Charles squinted, but he kept looking at Noelle as if he did not even notice Xavier standing there. Xavier felt awkward but did not know what to say.
Noelle felt the tension in the air. "Mr. Hoffman, what brings you here?"
Charles gave her a small smile. "I was just talking to Sir Shaw, and he mentioned you." He did not exactly answer her question, but Noelle got the hint. "You're friends with my Grandpa? He just called me to come over."
"Really? Shall we go together?" Charles asked. Noelle nodded eagerly. "Yes, let's go!"
As Noelle was about to leave, Xavier could not hide his disappointment. "Noelle!" he called out. "You said you'd talk to me!"
Noelle's brow furrowed. She could not believe that even with Charles there, Xavier still would not back down.
Charles's eyebrows pinched together a bit. He had a way of commanding the room without even changing his expression. When he heard what was going on, he looked straight at Xavier and said in an icy voice, "If I'm not mistaken, isn't today your wedding to the Shaw family's daughter? Yet here you are, hanging out by the bathroom door to talk to your new sister-in-law. That's pretty funny!"
Even though Charles did not raise his voice, he still sounded super powerful. He did not have to get loud to be in charge. When he raised his voice just a little at the end of his sentence, it was the final nail in the coffin.
Xavier felt a weird jolt in his heart. Something felt off, but he could not put his finger on what it was.
He looked over at Charles and Noelle. They were not standing too close or too far apart. Noelle looked really small next to Charles, yet somehow, they looked just right together. That gave Xavier a sudden worry he could not shake off.
Xavier did not want to admit it, but Charles was right. "I..."
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