The Cherished Wife (Noelle and Charles)

Emilia was not a bad person, and she had always been quite kind to Noelle before. However, ever since Winter got together with Xavier, Emilia was influenced by her husband. She had gradually started to dislike Noelle. However, after everything that had happened recently, Emilia began to notice something was off about Winter and started to appreciate Noelle once again.

When Noelle and Xavier were together, they were only dating, but Noelle treated Emilia like her own mother, showing her nothing but kindness.

Now, although Xavier had married Winter, a glamorous celebrity, Winter's attitude toward Emilia was not nearly as respectful.

On top of that, with all of Winter's recent scandals, Emilia had grown increasingly dissatisfied with her daughter-in-law.

Today, it was Emilia's group of friends who had invited her out for a shopping trip. Unexpectedly, Winter insisted on tagging along, offering to carry the bags for everyone.

Thinking Winter was trying to be more thoughtful as a daughter-in-law, Emilia reluctantly agreed. However, Winter did not come alone. She brought her assistant, Suzy, with her.

From the moment they arrived, Winter acted like a diva, giving off the air of a celebrity rather than someone simply out to shop with her in-law.

They had only visited a few stores when Winter started to grow impatient. When they arrived at Saint Di, Winter announced that she would buy an outfit for each of them. Emilia's friends were thrilled by Winter's generosity, but Emilia herself felt far from pleased. Now, seeing Noelle at Saint Di was the last thing Emilia expected, and she noticed that Noelle's expression was not great either.

Winter was the first to react, smiling brightly. "Look, it's my sister, Noelle. Do you remember her?"

Emilia cast a complicated glance at Winter, unsure of how Winter could even make such a comment. It felt awkward, to say the least.

"Yes, I've met her before," Emilia replied.

"I'll go say hello," Winter chirped before walking over to Noelle with a bright smile. "Noelle, are you here to shop too?"

Noelle glanced at Winter. "Yes, I am. You're here shopping with your mother-in-law?"

She briefly looked at Emilia and the group of women-there were at least five or six of them.

Noelle had not realized before how much patience Winter seemed to have now, accompanying a group of elderly ladies for a day of shopping.

"Yes," Winter confirmed, her tone

sweet. "These are my

mother-in-law's good friends. Everyone's been feeling cooped up at home, so we decided to go out and shop a bit. I was just telling them I'd get them some gifts.

"Since you're here too, why don't you join us? It's been a while since we've gone shopping together. If you see anything you like, just let me know, and I'll get it for you as well."

Winter's words were polite, but it was clear that she just wanted to show off in front of Noelle. However, Noelle remained unfazed. She merely watched Winter with mild amusement.

Having grown up with her, she knew exactly what Winter was thinking. It was clear that Winter was trying to flaunt her hew life-how she was married into a good family, and that very family was one she had snatched from Noelle. However, Winter did not understand Noelle as well as she thought. Noelle was not the type to cling to things that were not meant for her. If it was not hers, she could let it go without regret.

With a smile, Noelle nodded and said, "Sure, why not?"

Then, she added, "But my friends are here too. How about you include them in your gift-giving?"