Mr. Charles's Hidden Wife novel Chapter 173

Mason and Daisy Charles returned to the villa on Sunday.

Howell also return to the villa from campus to have lunch with them in the afternoon as well.

As he arrived, he was in sports gear and was drenched in sweat.

The moment he stepped into the courtyard, Daisy sighed, "Why are you wearing like this again, Howell? Don't you feel uncomfortable walking around in your stinky, wet clothes?" she asked.

"I just wanna save time and rush back home to have lunch with you guys," he reasoned as he grabbed a square of his shirt to sniff it. "I do smell though, and I think I'll go wash up now. Be back in ten," he said and

Daisy merely shook her head and was a bit speechless. 

She then turned to face Wendy, who was sitting beside her. "I still remember how he was like when he was a kid. Time flies, doesn't it? I can't believe he's already a college student now," she remarked.

Wendy pursed her lips and nodded. "That's true. Time just slips past us so easily," she said.

Daisy looked at her, her eyes filled with envy. "Now's the best time for you though. I'm so jealous of your age right now," she pouted.

"Don't say that, Daisy. Everyone has been young once, you know," Wendy replied.

Daisy sighed and lifted her head to look at the sky. "That's true. I remember feeling so happy back when I was your age. How I wish I could turn back time... so that I could relieve the best times of my life again," she lamented.

Seeing her look sad, Wendy suddenly thought of Henson for some reason.

"She must be referring to the time she spent with Henson," she thought.

"Oh, right," she gasped as if she suddenly thought of something. "Did Henson have any dealings with the Nicholson's lately?" she asked.

After giving it some thought, Wendy shook her head. "I don't think so," 

"You don't know either?" Daisy asked.

"What happened?" Wendy asked back, confused.

"A few days back, during an afternoon tea session with my friends, they told me that the young miss and her mother from the Nicholson's are telling everyone about her immediate engagement to one of the members of the Charles family," Daisy explained.

Wendy was somewhat shocked at the news. Engagement?

"Have you caught wind of this, Wendy?" she asked.

Wendy shook her head and replied, "No, not at all,"

"Hmm," Daisy said and fell silent for a moment before continuing, "I suppose it's only natural that you hadn't received word on it yet, since you're not in my social circle. But didn't Henson at least bring this up with you?" 

Wendy calmly shook her head again in reply. "No," she muttered.

"Well, that's strange. I'm sure he knows about this, so how come he's so calm about it? It's strange that he didn't even discuss it with you even if he doesn't plan to resolve the problem head on. I'll have you know he despises the Nicholson's to his very core. He shouldn't have let this matter escalate to such a point in the first place too. It's really strange as to why he didn't resolve it sooner," Daisy rambled.

Wendy frowned after hearing that. "Can you tell me why he hates the Nicholson's so much, Daisy? What beef does the Nicholson family and the Charles family have with one another anyways?" she probed.

"Henson has never brought this up to you too?" Daisy asked while she looked at her.

Wendy shook her head once more. "Not at all," she replied.

Daisy raised an eyebrow. "But why?" she said with a hint of surprise in her voice.

"He really didn't, but you should know something about it, surely?" Wendy asked.

"I do," Daisy said and went silent for a moment. "But since Henson didn't tell you this himself, I'm sure he has his own reservations about the matter. And since he doesn't want to tell you, I shouldn't overstep my bounds to spill the beans either. I hope you don't overthink the matter too, Wendy. Maybe... he'll open up about it once you two move on to the next level of your relationship. Just give him some time, alright?" she assured her.

Hearing her say this, a feeling of unease crept up in Wendy's heart. 

Henson was the one who kept saying he's into her, so how come Daisy knew all his secrets? What about her? How come she was the only one who was in the dark?

Also, regarding the Nicholson's engagement to the Charles... What the heck was that all about?

She shot Henson, who was sitting by the window in the living room, a disappointed look beneath her furrowed brows.

If everything Daisy told her was true, then she decided that she'd definitely dump him and run away as far away as she could from him. The further the better. 

After seeing how silent Wendy was being, Daisy piped up anxiously, "Could it be that... Did I make you sad after telling you all that? I hope you don't misunderstand my intentions, Wendy, but the reason why I said all that was to warn you that the Nicholson's might be up to no good, and that you should be more cautious in the future. After all, the matriarch of the family has been known to be a pretty crafty woman,"

Wendy gave a small chuckle in response and reassured her, "No, no, I’m fine, Daisy. I just got distracted and was thinking about something else just now. I'll be sure to give him time and not force him into giving me the answers I want. I was the one who chose him after all, so I'll continue to trust him and support him in any way I can," 

Daisy pursed her lips as she looked at Henson who was chatting with Mason in the living room, her eyes full of longing. 

Standing at the door was a certain Howell who'd arrived, and was much cleaner now after a shower. 

Seeing as the two ladies were still seated in the courtyard, he went over to join them. "You two sure know how to talk. I can't believe you guys are still talking after I've finished my shower," he remarked.

Daisy patted his leg a few times. "I'll have you know Wendy and I have been talking since morning,"

"My God, usually I only hear about women fighting with one another. It's such a rare sight to see two ladies getting along so well," he said.

Daisy laughed at that comment. "This is why you should get yourself a wife who's easy to get along with. If not, Wendy and I will join forces together to make life difficult for her," she joked.

"Nonsense, I know you definitely wouldn't do that, but as for Sister Wendy..." he trailed off.

Wendy rolled her eyes at him. "Do I look evil to you, you little brat?" she sneered.

"How am I to say otherwise since you're always bullying me? Can't you treat me better if you don't want me to think badly of you?" he said.

Wendy was at a loss for words. She then raised her hand to slap him across the arm. "Who's the talkative one now?" 

He flashed Daisy a mischievous grin and inched closer to her. "Did you see that, Daisy? Wendy's literally a spitting image of a tigress. I bet she used this to her advantage to hunt my brother down," he snickered.

Wendy's anger flared after hearing him say that. She immediately got up from her seat to prepare her fists.

He got up as well, but it was so that he could flee from her.

Soon, the two of them then were engaged in a cat-and-mouse-like chase in the courtyard, of which their noises attracted the attention of the two men in the living room. 

Mason looked to the courtyard and raised his eyebrows. "This place is different from what it used to be. It's certainly livelier now," he remarked.

"It's definitely better than how it was before," Henson replied.

"I suppose that's why it's so important to find a woman you can rely on," he added.

his gaze was fixed on Wendy. Little did he know that Daisy was secretly staring at him this whole time.

While seated in the courtyard, Daisy tightened the grip on her coffee cup.

She noticed that Henson's gaze had... changed.

She later put down her cup and flashed the both of them a smile before chirping, "Alright, you two should stop messing around already. Literally everyone's watching you two right now," 

Wendy glared at Howell menacingly. "Just you wait, you brat," she threatened. 

He stuck out his tongue at her in response, totally shattering the image people had of him being a cold, aloof popular kid on campus.

Daisy patted his arm, seeing as he wasn't standing too far away from her and instructed, "Don't pester us while we're talking. Go pester Mason and Henson instead,"

He made a gesture using his forefinger and middle finger at the side of his temples in response. "As you wish, my lady," he replied 

then ran off by himself.

Wendy went back to her seat to catch her breath. She gulped down a few mouthfuls of water afterwards. 

"It appears that you're really close to Howell," Daisy giggled.

"He IS my student, after all. We've already spent so much time together at this point," Wendy replied.

"I'll be honest... I really envy you, Wendy. Looking at you now, I can't help but think back to the person I was a few years back. I was so happy then," Daisy lamented.