Chapter 2

Charles frowned harder and started to say something else, but Selina turned away and put on a smile and struck up a conversation with someone else.

By the time she had settled the terms with Adrian and turned back, Charles was gone.

She didn't look for him, and she didn't ask. She went back to the estate alone.

She had just gotten home when she saw a box of chocolates from her favorite chocolatier on the table.

Normally you had to stand in line for two hours to get them.

Charles came down the stairs with a bodyguard carrying his suitcase ahead of him. When their eyes met, Charles looked uneasy, then forced a gentle smile. "You're back. I stood in that line just for you. Go on, try one.

"I thought you'd be upset about Susie today, so I got sharp with you. You're right, Susie's problems have nothing to do with us.

"We won't bring her up again. We'll stay out of it.

"Don't be angry."

Charles came closer, coaxing her in a soft voice.

Selina ignored it. She glanced at the bodyguard, then looked back at him and waited for the rest.

Charles's expression stiffened, and he added without prompting, "By the way, I have to go to Sicily on business. I'm leaving right now. Be good and stay home until I'm back."

Selina still said nothing.

She looked at the bodyguard again, let out a cold laugh, then walked around Charles and went upstairs.

She knew perfectly well what Charles was going to Sicily for. He was going to fight Susie's battle for her.

But none of that concerned her, and she couldn't be bothered to ask. She was leaving Southport for Northcrest to build something of her own.

After Charles left, she started settling her businesses in Southport, converting every shop she could sell into cash she kept on her.

By the time she finished, a week had gone by without her noticing. She sold the last cigar shop and came home.

The first thing she saw was the bedroom door, standing half open.

Susie sat on Selina's sofa, her face buried in her hands as she sobbed. "Thank God I have you. If it weren't for you, I never would have gotten that divorce through.

"I really never thought he'd humiliate me like that with that bitch. Thank God you got there in time."

Charles patted her shoulder and murmured, "Stop crying. You're safe now. He won't dare try anything. You'll stay at my estate and I'll put bodyguards on you."

Overcome with emotion, Susie threw herself into his arms. "Thank you."

A look of satisfaction Selina had never seen before crossed Charles's face. He smiled and did not push Susie away. "You're Selina's sister, which makes you mine too. If I didn't help you, she'd be upset with me.

"Don't think about it anymore. Just stay here."

Selina looked in through the crack in the door, her chest rising and falling.

She had known it would be exactly like this, but seeing it with her own eyes still left a weight on her chest.

She and Charles had grown up together and had been a couple since they came of age. Because she was so good to Susie, she couldn't even bear to leave Susie home alone when they went on dates.

Charles was always jealous, always complaining, and at one point he had been openly hostile toward Susie.

In her last life Susie moved into their estate after the divorce.

At first Charles still complained to her about the inconvenience and said behind Susie's back that they should send her out to the country house.

But within a month he was volunteering to keep Susie company at home while Selina was busy with work, taking Susie out to cheer her up.

The sight had made Selina feel warm and happy, and she had laughed and asked Charles what had gotten into him.

Charles stroked her hair and said, "You're busy with work. She's your sister, so she's my sister too. If I take some of the weight off you, you'll have more time to rest."

Selina never thought twice about it. She was touched by how considerate Charles was.

It had never occurred to her that his early dislike had only been cover for the fact that he had started to want Susie.

That tenderness, that warmth, had become a blade in the end and stabbed straight into her.

She swallowed the nausea rising in her chest.