Chapter 65
It all had been going so well. Even the prestigious Hoffman family had taken a liking to her. Winter had felt like she had Noelle right where she wanted her, squashed under her heel. Now, Xavier’s words were throwing her for a loop. Noelle could not have a sugar daddy!
“Xavier, are you for real? But that’s just not Noelle!”
Why wouldn’t it be? I saw her this morning in an outfit that wasn’t the same as yesterday’s, and it looked expensive!”
“It might be worth hundreds of thousands!” Winter gasped, her teeth catching on her lower lip in worry. What are we going to do now? And what about Dad? He mentioned that Master York seemed pretty smitten with Noelle, right? Master York was in Noelle’s room yesterday and ended up getting hurt!”
A mean streak flashed in Winter’s eyes. She had been so sure that Noelle and Simon would end up in a scandal last night. Who would’ve guessed Simon would be such a flop, getting knocked out cold?
The word on the street was that Simon did not care who he mixed with, guys or girls, and he was not exactly known for holding back. His reputation for playing fast and loose was legendary in Brookville.
That was exactly why Winter had set her sights on having Noelle compromised by Simon. She would tarnish her image so badly that no guy would give her a second glance. Who could have predicted that Noelle would slip through the net?
Simon ended up in the hospital yesterday. Rumor had it he woke up today in a rage, bellowing for the Shaw family to make things right.
Julian caught up with her this morning, wanting her and Xavier to go talk some sense into Noelle, to get her to grovel and apologize to Simon. Simon might not have been the golden boy of the York family, but he was still their blood, and the Yorks‘ clout in Brookville was no joke.
Julian also had his eye on the two hundred million from the Yorks. There was no way he this chance slip by.
was
going to let
“What’s our next move? We’ve gotta calm Simon down, or Dad’s company can kiss that two hundred million goodbye. We’ll probably piss off the Yorks too Xavier said with a scowl, blaming Noelle for the
mess.
“But Simon’s got his eyes on Noelle…” Winter chewed on her lip, torn. “I can’t stand the thought of her marrying a guy like that, but Dad says the company’s in deep need of the cash. If I didn’t love you so much, if I could bear to be apart from you… I’d step in for Noelle myself.”
“Don’t be crazy!” Xavier’s frown deepened at the mere thought of Simon, a real creep. He wrapped his arms around Winter. “You belong with me, and I won’t let you trade yourself to a guy like that. Anyway, Simon wants Noelle, not you. You stepping in wouldn’t change his mind and might even make things worse. Don’t say stuff like that again. It breaks my heart”
Xavier cradled Winter, his hand gently brushing her hair. “Let’s head back and figure this out.”
A sly smile flickered in Winter’s eyes as she pulled away from Xavier, her face shifting back to a look of vulnerability. “I get it, but you have to promise me we’ll save Noelle, no matter what. She’s my sister, my only sister, I’d never want her with someone like Simon if we had any other choice.”