The Cherished Wife

Wife 73

Charles could not help but laugh and shake his head. He playfully flicked Noelle’s forehead. “Looks like I’m not really on your radar, huh?”

Noelle was speechless. She truly had no idea, and since she had not known Charles before, how could she have randomly looked up his birthday?

“It’s on the marriage certificate, Mrs. Hoffman. Try to remember these things from now on!”

Charles hauled Noelle’s suitcase up the stairs, leaving her alone at the door. Her expression was a mix of emotions as she watched him go.

She touched her forehead where Charles had flicked her, a faint sting lingering. She bit her lip, a wave of discomfort washing over her.

Everything had happened so fast with this relationship, and she was still trying to catch up. Charles, on the other hand, seemed to be adjusting just fine. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Noelle followed him upstairs and saw that he had taken her luggage to the master bedroom. She rushed in, “You know… you could’ve put my stuff in the guest room.”

Charles stopped unpacking and turned to her. Noelle took a deep breath, “I just think that maybe we…”

“Noelle,” Charles interrupted, setting aside a folded shirt, “we’re married now. As your husband, I don’t see why we should sleep apart.”

“We barely know each other,” Noelle countered, struggling with the fact that they were lying on the same bed. “You promised to give me time.”

Charles quirked an eyebrow. “Yes, I did promise you time. That was for you to get comfortable with me, not to create more distance.”

He strode toward her with a confident gait. Noelle backed away, her heart racing as she watched Charles close in. “But… it’s all happening so fast. I can’t handle it.”

“Really?” Charles was now right in front of her, and Noelle stumbled backward until she hit the wall, her hands bracing herself as she looked up at him, so close.

Charles, with one hand against the wall, seemed to have her wrapped in his embrace. He gazed down at her, their faces inches apart. Noelle was trapped.

She licked her parched lips nervously. “You…”

“Too fast for you? I’ve been taking it slow.”

“Charles, you can’t just push me around!” Noelle’s voice wavered, on the verge of tears. The pressure was too much. “You have to keep your promises!”

His gaze deepened, shadowed with thought, and then he stepped back, dropping his hand. “Do you really think that if I wanted to do something, I would have waited this long?”

Noelle paused; a mix of relief and regret washed over her as she watched him step away. She turned back to her luggage, her throat tight. “I know. I’m sorry

“You don’t have to apologize to me. We’re married. That means you’re my wife, and I’m your husband,”

Charles said with a knowing smirk. “If I had any bad intentions, that time you were drugged would’ve been my chance. I’m not the type to take advantage of people, though.”

Noelle’s heart skipped a beat, and her hands balled into fists at her sides. “I…”

“I’ll give you time, but it won’t be forever. You can take the master bedroom. I’ll sleep in the guest room.”

That night, Noelle was alone in the bed, restless and wide awake. The day’s drama clung to her thoughts like ivy, with Charles’s face haunting her every time she closed her eyes.

Feeling miserable, she tossed and turned until she could not take it anymore and got out of bed.