here I am, facing you-a mother determined to break her son's marriage. I find it... intriguing," Noelle replied, her tone firm and unyielding.

"Of course, I want him to be happy, but not with you!" Clarisse's gaze turned sharp. It was filled with hostility as if Noelle were her greatest enemy.

for a fact that she had not met or wronged Clarisse before, she might have believed

her lips together. "Why? I don't

face! Why do you think Charlie fell for you? It's only because

kicked open, startling both women. Noelle turned toward the doorway. "I'm what?" "You

face was shadowed with anger. His dark eyes held a storm of fury, his entire presence suffused with a suffocating pressure. His

that moment, Clarisse felt an unexplainable fear gripping her. She staggered to her feet, her face pale as she looked

son, yet she found herself terrified of the man he had become.

unforgiving,

radiating from him. He was furious-more than she

steady and deliberate. Each step seemed to crush Clarisse's spirit further into

beside Noelle and placed his hand on her shoulder with firm pressure. His