MasukCHARLOTTE~•~I stared at Alexander expectantly, waiting to hear what he had to say. I wasn’t sure if I was prepared to know who was going out of their way to ruin my life but I was curious. I wanted to know what beef I had with them too.Alexander walked closer, his jaw still clenched tightly, and his eyes dark with something between anger and concern. “It’s Vanessa Paige.”For a second, the name didn’t register. Vanessa Paige? The name sounded vaguely familiar. Then it hit me like a slap.“Vanessa?” I repeated, absolutely taken aback. “Dave’s former co-star?”Alexander nodded. “You went for her birthday, didn’t you?” He questioned even if I didn’t tell him whose birthday I attended. “Harvey dug deep. He found everything.” He added as if he could sense the question at the tip of my tongue.But then again, the pictures of Dave and me had mentioned Vanessa’s party so no one had to dig deep to find out where I was that night.That being said, Vansssa Paige? Why?I took a step back until
CHARLOTTE~•~I regretted the words the second they left my mouth because now I actually had to stand in the kitchen and pretend I wasn’t flustered out of my mind.Just because we were living together and we had a child together and were raising her together didn’t make us a family.As I reached the kitchen, the chatter in the living room resumed. I didn’t know if they were talking about me but I didn’t want to find out. I focused on the coffee machine instead. Nobody was craving coffee but I had to make myself busy after announcing it.Maybe if I stayed in here long enough, everyone would forget Nyla’s little announcement.Unfortunately, I was the glue keeping them in the living room because Alexander walked in a few minutes later. “Why did you abandon me to deal with that myself?“To deal with what?”“Explain to Nyla what it means to like someone and be their family.”I grabbed mugs from the cabinet without looking at him. “You deserved it.”“For what?”“For telling our daughter gos
CHARLOTTE~•~Vivian, my publicist, loved the phones. The photographer was good at his work, pretending he was following us discreetly like Vivian didn’t pay him to go to our location. He even managed to get pictures of the rooftop dinner, from the hotel beside it. The pictures from the dinner weren’t very clear but the ones from the ranch were impeccable. Vivian had already drafted a statement for my team to post, which included suing people spreading lies about me. They’d already sent cease and desist letters to a few influencers who continued to spread news about me being a bad mother using her daughter for clout.After those, the pictures dropped and well… at least everyone wasn’t hating on me anymore. The hate was still there but it was significantly less than before by at least forty percent. I even had people defending my name.That was to say my morning had started incredibly well.I woke up in Alexander’s bed, even showered in his bathroom, and ended up wearing one of his s
CHARLOTTE~•~He carried me up the stairs like I weighed nothing, my legs wrapped tightly around his waist and my arms around his neck. So I did what anyone would do in that situation. I kissed him again.Alexander kicked the door to his bedroom open and lowered me onto the bed without breaking the kiss. The moment my back hit the mattress, he followed, covering my body with his. I tugged at his shirt, needing it off, needing to feel his skin against mine.He sat back just long enough to yank the shirt over his head and toss it aside. My hands immediately roamed over his chest, his shoulders, the hard lines of muscle I hadn’t allowed myself to touch the last two times. He was still so beautiful. So mine, even if I hated admitting that.“Charlotte,” he breathed, his voice rough as he looked down at me. His eyes were dark, almost black with lust. “Tell me you want this.”“I want this,” I admitted shamelessly, pulling him back down. “I want you.”That was all the encouragement he needed.
CHARLOTTE~•~When we went back home, my first instinct was to call out for Nyla, but then I remembered she was with her grandparents. That meant Alexander and I were alone.I turned to him just as he closed the door behind himself. When he turned around to take off his shoes, he paused. “Did I do something wrong?” He asked warily.I chuckled softly and took off my heels, rendering me three inches shorter. “Charlotte?” Alexander called out suspiciously as he took off his own shoes, still holding my gaze.I didn’t respond. Instead, I dropped my bag on the side rack and took a few steps closer to him. “You wined and dined me.”“Y-yeah?” He cleared his throat, still unsure of what I was going to do. “Yes?”“And the general rule is that you should get something in return, no?”He laughed awkwardly. “No? I didn’t take you out on a date so you’ll give me something in return. I was just—“ he stopped short when I stopped in front of him. His eyes widened dramatically when I dropped to my kn
CHARLOTTE~•~“You know,” I said as the car pulled away from the ranch, “normal people usually tell their dates where they’re going.”Alexander loosened the top buttons of his shirt slightly, looking too relaxed for someone who spent the entire evening making my heart malfunction. “And ruin the surprise? Absolutely not.”I rolled my eyes and turned toward the window, though I couldn’t stop the small smile pulling at my lips. The ranch had been more interesting than I expected so I trusted him on whatever was coming next.When the car finally stopped, I looked up and blinked in surprise. “A hotel?”Alexander let out a breathy laugh. “Relax, baby. Whatever can be done at a hotel can be done at my house.” He paused for dramatic effect. “But that’s not why we’re here.”“You’re a dog.” He laughed before stepping out first and offering me his hand again. I took it this time without hesitation and let him lead me inside to the elevator. When the elevator doors finally opened, my lips parted
CHARLOTTE~•~The doctor’s frown deepened when Lucy and I both said “Pregnant?” at the same time, like we’d rehearsed it.“You really didn’t know?” she asked again, glancing between us as though we might be joking.I shook my head slowly. My mouth felt dry. “No. I… I had no idea.” I didn’t even thi
CHARLOTTE~•~My eyes fluttered open but the bright light I immediately faced had me closing them again.I squinted just to get an idea of where I was. I recalled fainting but I was alone at home then. How was I suddenly on a bed?A hand suddenly grabbed mine. “You’re awake?”Lucy’s familiar voice
CHARLOTTE~•~I only left my studio after my stomach started to growl.It was even when I finally went into the kitchen and checked the fridge to see if there was anything to eat. My cook came in twice a week to cook in bulk, unless told otherwise. There was no food in the kitchen though. I’d eat w
CHARLOTTE~•~I spent the next week alone at home. The place felt lonely as I was used to living with Alexander. I felt tempted to move out anytime I entered our room and didn’t find him there.I didn’t speak with him much. There was nothing to talk about. The only time we texted was when I asked h







