Chapter 5

Upon hearing that, Yvonne's scowl deepened. "Charlie is simply letting his anger get to him, Brandon and Diana. How could you encourage this behavior? If you're going to take his side like this, Charlie and I are never going to make this relationship work."

Aaron, who was over by the bench, suddenly stood up and leaned against the wall. He still looked deathly pale as he murmured, "You should just go along with Charlie. I'll never forgive myself if he refuses to marry you because of my actions, Yvonne…"

He tried taking a couple of steps forward as he said that, swaying slightly.

Yvonne immediately turned and steadied him by the arm. "Why are you still trying to tough it out when you're already this weak, Aaron?"

Aaron held her arm, tears forming in his eyes as he turned to me. "I've always thought of Yvonne as my biological sister and considered you my brother-in-law, Charlie. You're not going to throw away an eight-year relationship just because she's looking after me, right?"

I ignored him completely. I simply glanced at the clock on the wall, noting that it was 11:28 am. "Yvonne…"

Yvonne looked toward me.

I motioned toward the counter right in front of us and continued, "It won't be too late if you come with me right now. I'm giving you one last chance."

Yvonne panicked for a moment, but as Aaron gasped softly while clutching her arm, she immediately looked down to check on his condition.

She raised her head, and that brief panic was gone, replaced by annoyance. "Please stop pressuring me, Charlie. I'll take Aaron to the hospital first and meet you back here this afternoon. We've gone through this 26 times already, so we can certainly wait half a day more."

I stared at her for a long time. It turned out that even at this point, she still assumed I would just wait around for her.

It was already 11:29 am when the staff member looked up to issue a reminder. "You have one minute left. If you're past the cutoff, we won't be able to process your registration today."

Yvonne was still supporting Aaron as she stated firmly, "You'd better stop acting out, Charlie. You should head home first, and once Aaron's done with his checkup, I'll come over tonight to make it up to you."

I looked at her and realized that I wasn't even disappointed anymore.

Just then, someone pushed open the glass doors to the hall and spoke in a calm, detached voice. "Charlie is done waiting for you."

Yvonne turned around sharply.

Wendy Sharp, Yvonne's older sister, showed up in a white suit, holding her official documents firmly as she walked right up to me.

Yvonne's expression instantly shifted the moment she saw who walked in. "What are you doing here, Wendy?"

Wendy checked the time before replying, "I'm here to get married."

Yvonne froze momentarily before jumping right in front of me. "Charlie is my fiance!"

Wendy finally turned her attention to Yvonne with a cold and indifferent gaze. "You kept him waiting 26 times, Yvonne. He's not going to wait for you anymore."

Yvonne clenched her fists and snarled, "What right do you have to interfere? This is between Charlie and me."

Wendy replied flatly, "Charlie was the one who asked me to come here."

That single sentence instantly brought the entire hall to complete silence.

Yvonne remained frozen in place, as though she had finally realized that I had been serious all along.

Wendy paid her no further attention. She came to a halt before me, held out her official documents, and said, "I'll ask you one last time, Charlie. Have you thought this through?"

I looked over at Aaron, who was standing right next to Yvonne, and nodded. "I've thought this through."

Wendy extended her hand toward me and said, "Let's go register our marriage then, Charlie."