LOGIN“That’s not true!” I snapped. “I’m perfectly fine.”“Alexander, you need to stop this,” another voice cut in. “The autopsy has already been done. It was an accident.”I shook my head, my chest tightening. “No. It’s all fake. Dr. Gilbert was bribed by her. Aunt Judy and her husband is the one who killed my…”The words never made it out before a hand struck my face. Hard. And the sound echoed through the room, followed by a suffocating silenceI slowly lifted my head, only to see grandfather’s infuriating gaze burning with fury.“My son died in an accident,” he said, his voice giving no room for any arguement.I looked around the room, meeting the eyes of each of them—people who called themselves my family.And then I finally realized that none of them believed me.Anger surged through me, my hands curling into fists. But there’s nothing I could do. I felt small. Powerless.Like I was screaming into a void no one could hear.Not able to hold it any longer, I turned and walked out of the
***ALEXANDER POV***“How is she?” I asked, turning away from the floor-to-ceiling window as I walked toward them.With my left hand tucked into my pocket, I stopped at the edge of the bed, watching her chest rise and fall in slow, steady breaths.Gilbert finally turned from her, withdrawing his stethoscope, and looked at me.“She’s stable now.”“Then why hasn’t she woken up?”“That’s because her body has been under considerable stress for a long time,” he said. His gaze drifted back to Charlotte. “More than she’s allowed herself to acknowledge. The fainting…” He paused. “…was her system finally forcing her to stop.”I looked at her, my mind turning over his words.What kind of stress had she been carrying all this time for her body to shut down like that?Was it the company? Or her family?Or what exactly?Charlotte… how long are you going to keep holding everything in?Did you really never see me as someone who could protect you… or…“She’s just low on energy. You don’t need to worry
I shook my head lightly. “No, I do,” I said softly, glancing back down at the plate in front of me. “It’s just… it looks a little too pretty to eat.”I picked up my fork and then took a bite. The taste caught me off guard— soft, slightly sweet, and buttery, with a clean, delicate flavor that melts gently in your mouth. I didn’t know why, but it tasted different from all I’d eaten. Maybe because it’s hand peeled by him.“It tastes really good,” I added, a genuine smile forming on my lips.Alexander watched me for a moment, his expression unreadable, and although I couldn’t tell what was going through his mind, he gave a small nod, a quiet chuckle escaping him before he went back to peeling the crabs with that same calm focus.“Do you come here often?” I asked.“No,” he replied simply, not even looking up.“Oh… I thought you’re one of their regulars. Considering how they just let…”“I own it.”I blinked “…You own it?”But how is that possible? It didn’t have Vaughn's logo. Then I felt
***CHARLOTTE POV***I sat on the closed toilet seat, my feet tapping lightly against the floor as I stared at my phone, looking at his message;“Are you giving birth in there?”I let out a low groan as I covered my face with my hand, wishing I could disappear right here as this was just so embarrassing.How am I going to face him now?Yes, I knew this moment would come someday. That I would see him again and have to explain myself and offer apologies. But I never imagined it would come so soon, and now here I am, stuck inside the restroom for almost thirty minutes as I was just too embarrassed to face him.I squeezed my eyes shut wondering why exactly did I even drink that much? “Why?” I throw my head on my lap, thinking of what to do now.And just then my phone beeped again and I quickly raised up my head and looked at the screen, “Do you need help?”Another message from him and it seems if I don’t return quickly, he might start searching for me.“Fuck.” I let out a long breath.It
On entering the kitchens fully, the scene that laid before me broke my heart. I saw Flora sitting on the cold floor near the cabinets, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she cried.For a second, I just stood there.All the anger I had been holding onto… it didn’t disappear, but it softened, tangled with something heavier.Guilt.I took a deep breath trying to calm myself down as I knew this wasn’t something anger would sort. Flora had always been gentle. Sensitive. She had never handled confrontation well, never responded well to raised voices.And whatever she did… she did it because she loved me. That’s why she was jealous of seeing me with another woman. I had known her for years and I had never seen her act like that before.So this… this had to mean something.I forced myself to stay calm as I walked closer and lowered myself beside her.She didn’t look up.I crouched in front of her, hesitating for a second before reaching out—but the moment my hand moved toward her,
Flora lifted her gaze to meet mine over Genevieve’s head, and I already knew what was coming before she even opened her mouth.“I can’t believe Charlotte would do something like this,” she said, her voice tightening. “She knows how sensitive Genevieve is, and she still goes ahead and does something so careless.”I stayed silent, my jaw tightening.“How do you go to your own child’s school and not even look for her?” Flora continued, her tone sharpening. “After everything this child has been through? Is Charlotte crazy?!”“Flora,” I said sharply.Can’tshe see that she’s only making things worse. I also know what Charlotte did wasn’t good but was it a must for her to say it out?But Flora didn’t stop. “She’s doing this on purpose, Clyde.” she went on. “She’s angry at you, so she’s taking it out on Genevieve. Using a child to make a point… what kind of mother does that?”“Flora!” I snapped, that even Genevieve flinched in my arm.And this time Flora fell quiet immediately.I didn’t eve







