The Cherished Wife (Noelle and Charles)
Chapter 573

"Oh, come on, Sean, could you be any more cliché?" Jennifer was not thrilled with the idea, rolling her eyes. "That game's ancient, what's the big deal?"

"What's not to love? It's not about the game being old, it's about having a blast and getting a little wild! Am I right, Steven?" Sean said, giving Steven a conspiratorial wink.

Steven, ever the cool one, casually touched his nose and tapped his temple, a sly smile playing on his lips. "Sean's got a point. If you're game, let's dive in!"

At the sound of Steven's smooth voice, everyone let out a cheer of approval. Steven was the man of the hour, and they were all ready to indulge him, even if they had their reservations.

Sean sprang into action, rallying everyone with a wave of his hands. "Alright, folks, gather around! We're going to lay down some ground rules: anything goes as long as it's not too wild, and no chickening out," he announced, clapping his hands for emphasis. Ronald and Lareal, who had been waiting just outside, came in at the signal. They caught sight of Sean's commanding presence and joked, "Mr. Smith, at your service!"

"Get a move on, bring us some wine," Sean commanded with a mischievous grin. "And put it on Charles's bill!" He pointed at Charles, who just arched an eyebrow in response.

Noelle beat Charles to the punch, her voice laced with mock indignation, "Why should Charles be the one to pay?"

The room's attention shifted to Noelle, then back to Sean, echoing her question, "Yeah, why, Sean?"

Sean paused, a sly smile spreading across his face, the kind that would make anyone's heart skip a beat. If there had been any other girls in the room, they would have been swooning. Noelle, though, looked like she had seen a ghost, especially when Sean laid it out. "Why should Charles pay? Oh, it's simple. He's been putting on quite the show for us today, and now we need something to wash it down with. And let's not forget all the lovey-dovey stuff I've had to watch between you two. Isn't it about time you treated us?" The room erupted with laughter at Sean's words, even Bob, who was usually all poker-faced, let a small smile play on his lips.

Noelle's face turned tomato red at the teasing, and she decided to just ignore Sean. Cool as ever, Charles gave Sean a look and said with a nod, "Alright, you got it."

"Check it out, Charles is the real hero here, Ronald. Didn't you hear what he said? Go fetch us some top-shelf drinks."

Sean shouted, then dove into laying

out the game's rules. "Same as

always,

Spin the bottle, and whoever

it points to has to answer-truth or dare. If you're not up for either, you've gotta take a drink! Everyone cool with that?"

"No sweat." Jennifer grinned. "Let's all dive in!"

Steven was the first to give the bottle a whirl, since he was the mastermind behind today's shindig.

Steven was not usually into those kinds of games, but he did not want to rain on the parade, seeing everyone so pumped. With a flick of his wrist, the bottle spun and stopped in front of Noelle.

Noelle's heart had been racing,

dreading that the bottle would single

her out-and it did. As the bottle

pointed, ker way, all eyes landed on

Noelle. She tensed up, feeling a bit out of her element under the

hev

scrutiny of so many, especially with

their curious stares.

"Hey, Noelle, looks like lady luck's smiling on you today. Mr. Fischer, hit her with a good one!" Sean egged on. "Ask her something we're all dying to know."

"Hmm?" Steven cocked an eyebrow,

stroked his chin, and seemed to mull over his question, his eyes locking onto Noelle. Noelle's nerves kicked into overdrive, her fingers clenching the fabric of her clothes. Charles, who was sitting by her side, shot her a sidelong glance. His hand gently covered hers. "It's just a game, no need to freak out. If you don't want to answer, I'll take the shot for you!"