The Cherished Wife (Noelle and Charles)

What about spilling the beans that her husband, the one Arya thought was not on Brian's level, was actually Charles?

"Um... Noelle, please don't be mad. I didn't mean it that way. You chose him, so he's got to have something you adore and is worth your while. I don't know the guy, so I really shouldn't judge, you know..."

"It's cool. I'm not upset!" Noelle said, pulling back her hand. "Enough about me. So, you mentioned Mr. Parker's got a girlfriend now? How'd you find out?"

Arya, relieved that Noelle was not holding a grudge, whipped out her phone eagerly. "Oh, it's all because I was killing time shopping the other day. I suddenly saw Mr. Parker with some chick. They were having dinner together and looking all lovey-dovey!"

As she spoke, Arya flipped through her phone's gallery and handed it to Noelle. "Look, it's this girl right here. The shot's a bit blurry since they were far off, but I'd bet my last dollar she's Mr. Parker's girl."

"Were you secretly snapping pics?" Noelle asked, eyebrows raised, but she still reached out to take a look.

Noelle thought to herself that if Brian had actually found himself a girlfriend, she would have to give Teresa a heads-up. Teresa was her good friend, after all, and she deserved to know before things got too serious.

However, the more Noelle stared at the photo, the more it seemed oddly familiar. She zoomed in on the blurry outline, and her eyes went wide.

"What's up?" Arya asked, seeing Noelle's intense focus on the photo. "You can barely make it out, you know."

"Got any more shots?" Noelle asked quickly.

"Well, you know, it's not cool to take photos like this, so I... uh, only snapped a couple. Here's another one, but it's just as blurry. Why the panic? Don't tell me..."

Noelle flipped to the next photo,

which was a tad clearer. It was still hard to see, but Noelle was sure it was Teresa. She smirked and puffed out her phone. "Send me those two photos. This stays just between us, okay?"

"Wait, what do you need them for? You're not going to show them to Mr. Parker, are you? Please don't! If Mr. Parker finds out I've been taking sneaky shots of him, I'm done for!" Arya blurted out, but Noelle just grinned. "Chill out. Does it seem like Ido that?"

"Then why do you want them?" Arya was puzzled.

Noelle gave her a mysterious smile. "I'll fill you in once I've figured it out!" With that, she used Arya's messenger app to send the photos to herself and shook her head, laughing softly.

Arya could tell that Noelle was acting weirder by the minute, but Noelle clammed up whenever she tried to probe. It was driving Arya nuts not knowing what was up.

That night, Noelle finally cornered

Teresa to talk about Brian. Teresa hemmed and hawed, not spilling the beans until Noelle showed her the photo. Then Teresa caved,

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confessing she had a bit of a crush on Brian. However, they only had dinner together because they bumped into each other, and Brian just asked her to grab a bite. It was nothing more and nothing less.

Noelle knew Teresa was super careful, especially when it came to romance.

After a little more chit-chat, Noelle reminded Teresa that being careful was good and all, but not if it meant missing out on Mr. Right.

When Charles strolled in from his study, he found Noelle all cozied up in her blanket, deep in conversation. She was practically swallowed by the fluffy cocoon, looking ridiculously cute. Charles teased as he peeled back a corner of her blanket fortress. "You know, hiding away in there isn't exactly great for breathing!"