The Cherished Wife (Noelle and Charles)

Charles drove onto the highway, then took an exit, heading in the direction of Homestyle Garden House.

Noticing the route, Noelle asked, "We're going to..."

"Homestyle Garden House," Charles replied.

Noelle nodded, turning to Nancy. "Aunt Nancy, did you know that Homestyle Garden House is a garden house I co-own with a close friend? Would you like to stop by for a visit?"

"Sure!" Nancy smiled. "A garden house? What made you decide to open one?"

"It's just a hobby. My grandfather taught me how to make tea when I was young, and my friend happens to love tea as well."

Before long, they arrived at Homestyle Garden House. Noelle helped Nancy out of the car, with Charles following closely behind.

Teresa, who had just been chatting with Noelle in their group chat minutes ago, was surprised to see her walk through the door. She raised an eyebrow at the sight of the elegant woman accompanying Noelle. "Noelle, who's this?" "This is Aunt Nancy. She's Charlie's uncle's wife," Noelle introduced.

"Hello, Ms. Nancy! Please come inside," Teresa greeted warmly.

Nancy smiled approvingly and gave a small nod. "So, this must be the friend you were just telling me about."

"Yes, Aunt Nancy. This is Teresa," Noelle confirmed with a grin.

With that, the three entered the tea house. Teresa glanced around and asked, "Is it just you two, or..."

"No, Charlie's parking the car. He'll be here shortly," Noelle replied. Just then, Charles stepped inside and gave Teresa a polite nod. "Ms. Saunders."

Teresa smiled. "Why don't you head to the private room? The one at the back is reserved for Noelle. You know the way, right?"

Noelle nodded. "Of course."

"Great! I'll go get everything ready," Teresa said before leaving to prepare.

Noelle led Nancy and Charles to the most secluded private room. Initially, opening the garden house had been a spontaneous idea between her and Teresa, but to their surprise, it turned into a successful business. Noelle typically came by monthly-or every couple of months-to reconcile the accounts with Teresa, a practice they had agreed upon early on.

Though they were good friends,

Teresa took the business side of

things seriously, insisting that Noelle

should personally review the

financials. Noelle had initially thought it was unnecessary, but Teresa remained firm, so Noelle

went along with it.

Inside the private room, Nancy immediately admired the decor. "Noelle, did you set up the interior yourself?"

Noelle nodded with a smile. "Yes, I did." She began showing Nancy around the room while Charles sat quietly, only interrupting briefly to make a phone call.

A few moments later, Teresa

entered with a tea set. "This set arrived just before the new year. Noelle picked it out herself, but since she wasn't in Brookville at the time, it was delivered to me. We've never used it until now. I thought today would be the perfect opportunity to try it out!"

Nancy's eyes fell on the tea set, her gaze full of appreciation. "This craftsmanship... Isn't this a piece by Ellis Ainsley?" Noelle laughed. "I almost forgot I left it here."

Sitting beside Charles, she picked up

one of the teacups to inspect it. "I don't know much about these things myself, but my grandfather has a keen eye for them. When I asked

him about this set, he said it was

worth getting, so I bought it"

MS