The Cherished Wife (Noelle and Charles)

Meanwhile, Winter's face did not show any improvement, and she stayed in the hospital for about a week. During that week, the situation involving Winter and Janet stirred up a lot of noise online. The media outlets, all managed by Ronald, knew exactly what to say and what to avoid.

Meanwhile, the reporters hired by Janet at the event harshly criticized Winter, sparking outrage among Winter's fans.

They flooded the reporters' social media accounts and websites with angry comments. Janet's personal websites and information were also targeted, and she was quickly exposed.

It was undeniable that the power of netizens was impressive. Within a week, the media narrative completely shifted. Initially, they criticized Winter, calling her shameless. Yet now, they were attacking Janet, labeling her as twisted and narrow-minded. Since the relationship between Charles and Winter was never confirmed, and Charles was not someone people dared to offend, discussions about him online were minimal.

Even when he was mentioned, it was mostly about how handsome and wealthy he was, with no negative comments attached.

Amid all this chaos and noise, Noelle and Charles approached their first New Year's as a married couple.

As not many people knew about their marriage, they could not formally celebrate with either family. In past years, Noelle had always felt both anticipation and reluctance about going home for New Year's.

Her relationship with the Shaws was awkward. While Samuel treated her well, nobody else in the Shaws really liked her. So, spending New Year's with them had always been a major dilemma for Noelle. Last year, she managed to avoid it by being away on a business trip, but this year, she had no excuse.

Especially since Samuel called her early on, reminding her that regardless of how bad things were with Julian and Jade, she was still a Shaw, and not coming home for New Year's would be inappropriate. Noelle had already decided that she would go back this year. However, another issue emerged. The problem stemmed from the fact that Winter had recently gotten married.

With all the scandals surrounding her at the end of the year, her relationship with Xavier was quite strained.

After being discharged from the hospital, Winter stayed home, but Xavier was indifferent to her.

He would often choose not to come home at night, choosing instead to stay at the office. His behavior was mainly due to Winter's recent scandals, which Xavier found hard to accept, especially since the person involved was someone more powerful than him.

Despite everything, both Winter and Xavier still had to return to the Shaws' for New Year's. Regardless of their feelings, family unity during the holiday was expected.

However, to prevent any strain on

her relationship with Xavier and fearing he might still have lingering feelings for Noelle, Winter

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persuaded Jade to call Noelle. She wanted Noelle to bring Bob to the family dinner at all costs.

Noelle immediately refused when she heard this request. She was already married and had nothing to do with Bob.

Even if they were in a relationship, it would not be appropriate to bring him home so casually, especially for such an important occasion as New Year's. If she brought Bob along, it would imply that their relationship was officially established.

If that happened, Noelle knew exactly what her so-called mother would do next-pressure Noelle and Bob into marriage.

In this way, Noelle would simply be used as a pawn, and Winter would not have to live in fear anymore.