Chapter 3

Charlotte's POV 

“Enough! Enough! This is not the time for this! Okay!” Liam's voice was sharp and loud.

I slowly release my breath as my hand clenched into a fist. All of a sudden my gaze turned blurry as the silence in the room was suffocating me. How can I be married and divorced on the same day?

Suddenly, I lost my nerves when I remembered how I met Liam. Now, it's my turn to be amazed how they perceived me to be a gold digger.

Then Liam trailed off, heaving a sigh as his brows furrowed and he murmured a few words on his lips.

Meanwhile, Ruby's gaze travelled on me from head to toe, as if she wants to devour me like a beast. 

She took a step near me with her breath fanning me and she pulled my chin up. “You can't be different, bitch! He will dumb you like the others! Accept the offer and flee away,” she murmured, in a dangerous voice that made my heart flutter wildly.

Anger? Distress? I didn't know how to describe how I felt at that moment as my entire body was desperate to hear a another word from Liam.

My gaze roamed on him and I couldn't deny how devilishly handsome he is. I mean he's so perfect and definitely every woman's dream.

“Stop all these nonsense! The most important thing is to give grandpa a befitting burial. Not this!” Liam spoke and his eyes holds seriousness.

My body trembled and my heart felt hollow. It's as if this is not what I expected him to voice out. 

He rotated his head to face Norman, “Do as I instructed you,” he uttered.

Then he took a step towards me and whispered some few words in my ears. “My words still remain the same though! You are not my type!” His words were like a venom and instantly my eyes turned blurry.

“Mrs Blackwood, this way,” the moment Norman added that, my body felt rigid with tension.

“He will drive you home to have some rest,” then Liam said that loudly.

What's actually the essence of that anyways? He has already made clear that I'm not his type and here we're this fake marriage hasn't served its purpose.

I swallowed the lump the has rose in my throat and I stole a look at him. “Let's do as your mom suggested since I'm not your…,” he interrupted me vehemently before I could complete my statement.

“Do as my assistant says!” 

I blinked at him in bafflement and tried to relax my frazzled nerves.

We strolled out of the hospital at that minute and I made myself comfortable on the passenger seat as Norman roared the engine to life.

Still, I felt like my blood was drained out of me as my mind was in jumbled mess. I clenched by the side of the window as I tried to fiddled with my phone. 

I whispered to myself as though I can wish it into existence. Suddenly, my fingers trembled on the screen of the phone when my gaze caught a glimpse of a headline and my heart gave a nervous jolt. 

I felt a chills ran down my spine and a whisper in my head told me this is definitely a lie. “Oliver Keller wedding with Alyssa Knight today is the talk of the whole city,” the headline reads.

I murmured the words a billion times on my lips as I tried to digest it wholly. Still, my fingers shook as I scrolled down and reality hit me like a knife was pierced through my heart.

“This…this is the wedding dress the bride wore today,” a lump seemed to rise in my throat as I voiced out those words and my thoughts went wild.

“I can't believe this!” I exclaimed.

“Is everything alright, ma'am?” Norman questioned. I mean, I don't blame him, my voice echoed in the car.

“We're almost home, just a few minutes away,” he added.

I sat down with my jaw dropped in awe. My marriage with Oliver was arranged marriage which his family made a deal of 25% of Keller group shares to us. 

Therefore, my parents saw it as an opportunity in order to rejuvenate our dead company which was almost bankrupt because of an investment I made.

Yes, Oliver Keller was in coma for months which the family lost hope of him surviving. As a result, they were desperate for him to get an heir as they continued tirelessly to get him on his feet.

Just a week to our wedding he got better all of a sudden. Meanwhile, my uncle, Benjamin has been away all this while and vividly made it clear that he won't be around for the wedding.

How's it possible that his daughter took my place as the bride today? I feel like every fiber of my body is on fire as I try to digest it.

Wait a minute, or my parents are aware of this too? It's not possible. Suddenly, my eyes caught a comment and my spine stiffened at the words. “Mr Keller was supposed to marry Charlotte but she's pregnant with another man's child and the parents planned to pin it to the Keller family,” the comments goes and I didn't know when tears trickled down my face.

“What!” I couldn't blink my eyes away from the comments anymore and I felt a heavy beating of my heart.

“Who the hell spread this fake news?!” those are the words that broke from my lips and I already knew the answer.

How could he?

What's the state of my parents at this moment? That's the question stuked on my mind. At this point, I feel like my blood is dried up and I'm at the verge of breaking down. Could this be the reason they haven't reached out to me since? Hell no!

“We're home, ma'am,” Norman stated, and I was completely stunned, gaping through the window.

I wiped the remaining tears on my face and I drew a deep breath. “Thank you,” I said, as he opened the door.

I didn't expect less, indeed the mansion was enormous. Everything about it was more than perfect. 

“You're welcome, ma'am,” the maids said, the moment I strolled in. Wait a minute, were they expecting me? 

Or Ruby was right after all. “He will dump you like the others! You're not different!” In her words.

Probably, this house is meant for all the women he flirts with each day. My mind raced wildly as I remained rooted to the ground.

“We're at your service ma'am, this way please,” they added, and one of them took the lead. By then, Norman had already left. I mean, it could be a daily routine because they're great in their roles.

The bedroom was enormous as it was decorated in a gray and black. “Everything is set here ma'am, but in case you need anything don't hesitate to alert us,” she stated, and I nodded with a soft smile.

Just as I sat down to take a little relief before freshening up, my phone buzzed loudly startling me from my reverie. 

“Unknown number?” I murmured on my lips before answering the call.

“I hope this is Charlotte Knight?” There was no trace of warmth in the person's voice and my heart skipped a bit.

“Yes. How may I be of help to you?” I enquired quickly.

“This is Detective Officer Sampson. I'm sorry ma'am for this news.”

Then he paused. All of a sudden my heart started beating very fast and my body felt like it was on fire. “Sorry about what?” My mind whirled.

“Your parent's lifeless bodies were found at Galaxy street at 10am today. Kindly come to the office tomorrow.” My stomach dropped instantly and my heart seized breathing completely.