CHARLOTTEWhen I opened my eyes the next morning, I knew the meeting with Thiago I was hoping for wouldn’t happen, and this time it wasn’t because I was averse to seeing him. My body ached in places I didn’t know existed; it was hard to move without groaning in pain.“What’s happening?” I said and placed a palm on my head to feel my temperature.The room started to spin, and my mouth instantly became dry, leaving a bitter aftertaste when I swallowed. I sighed at how warm my forehead felt and tried to sit up, but my body had plans of its own. It had decided we weren’t leaving that spot any time soon. I let my hands fall onto the sheets and shook my head. What a way to start the morning.I chuckled at the irony of everything— now that I was willing to see Thiago so I could ignore the thoughts that were on a loop in my mind; I had fallen ill. I looked around for my phone and realized it had fallen on the floor.I contemplated calling Sonia but decided against it. She’d be here soon and wo
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CHARLOTTEI wasn’t feeling any better the next day, and I knew I had to get medication, but I neither had the energy to move from one place to another, nor could I bring myself to pick up my phone to call for help. I lay in bed for over twenty minutes, wondering why my body had chosen this moment to give in to illness.“I guess we can’t have it all,” I muttered, trying to sit up, but my limbs ached as I tried to move them. I sighed and looked around the room. Sonia would be over soon, and I knew she’d want to get a nurse, but for some reason, I didn’t want her to.I couldn’t quite wrap my head around why, but somewhere at the back of my mind, I felt I had neglected something regarding my health. I wanted to be the first to find out what it was before anyone else. I forced myself to sit up despite the pain in my joints, exhaling slowly. The room began to spin as I rested my back against the wall and tried to relax.I heard my phone ringing and started looking around for it, only to rea
CHARLOTTEWhen I opened my eyes, the sun cast a warm glow on the windowsill, and the curtains were closed. I sighed and placed a palm against my forehead to check my temperature. It felt considerably better than the last time I checked; the headache had also stopped. As I looked around the room, I realized that someone had tidied up the place. It wasn’t particularly messy the previous day, but it was easy to tell that someone had picked up items that had been in odd places and put them where they belonged.Another sign of this was my phone, which had been placed on the bedside table. I tried to sit up, panicking at the thought of my body aching if I moved, but I managed it anyway. When I realized the pain wasn’t as bad as I’d anticipated, I sighed in relief and leaned back to rest. As I sat in the quiet room, the silence allowed the thoughts I had buried deep down to rise to the surface, and I realized that, in the midst of everything that had been happening, I was lucky to have Sonia
CHARLOTTE“You should rest a bit; you’ll need…” she started, reaching for the bowl. I readily handed it to her and shifted my weight, trying to find a more comfortable spot.“I think I’ve had enough time to rest,” I interrupted. “I’m tired of lying in bed. I need to…” I continued, but she held up a finger.“The only thing you need to do is stay in bed; you’re not strong enough for any other activity,” she interjected, and I shrugged.“Well, we had a deal. I do what I want today, and afterward, you can call the doctor,” I reminded her. She started to say something, then stopped.“All right,” she said instead. “What would you like to do?”“I need to get to the supermarket,” I started and smiled weakly as she stared at me with a confused expression. “Then a walk around the city would be nice,” I finished, and she chuckled.“Going to the supermarket, yes. No walks. You can barely sit up; I’m not letting you drag your weak body from one corner of Los Angeles to the other,” she replied in a
ROGERIOIt would be easier to categorize whatever I was feeling at this point under having “cold feet” regarding the wedding, but that wouldn’t be entirely true. Since my conversation with Maria and other interactions with Elena, I have been subconsciously comparing my experience with both women.Being with Charlotte was undoubtedly a marriage of convenience; there was a spark somewhere in the beginning of the relationship. At least she liked to think it was something tangible at the time, but as much as I didn’t want to admit it, being with Elena was different. It felt unreal. Every time we spoke, every time she complained about the marriage preparations, I wondered if there was an angle to it.Since the divorce, my life had become a cycle of asking questions I didn’t have the answers to. Marrying Elena had always been the plan, if she hadn’t left when she did. Our relationship would’ve blossomed or withered; either way, I wouldn’t be at this crossroads, wondering if it was better to
CHARLOTTEConvinced and slightly relieved that I had nothing to hide from Sonia, I let her call the doctor the next day. He ran a few tests, sent some samples to the lab, and assured me that he could tell I was doing better than the last time we had seen each other. He concluded that what I was feeling was probably linked to mental stress. Sonia and I passed a knowing look between us when he mentioned that.I toyed with the idea of telling him that two people had died because they tried to help me, and I still wasn’t sure how to process that. Instead, I asked what I could do to alleviate the stress. He suggested relaxing or doing things that made me feel happy. Sonia started to say something, but I spoke before she did. “Does that include dates? I have someone I need to see this weekend,” I said slowly and heaved a sigh as my throat felt sore.“Yes, you should feel a lot better then. If you don’t, we’ll have to get you to the hospital, maybe see a therapist?” he answered and turned to
CHARLOTTEThe weekend arrived faster than I’d envisioned, but for the first time, I didn’t feel anxious about meeting Thiago. If anything, I was happy to be out of the house, and the activity we had planned seemed like a great distraction from everything that had been happening. Sonia had spent most of the week in the apartment, making sure I had something to eat and that I was well-rested.When the nurse arrived, she was impressed by how much had changed compared to the reports she’d read. My headaches were gone, and while I still felt a dull pain in my joints, I knew it would be gone soon. Today we were going shopping for a new dress since Thiago and I were going to an exhibition tomorrow, and he was already on his way to Los Angeles.“Can’t I just stay home and wear something from my wardrobe?” I asked as Sonia stood behind me, debating what to do with my hair.She shook her head. “I’m sure the clothes you have in your closet are great, but no… You’ll want something new for this, a
CHARLOTTENo matter what I did, my mind always wandered to the picture of Thiago and me. I couldn’t place the feeling I had upon seeing it, but I knew that the night he had taken me home, I saw him take out his phone to do something.I had been drunk from the party and thought it was just a fuzzy memory at the time, but the more I thought about it, the clearer it became. Thiago had taken a picture of me, and then he had taken another of both of us.I could bet that in both pictures, I had been too inebriated to stop him.That was in the past now. The question that lodged itself at the back of my mind was, why?I desperately wanted to confront him about it, but I knew it was neither the time nor the place to do so. There were more pressing issues at hand, and I needed to attend to those first.We had gone through the gifts that had been sent earlier, and just when we thought it was over and things had quieted down, more gifts poured in.It irritated me as much as it fascinated me. I ha
ELENAThe day was going better than I had anticipated, and I hoped nothing would change that. I hadn’t spoken to Rogerio in a while, and quite frankly, my mental health had improved.I was still annoyed about being stood up at the church, that was a grudge I intended to carry for the rest of my life. If he wanted me to feel what it was like to be made a fool in front of everyone, he had succeeded.But now, it was time to stop playing games and actually set another date for the wedding.He seemed reluctant to do that, and it made me angrier by the minute, at least until Keisha suggested we take a trip out of Milan for a few days. She had some business to attend to in Mauritius and felt that a change of scenery would do me a lot of good.I reluctantly agreed but asked for two days to put some things in place. When I was certain that everything I wanted was going according to plan, I packed a few bags, and we left on her husband’s private plane. Well… it was hers now. He was dead, and ev
ROGERIOWe made our way to the hospital, where Maria had been admitted. Finding it wasn’t the hard part. That was public knowledge at this point. Getting in, on the other hand... now that was something else.If I wasn’t already angry enough, I could feel my frustration tipping over as the nurse at the reception desk shook her head.“I’m sorry, sir, but we can’t give out information to non-family members.”I looked at her like she had grown an extra head, resisting the urge to ask if she knew who she was speaking to. Somehow, I had a feeling that even if she did, it wouldn’t change anything.There were still institutions where my family’s influence meant nothing, especially in cases like this, but I decided to give it a try.“What do you mean, ‘non-family members?’ The incident happened at my estate. I practically grew up there with Maria as my caregiver. If anyone should be on that list, it should be me. Please check again. The name’s Rogerio. Rogerio Thuthai,” I said.She sighed. “I
ROGERIOElena and I hadn’t spoken since the argument she had at my house, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.The picture I had picked up when she stormed out was still with me; it currently lay on my office desk and distracted me from all the work I had planned to do that day.I longed to ask her how she had gotten a picture of Charlotte, but given the current circumstances, that wasn’t a question she’d like to answer.I had a feeling she’d turn the case around and say that I had come up with the picture to start an argument and make things worse by stating that it was probably the reason I didn’t show up at the church.My thoughts bounced all over the place. Each question I asked myself had an answer and a corresponding question that was left unanswered. I shook my head at how disorganized my thought process was and how confusing everything had become.“I have to get to the bottom of this. I have to know how she got this picture,” I mumbled over and over again as I th
CHARLOTTE“Hello, Maria,” I said as I pushed the door open and walked into the room. I had been waiting a long time to see her face, and the instant I had the opportunity to do so, I didn’t wait one second longer.I made sure things at the club were going as planned, entrusted the care of the business to Sonia’s hands, and left L.A. at the crack of dawn the next morning.Leaving the city I had run to for a fresh start and going back to a place I didn’t think I’d ever return to in a very long time filled me with apprehension. I wasn’t sure what to expect.Maria didn’t know I was coming for obvious reasons. The last thing I wanted was to make her worry about me, but this had to be done.This was my fight, and I had seen enough of what happened to people who got caught in the crossfire to know that I needed to be there to handle things myself.A part of me hoped I wouldn’t see Rogerio. I hadn’t thought about him in a while, and I was happy about it.I expected him to be married to his ne
CHARLOTTEI stood in that spot for a few minutes, thinking about what I had heard and wondering how to salvage the situation. I hated the feeling of helplessness that enveloped me as I contemplated the available options I had.It felt like I had been boxed into a corner with my hands tied, and all I could do was watch as things went south.There were a few things I had grown accustomed to loathing, and feeling like this was one of them. I had to do something to ensure everyone was safe, but there wasn’t much I could do from here. I glanced at the phone’s screen and realized I had spent more time than I had initially scheduled.Pressing the button to open the elevator doors, I stepped in and tried to push the image of Maria lying in a hospital bed out of my mind, but that proved futile.Her feeble voice and coughing fits were on a loop in my mind, and what made things worse was the fact that I could be of no help since I was far away. I started thinking about making a trip to Milan, bu
CHARLOTTEI spent the rest of the day ensuring everything was in place for Thiago to resume the following day. I had made up my mind to return to managing the club and had sent him a text to that effect.Being on the board meant I still had access to the firm, and if I ever needed to look through other files, I could do so with ease. I was delighted to return to the club and my office.This switch also meant that I would have time for other things, and I embraced it with open arms.When I finished for the day, I handed the reports to the secretary and exited the building. Sonia and the driver were waiting in their usual spot when I reached the parking lot.She seemed a little distracted, immersed in responding to someone through the walkie-talkie she occasionally hung on her belt. I chalked it up to work-related stress and decided not to ask if everything was alright. After all, if something was wrong, there wasn’t much I could do about it anyway.As the car pulled out of the lot, I p
CHARLOTTEAs expected, the pasta I had there was great, and the service was even better. I ordered extra meal packs for Sonia and the driver, who had refused to set foot in the diner but decided to stand watch outside while I ate.I also requested an extra pack for myself and some pastries to eat later in the day. When I stepped outside, I handed the packs to the duo, who gave me a confused look for a moment.Then the aroma of pasta wafted through the air, and Sonia gave a knowing smile. I walked away as they expressed their gratitude and matched my pace. The driver got into the car first while Sonia helped me with the door.As he started the ignition, I decided to go on one more trip, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it with people watching me, especially if those people were Thiago’s loyal staff. “I’d like to go somewhere else,” I said before I had the opportunity to change my mind.Sonia held the car door open and arched an eyebrow. “Where?”“It’s... private. But I’ll tell you w
CHARLOTTEI opened my eyes and glanced at the clock as sunlight ricocheted off the walls. The curtains had been pushed open, and an empty bottle of wine lay on the floor.My vision blurred as I tried to focus on the clock, and my eyes watered.I closed them and sighed, the day had come too soon. But to be fair, I had spent all night buried in things that reopened old scars.My thoughts shifted to the files I had been reading a few hours ago, and I pondered what to do with the information I had uncovered. As I considered my options, a dull throb settled in my head, but I didn’t move an inch from where I was lying.I had too much to think about, and a hangover headache was the least of my problems. I shook my head, chuckled a little, and decided to stick with the decision I had made earlier.There wasn’t much I could do anyway, I would simply be walking into more trouble than I bargained for, and that was the last thing I needed at this point in my life.I thought about my relationship