Chapter 36
+15 BONUS
Winter could not help smirking, though she put on a surprised face. “A fountain pen? Noelle’s so thoughtful, knowing how much grandpa loves his pens She’s on the same wavelength as me. Luckily, our gifts didn’t overlap.”
Winter was not wrong. The crowd started to piece together the sisters” gifts, weighing their significance. They looked at Noelle with new eyes. ‘Winter went for the obvious, thinking Grandpa would love some art, but she didn’t see the pen coming.”
Noelle watched Winter’s dramatic display, her feelings a tangled mess. She just did not know how to react, being the center of attention like this.
Charles squinted and shot Ronald a quick look.
Ronald felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him. How had he never noticed his boss loved to stick
his nose into everyone’s business?
Ronald might have been grumbling inside, but he knew better than to slack off. He cleared his throat and put on a look of mock surprise. “Hey, isn’t that the pen we saw the other day at Curio Corner?” he said. He gave Noelle a sly look, then turned to his boss with a feigned casual air. “So it’s Miss Noelle who snapped it up! What are the odds? Mr. Hoffman wanted to gift that pen to Sir Shaw and had me go buy it, but Miss Noelle beat us to the punch!”
The crowd suddenly got it. “Oh, it’s from Curio Corner? That’s a real gem! If Mr. Hoffman was after it, it’s got to be something special!”
Samuel, hearing all this, picked up the pen and examined it with wide eyes. “Young lady, what did this cost you? You… You know, I’ve told you I don’t need anything. Why go and spend a fortune?” Despite his worde
Samuel was clearly smitten with the brush and could not stop admiring it.
Someone in the crowd piped up, “Isn’t this a relic? I was lucky enough to see one before, and they say back then…
Noelle was stunned and turned to Charles, only to find him giving her a knowing look, his eyes twinkling
with amusement.
Noelle was at a loss for words. She could not figure Charles out, and what he was trying to say was beyond her.
He had offhandedly mentioned that the pen was not anything special, so… did that mean she was in his
debt now?
The incident was quickly forgotten by everyone else. It was, after all, just another piece of gossip, a fleeting moment of drama.
After wandering aimlessly with Samuel, Noelle finally made her way to the back garden to get some air. Deep down, she knew what today’s gathering was about, yet she still showed up, clinging to a vain hope that her parents might stand up for her. As usual, however, she was left feeling let down.
“What are you doing out here?”
She spun around to find the tall silhouette of the man who had been the center of attention just moments ago. Noelle’s lips curled into a half–smile as she recalled the earlier incident and chuckled. “And you? What’s your story for dropping by?” She was curious about his reasons for coming today.
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Charles just grinned, closed the distance between them, and came to a halt right in front of her.
Taken aback, Noelle stumbled a couple of steps backward and craned her neck to look up at him. He towered over her, and even in her heels, she felt dwarfed by his height. She gazed up at him, a bit strained. “You…”
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