Is Gideon hurting you?

I WANTED to excuse myself and run away. But it felt like my feet were rooted to the ground. I couldn't move. Even my heart felt like it had stopped beating for a moment. 

"Bianca..." Charlie greeted me with his familiar voice. 

I stared at him. His handsome face didn't change over the past five months that I hadn't seen him. 

"It's nice to finally meet you." He extended his hand to me. 

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I accepted his hand. "S-same here, Charlie."

My heart constricted when I tried to meet his eyes. His lips were smiling, but her chinky eyes… they were saying otherwise. They were cold and emotionless. 

"Mom said you're already pregnant," he said after letting go of my hand, his eyes drifting to my belly. I felt a shiver run down my spine. My heart started beating erratically inside my chest. 

"Congratulations, Bianca." 

"T-thank you."

His eyes went back to meet mine. This time, I looked away from him. I couldn't handle his stares. His cold and dead eyes were suffocating me. 

I couldn't blame Charlie for acting like this. Like we didn't know each other. Like I was a complete stranger to him. 

I deserved all of these. I've hurt him. I broke up with him over the phone. And that same day, I married his brother. 

"I'm sorry we’ve only met now," Charlie said. "I was in India for work."

"It's okay..." I could feel the tears starting to form in the corner of my eyes. I blinked them away as I tried to smile at Charlie. 

I didn't want Amelia to notice anything. Only Gideon knew about my past relationship with Charlie. 

"Oh, I already mentioned to Bianca that you're a travel photographer," Amelia said to his adopted son. "And that you're always out of the country. Well, good thing you finally managed to get home for my birthday, Charlie." Amelia slightly rolled her eyes. "You've been away for five months. I thought you'd already forgotten about your family." 

Charlie chuckled as he turned to Amelia. 

Oh. How I missed that laugh. 

"Aww... I missed you too, Mom. Don't worry, I'll stay here for a while."

"I… excuse me. I'll leave you two for now," I finally managed to say. "Macy asked me for a piece of cake."

"Sure, Bianca," Amelia smiled at me. 

I glanced at Charlie, who was now back with his cold expression. He nodded at me. 

I was forced to give him a small smile before I walked away from them. 

"What took you so long?" The kid asked me after I was back at our table. 

"I... I saw your Uncle Charlie," I muttered absentmindedly as I gave her a plate of dessert.

"Oh, you've met Uncle Charlie? He's so nice. He gave me a big Barbie collection for my birthday."

I didn't answer her. Instead, I picked up a glass of water in front of me and sipped it, trying to calm myself down. 

I had no idea that Charlie was already back. If I had known that I'd see him at this party, I would have pretended to be sick. I wasn't ready to face him. 

I could still remember the last time we talked. It was when Gideon forced me to break things off with Charlie. Everything felt like it happened yesterday. 

I clearly remembered how I broke his heart when I told him I was in a relationship with another man and was about to marry him. 

Then… after Gideon and I's wedding, the biggest shock came to me when I found out that Charlie was Gideon's adoptive brother. 

I looked away as I felt the corner of my eyes heating up. But then I saw Charlie. He was now talking to an old woman. I felt a needle pierce my heart as I saw Charlie smile. I had never once forgotten about him. Until now… I was still in love with him. 

Charlie was the best thing that happened to me. 

Until Gideon entered the picture and ruined everything for me. 

I remembered Charlie had promised me that he would introduce me to his family when he came back from India. But that didn't happen.

And now, I am stuck in this hellhole. 

"Bianca, can I have that thing?" 

Macy poked my arm and pointed at the roaming waiter near us. She was pointing at the tray of caviar the waiter was holding. 

I suddenly felt nauseous just by the sight of it. 

"No. That's not for kids."

"You okay? You look like you're about to cry."

"I n-need to go to the restroom." I placed a hand on my mouth as I excused myself from her. I went to a dark corner of the garden and vomited everything I had eaten earlier that day.

This is the first time my stomach got upset over the sight of food. 

"Bianca, are you okay?" 

I felt my body stiffen when a familiar voice filled my ears. It was… Charlie. What is he doing here?

I slowly looked up and I found him in front of me. 

"Here. Clean yourself up." He handed me a white handkerchief. His voice was cold... but his eyes were filled with something. 

It took me a moment before I accepted it. "T-thank you. What are you doing here?" I felt nervous as he watched me wipe my mouth with his handkerchief. 

I could feel my heart starting to beat faster. Did he follow me here? 

"I saw you running away with your hand on your mouth. I thought something was wrong, so I followed you."

I clenched the white cloth in my hand. "I just… felt upset with the smell of caviar."

"Caviar?" His eyes slightly slanted. "That's your favorite, right?" 

I cleared my throat. "Well, not anymore. My… baby hates it." 

His eyes drifted to my belly. "Mom says you're four months pregnant. Is that true?" 

This time, I felt like my heart stopped beating for a second. I swallowed. 

"Yes," I said, in my most casual voice. "I'm four months pregnant with Gideon's child."

Charlie's eyes found mine. "Is it really Gideon's, Bianca?" he asked, his dark orbs boring into mine. 

"W-what are you talking about, Charlie?" I muttered, my lips parted in disbelief. "Of course, this is Gideon's." 

He couldn't know that this child was him and not Gideon. 

I'm sorry, Charlie. But this is both for our own good. 

"Excuse me. I need to go back," I said before I walked past him. I needed to avoid him. At all costs. 

"Bianca, wait." He stopped me by grabbing my arm. I was forced to turn my head on him. 

"What's this?" Charlie's dark eyebrows were now crossed in one line. His eyes were on my wrist. 

"You have a bruise," he said, his thumb touching the red mark on my skin. 

I took my hand from him. "Don't touch me, Charlie."

I looked at him and was welcomed by Charlie's sharp eyes. His lips were almost in a grim line. "Is Gideon hurting you, Bianca?" 

My lips parted. "N-no. Of course not. He could never do that to me."

"Then why do you have that bruise?"

I swallowed as I touched my left wrist with my thumb. I wanted to walk away and ignore his question, but I knew that would make him doubt me even more. 

"This is none of your business, Charlie. But to answer you… I had this last night… when Gideon and I had sex. Your brother and I… we both liked it hard."

Charlie's eyebrows crossed in one line. "You both like it hard? But you're pregnant, Bianca," he muttered in a cold voice, not believing me for a bit. 

He looked me in the eyes. His sharp eyes were piercing through my soul. I could hear my heart wanting to get out of my body. 

His face softened a bit. "Your eyes… they're telling me you're lying. Be honest with me, is Gideon hurting you?" 

I opened my mouth to answer... but then I closed them again when I saw Gideon walking towards us. 

"What are you doing here with my wife?"