Charlotte’s povI was studying a red dress –slinky, low-cut, the sort of thing designed to fathom depths when I saw a man with a woman glancing at me.He was definitely married, conversing with a woman not his wife, helping her decide which dress to buy. I knew she wasn’t his wife–too young, too loud.Until I saw his hand.A circle.Wed.Even better. He was married.He looked up and saw me. Our eyes locked. He kept looking.I smiled.He smiled back, and then… he did something daring.He blew me a kiss. I raised an eyebrow and smirked. Bold. Very bold.I looked at the dress in my hands then back at him.He pointed towards the changing room. First curtain at the right corner. I understood.I nodded slightly.And I, myself, walking over.Waited within the changing room.It smelled of new cloth and heavy perfume. The music playing in the shop was low. My heart pounded fast, but not out of fear. Out of… excitement.I heard the sound of a curtain sliding to one side.He walked in. He did
Edward’s povI was standing in the hallway, just outside the boardroom.My hands were on my hips. My eyes were squeezed shut. I was gritting my teeth.I still felt all the eyes of the board members burning holes in my back.I wanted to scream.She had done it again.Charlotte.How could she come into my office like that? With that goddamn outfit on. Was I as crazy?She looked liens hooker.Like she's going to a private party or something?I forced myself to open my eyes and look down at the floor. My heart was pumping, I was trying not to get excited, but I couldn't help it, my blood was too hot.I had important things to do—mergers, meetings, deadlines.But now the whole board thought I was a bad fucking joke. A man who couldn’t even deal with his own life.I heard a small voice beside me. It was my assistant, Jason.He held a file, but he seemed more nervous than he usually was."Sir, are you alright?" he asked cautiously.I didn’t reply, just shook my head and took a deep breath.
Charlotte’s povI came back from the bar after meeting with Dr. Lennox. I was feeling good. I had done what I needed to do. He would listen to me sooner or later. He always did.But as I entered the house, my good mood quickly dropped.Edward was at the front door, already dressed for work. He was fixing his cufflinks. I saw his tie was a little crooked, so I smiled and walked closer to him.“Let me help you,” I said gently, reaching for his tie.I tried to straighten it, just like I used to. Just like a wife would.But Edward stepped back.He didn’t say a word.He didn’t even look at me.He just moved past me, opened the door, and walked out.The door closed behind him.I stood there frozen, my hand still in the air.That feeling… I hated it. Like I was invisible. Like I meant nothing.I slowly put my hand down and walked back inside. My heart was racing. Not because I loved him. No. I didn’t even know what love was anymore.But I hated being ignored.I hated being treated like I was
Edward’s pov“Couldn’t sleep either?” she asked.I said nothing for a time. I poured another drink and drank it off and put the glass down.Then I walked and sat at the edge of the table.“I need to ask you something,” I said, my voice low.She stared at me, her eyes searching for an answer.“Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you tell me I had a daughter?”Charlotte blinked slowly. “I was going to,” she said.I shook my head. “When? Three years passed, Charlotte. You had a baby. My baby. And you just left with her. How could you do that?”“I didn’t mean to,” she said. It was impossible to read her voice—flat, somehow.“What do you mean, you didn’t mean to?”I asked again, slower. I felt a tension in my chest; I made an effort not to shout.Charlotte looked down at her hands. Then she sighed.“I was going through a lot,” she said. “After I found I was pregnant… everything was crazy. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how you’d react. You were still with Eloise back then. And
Edward’s povI knelt in front of her. “What’s your name?”She glanced at me with timid suspicion. “Carmen.”Her voice was quiet. She gave off a strange accent, it felt like she had lived in a lot of different places.“Hi, Carmen,” I said slowly. “Do you know who I am?”She nodded a little. “Mommy said you are daddy.”My heart did something strange. It skipped a beat. It was burdened with a tender ache and felt warm at the same time. I took a glance at Charlotte, and she was beaming like an idiot.I got to my feet. “Come on. The car’s here.”The hospital was quiet. When we got there, Doctor Lennox was in his private office. He stood up when I came in and shook my hand, thn smiled at the child."This must be Carmen, " he said.She nodded and sat down on the chair beside Charlotte.“Let's get started.” The doctor spoke.He told us what he was going to do and then made the test happen. He got something that looked like a long Q-Tip and he wiped it gently on the inside of Carmen’s mouth
Edward’s pov I arrived at a small park not too far from my house. It was quiet there. A few people were sitting on benches. Birds flew over the trees. I went to a bench in the corner and sat.I held my head in my hands with streams of thoughts going wild, Was the baby really mine?The other child hadn’t been there, had it? Was she lying, telling the truth or was it another one of her games?I had thought about that night. The drinking game. I hadn’t remembered much. Just laughter. Drinks. Her smile. Then blackness. Danm, that was so fucking stupid.Why did I put my walls down when I knew better?How could I let her back in? I thought to myself. She knew exactly what she was doing. She had planned it all. And now, she used the situation to get me trapped. Once more.But what if it actually was?What if I did have a daughter out there somewhere? What if there was a child, my child, that I had never seen?What kind of father was I being?And now this… a second pregnancy?I sat there