Chapter 13

Noelle gritted her teeth and turned to Sebastian, who gave her an awkward glance. She huffed, "Grandpa, I usually go along with your ideas, but not this. This is about who I spend my life with, and I can't afford to make that decision lightly. I don't want a repeat of the Xavier disaster. That would just be... tragic."

Sebastian did not know what else to say. He had hoped that introducing Noelle to Charles might ignite a spark, but with Noelle so against it, he could not push it. "Okay, okay, I won't mention it again. But you should know that Charles is a great guy, and..."

"Grandpa!" Noelle's frown deepened. "If you keep this up, I won’t visit you again!”

Noelle cut off Sebastian, saying, "We should head out. It doesn't feel right to leave Mr. Hoffman by himself in the living room."

"You and your stubbornness..." Sebastian sighed, resigning himself to her will.

As Noelle and Sebastian emerged, Charles's eyes twinkled with a teasing glint as he looked at Noelle. His lips curled in