Chapter 002

CHARLOTTE

Tears ran down my face as my heart shattered. 

“Christian,” I started after him, begging. “Can you at least talk to me?”

I sounded desperate, but I didn’t care. I was about to lose everything. Everything I’d spent the last three years trying to hold on to.

“Christian… please.”

He stopped at the foot of the stairs, nearly knocking into me as he spun around. “You’re pathetic. Why do you feel the need to cry and whine?”

“Because I love you,” I sobbed, grabbing his hand for support. My legs felt like jelly. “All I have done is because I love you. Don’t you think I deserve even the tiniest bit of consideration? How can you so comfortably throw that in my face?”

He shook my hand and I crumbled to the floor. 

“Don’t have time for your drama,” he muttered as he took the stairs.

I clenched my chest, gasping as my heart shattered into painful pieces. The tears came in torment, wracking my body. Nothing had ever hurt like this.

He returned, his footsteps echoing in the empty house. He walked past me without a glance. The moment the door slammed shut behind him, a scream left my lips. 

I sobbed loudly, wanting relief but finding none.

How could he be so heartless? How couldn’t he see me even after three years? I was ragged, skinny, and anaemic because I gave her everything. All of him. For his approval. For his love.

The faint ringing of my cellphone pulled me up from the ground. Numbly, I followed the sound.

“Hello,” I sniffed, answering the phone without checking the caller ID.

 “Where are you?” I stiffened at the voice from the other end of the phone. 

I bit my lip, fighting back my tears. Oh God, save me. I don’t know how much more I could take. Especially not from her.

“Charlotte,” the angry voice snapped me back to my predicament.

“Home, mum.”

She sucked her teeth, and I winced. “Come over.”

The room spun before me. “Mu—”

“No excuse, Char,” she cut in sharply. “Come over. Now.” The dial tone buzzed in my ear as she dropped the call. 

I stared at the phone, wondering how everything had gone wrong. She’d been the best mum and friend to me until last year. 

Tears clouded my eyes at the thought. Blindly, I headed to my room and freshened up as fast as I could. It was a chore to even lift my hands. But keeping my mother waiting was not something I wanted to experience on my worst days. And today was the worst day of my life.

It was a 30-minute drive to my family's house. She was already standing at the entrance when the car pulled in.

I felt my strength leave me as I walked towards her. I just wanted to crumble in her arms.

“Mum,” I cried, reaching for her. She stretched her arms, holding me back. Her eyes roamed over my body, disapprovingly.

“You’ve lost weight,” she said, finally releasing me and walking away.  “And you’re pale. Haven’t you been eating?”

I followed her lead, pushing my hurt at her dismissal down. “I don’t have an appetite lately.” I offered, leaving out the details. We both knew why I looked the way I did, but she seemed to develop amnesia whenever it came to that topic.

She stopped and turned to me, her eyes suddenly gleaming.  “Is it what I think it is? Have you finally made use of your womb?”

My eyes widen at her blatant question. Was she being serious? Or was she having a cruel laugh?

I sighed, already exhausted by the conversation. There was no point fighting with her. It never ends well. 

“No, mum. I'm not pregnant.”

Her smile faded. She turned away and resumed her walk.

Oh, God. Not this. Not today. Not this again.

“Mum, please,” I called after her, swaying as I tried to catch up with her. “Please, can we do this another day?”

“No, we can't,” she snapped, entering her greenhouse. “How long does it take a woman to conceive? You've had three years with him. How much longer are we supposed to wait?”

“Mum!”

“They’re threatening to pull your father’s funding,” she hissed, snagging whatever she could get her hands on. “Did you know that? Your father-in-law is reconsidering the agreement he made. And who can blame him? There’s nothing to show for this marriage. Not even a miscarriage.”

My hand flew to my mouth as a choked sob escaped. Tears clouded the corner of my eyes, threatening to spill.

“When did this become about you and Papa's greed?” I yelled, my voice trembling. “I thought it was–”

A strike on my cheek rocked my head to the side. Instinctively, my hand covered the stinging cheek as my tears gave way. “Don’t ever speak like that to me!”

I stared at the woman fuming in my face. She was nothing like the woman I knew three years ago. I nodded, my heart growing numb. “It's not… my fault, Mum.”

Her eyes filled with disgust. “Then whose fault is it? mine?”

I turned away, not wanting to look at her anymore. How could I tell her Christian has never touched me? Not once. Not even when he was drunk.

“Charlotte Whitmore. Look at me.”

I didn't.

She grabbed my hand and spun me around. “You. Have. To. Get. Pregnant,” she ground out. “I don’t care how you do it, but do it fast and make sure it’s effective. Our family is riding on it. There’s been rumours… rumours I don’t want to believe are true.”

She let go of my hand and I stumbled backwards. She turned away before I even had the chance to ask her about the rumours.

Her cold defiance towards me was more than I could take. When did I become a tool to my parents? My chest clenched painfully. I tried to breathe, but I couldn't. Gasping, I ran outside, feeling nothing except the pounding in my chest.

I slowed to a stop as raindrops blurred my vision. Raising my head to the sky, I gulped in as much air as I could, trying to feel something other than pain.

Everything felt like it was closing in on me. Christian had no regard for me. My mum saw me as a useless tool in her perfect plan.

I shivered as cold seeped through my wet clothes. My head swayed just as strong fingers grabbed around my arm, steadying me before I hit the floor. 

I looked up, blinking through the rain.

I smiled at the face peeping into mine with concern. “Jace,” I breathed out, half delirious. “Always saving me.”

Jaceon was my best friend and my father’s godson. We’ve been friends forever. We finished high school, and he moved to another state to pursue his law degree while I played housewife to Christian. We’d just reconnected a few months ago when he returned.

He pulled me into his arms, just as an umbrella covered our heads. 

“Are you okay, love?” He asked, brushing a wet strand of hair from my face. 

“Yes,” I lied, trying to stand on my own and create some distance. “I must have missed my footing. I’m just waiting for my driver to turn around.”

I fidgeted under his gaze, praying the dark sky offer him no light. “I'm not leaving you like this,” he whispered fiercely, handing me the umbrella. “Wait here.”

He jogged away. Moments later, his car screeched to a stop in front of me. He rushed out and helped me to the back of his car.

The heat blasting from his car hit my damp skin. I shivered. “God, Char, you’re soaking wet.” he pulled his suit jacket, draping it over my body. “What were you thinking?”

I let my eyes fall shut, my head falling into the cushion as I snuggled into his jacket. The truth was I wasn’t thinking. I was tired of thinking.

The sound of the engine revving lulled me into nothingness. 

“Char?” his voice pulled me back. “What’s going on?”

I caught his gaze in the rearview mirror, flinching at the pity in his eyes. “Nothing. Just the same old me… seeking attention,” I replied and tried to deflect the topic from me. “What were you doing in the house?”

“Your father called. Said he needed some advice on an investment he’s about to take.” He took his eyes off the road, staring at me. “Where’s Christian?”

I shrugged, too tired to make up a lie.

“I can’t believe he let you leave the house in this condition… by yourself. You look ready to kneel over,” his jaw tense. “I still don’t get what you see in him, Char.”

Same here. But my heart has always been his. Always. 

“I love him,” I said weakly.

“No, you don’t, Charlotte,” he replied fiercely. “You’re just stuck in your fantasies. Maybe it’s high time you return to the real world.”

The car stopped, and I jerked upright. My heart clenched with pain as I caught sight of the iron-wrought gate of my house closing. I almost begged him to take me elsewhere. Anywhere.

“Don’t open the door,” Jace ordered, already halfway out of the car. “I’ll get it for you.”

I did as he ordered, leaning on him as he helped me out. My head snapped up, and my eyes locked with the man standing at the entrance of the house.

Christian. What was he doing back here? He was clear this morning about his absence. My heart skipped. Did something happen to her?

He helped me to the landing. “Thank you, Jace,” I said, planting a light kiss on his cheek. “Truly.”

“You’re welcome,” he returned my kiss, glaring at Christian as he released me. “Call me if you need anything. Anytime.”

I nodded and started towards the man who was the bane of my suffering. Something flitted through his eyes as I drew close. Something so sharp, I did a double take, my body slowly heating up with anger.

What right did he have to look at Jace with anger? Like he was jealous.