The Cherished Wife (Noelle and Charles) novel Chapter 804

The mention of the annual Collosus event made everyone put their poker faces on—each of them had caught wind of a different tale. However, Noelle was in a league of her own. She had been right there in the thick of it, so she knew what really went down. Winter's composure wobbled, but she clung to her emotions, her lips quivering in a picture of distress.

Noelle was no stranger to Winter's damsel routine. In fact, she had seen it enough to write the playbook. Once upon a time, she might have fallen for it, but those days were long gone. She was immune now.

"The way you and Mr. Hoffman were chatting up a storm that day made you guys look like best friends.”

"Enough!" Emilia cut Noelle off mid-sentence. No woman could stand by while her daughter-in-law made a fool out of her son. Emilia was already stewing over the whole mess, but she had hoped to smooth things over with Winter today and remind Winter of her place. Winter needed to understand that she had to act appropriately as a married woman.

The mere thought that Charles, the man linked to those scandalous rumors about Winter, owned Saint Di's boutique made Emilia's skin crawl. "We'll shop somewhere else!"

"Mom..." Winter protested, her voice tinged with disappointment. Even if Saint Di would not hand out freebies, a discount or a few complimentary outfits were not out of the question for her. She was not exactly thrilled about gifting Emilia's friends anything, and shopping elsewhere would hit her wallet hard. Besides, as the face of Saint Di, it would look terrible if she did not wear the brand. If Charles got wind of her shopping at a rival store, it would not just be the end of her endorsement deal—her movie and her entire acting career could go up in flames.

Emilia was fuming and not in the mood to think things through. All she could see was her son being made a laughing stock. It was time to leave!

"Let's go!"