Chapter 2

After lunch, Benjamin went ahead to get the car. Charlotte and Nissa waited outside the restaurant, standing near the entrance in awkward silence.

Nissa stared quietly at the tips of her shoes, her mind elsewhere, when Charlotte suddenly spoke.

"Did you know Benjamin only married you out of spite?"

Nissa looked up slowly, then hesitantly nodded.

Charlotte tilted her chin, the gentle, graceful mask she wore in front of Benjamin now completely gone, replaced by open arrogance.

She continued coldly, "Then you must also know that he turned against his entire family for me. He said he'd never marry anyone but me."

Again, Nissa nodded, calm and emotionless.

Her quiet acceptance only irritated Charlotte more.

When she left the country months ago, she never actually meant to end things. She expected Benjamin to chase after her, to beg her to stay.

Instead, he ended up marrying someone else. A mute, no less!

Charlotte was never able to let that go.

She gritted her teeth behind a tight smile. This woman was a dumb, dull, and spineless woman. Benjamin had no feelings for her.

While Charlotte was still scheming how to win him back, a sudden, sharp pain ripped through her stomach. Her expression twisted in agony, and she collapsed to her knees.

Nissa panicked, crouching to help her, trying to ask what was wrong in a flurry of choked, voiceless sounds.

"What did you do to her? Get away from her!"

A sudden force yanked Nissa backwards, throwing her aside.

Her head slammed into something hard, and pain exploded across her forehead. Warm blood instantly trickled down her face.

Dazed, she looked up, just in time to see Benjamin cradling Charlotte in his arms, worry etched deep into his normally impassive face.

Charlotte whimpered through tears, complaining about her stomach.

Without a word, Benjamin swept her off her feet and rushed her to the car, disappearing down the road in a blur of tires and panic.

Nissa sat frozen on the pavement, her fingers pressed against the gash on her forehead, watching the car speed away. Like trash, she was cast aside.

She stared blankly in the direction they had vanished. For the first time, she saw Benjamin show real emotion.

He was always cold, distant. But for Charlotte, he could panic. He cared.

A quiet, bitter smile curved her lips.

She called a cab and went to the hospital alone.

Thankfully, the doctor told her the injury was not serious and that she would be fine after a few days of rest. That was a relief.

When she left the ER, she bumped right into Benjamin coming back from the pharmacy with Charlotte's medication.

His eyes flicked to the bandage on her forehead. He frowned slightly.

"The doctor said it was acute gastroenteritis. It had nothing to do with you."

Nissa forced a small, strained smile. Of course, it had nothing to do with her.

So he thought she might have hurt Charlotte? Out of jealousy?

She tried to explain with gestures, to tell him she was not jealous. Maybe a little envious, from a distance, but that was all.

Benjamin, however, did not care to decipher her signing.

"I'll buy you a bag or something," he said dismissively, "let's just put this behind us."

And with that, he turned and walked away with the medicine, never looking back.

Still, she followed him. She needed to clear the air. She needed him to understand.

She caught up outside the hospital room, only to find the door ajar.

Inside, Benjamin sat by the bed. Charlotte gazed at him with soft, longing eyes and then, slowly, leaned forward and kissed him.

Benjamin did not push her away.

Some time went by before Charlotte finally pulled back, her eyes darting subtly toward the door.

Startled, Nissa quickly shrank back from the crack in the door, heart pounding.

She clutched her chest, trying to ease the tight, aching feeling blooming there.

'It's okay,' she told herself, 'none of this matters.'

After all, she had already made up her mind to leave.

Even if Benjamin and Charlotte rekindled their love, it had nothing to do with her anymore.