CHARLOTTEI couldn't shake the feeling of unsettledness that settled on me since I had the dream, but Nathan was convinced that it was just that—a dream.I knew it was more than that.It was as though I had developed a sixth sense, and my mind was in turmoil as I tried to decipher what the dream meant.Who could mean us harm? We had dealt with all loose threads. Right?I considered the matter repeatedly, but when I could not reach a conclusion, I decided to forget about it.Like Nathan said, maybe that was all it was—a dream, nothing more.School resumed, and Charles came back home.We quickly settled into a routine with Nathan driving Charles to school in the mornings and sometimes leaving work to bring him back home in the afternoons.Charles had adapted quickly enough to having Nathan as a father, and I couldn't be more happy.I was on the sofa, reading a novel, when the door opened, and the duo walked in.Nathan was laughing at something Charles was saying, but immediately, my son
CHARLOTTE“Petty,” Nathan said coldly, pulling away from the strange woman’s embrace.His face was tight with disgust when he said again, “Petty. Meet my wife, Charlotte,”The strange woman, or Petty as Nathan called her, turned to me.She scrunched her nose in distaste, eyes roaming as she took me in.The way she looked at me made my skin crawl, and when she was done looking, she turned back to face Nathan.She ignored me, like I wasn’t there, and placed her hand on Nathan's arm in a possessive manner, her red nails gripping tight.I gritted my jaw, fighting the urge to yank her away from my husband.If I did that, I would most likely cause a scene, and I didn’t want that after what had just happened.Besides, I didn’t know who this woman was to Nathan. She could be a business associate, and my behavior could impact him negatively.Again, I didn’t want that.“Nathan, darling. How are you?”“What do you want, Petty?” Nathan answered her with a question of his own.“I just came to say
CHARLOTTEI held onto Nathan's hand on the drive home, guilt crashing into my chest.“I'm so sorry,” I whispered, and Nathan glanced questioningly at me before focusing on the road.“For?”“For…you know, the conflict.” I cleared my throat and continued, “It was my fault that you got into an argument. Both times. First with the waitress and then with the siblings. Especially the siblings,” I finished.I hated Julian's insults toward him, and my heart broke at how hateful those words were.Nathan squeezed my hand gently.“It's alright, baby. You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. That family is crazy, anyway,” his tone was light, with none of the lingering hardness or resentment I’d heard earlier.“What's the deal between Julian and Petty, by the way? They look nothing like siblings, and you called her an adopted princess,” I asked.My curiosity had gotten the best out of me, even though I knew I should not pry into other family matters.But it was Nathan, and I knew he would ind
CHARLOTTE“Honeymoon? What do you mean?”I jerked upwards, sparing Nathan a questioning look, but he just grinned at me.He was obviously enjoying my curiosity.I looked around again to confirm, thinking he was joking, but he wasn’t.We truly were on a plane—a jet.“I'm sorry, not sorry, that I didn't tell you earlier. I wanted to make it a surprise,” he said softly. His words sent an excited tingle through me, but I didn't let it show.I loved the surprise and his thoughtfulness, but I pasted a mock frown on my face, trying to look annoyed.“A surprise by kidnapping me?” my lips twitched at the words, and he caught the amusement on my face. My smile broke out the same time his did, and we grinned at each other.“Yeah. Kidnapping is fun, isn't it?” He teased. I rolled my eyes at him and leaned back in my seat.“What about Charles?”“I settled things with him. He's staying with Noah until we get back,”“Wow!” I exclaimed.The thought of going on a trip — our honeymoon — made me giddy,
CHARLOTTEAfter Leo left, I continued enjoying my time on the beach.I closed my eyes and was about to drift into a mild daydream when a piercing scream broke through my trance.I sat up, and my eyes scanned the beach. Someone was screaming.Terrified, I stood up.Whoever it was, whoever made that heart-wrenching sound, I needed to find them. I saw a group of people pointing toward the beach and followed their gaze.I saw a head bobbing in the water, searching for anything to avoid drowning.The person was a woman, as evidenced by her long hair. Before I could talk myself out of it, I jumped into the sea, pumping my hands as I swam to her.I soon got her and quickly dragged her out of the water. She was sobbing quietly with relief, and as I turned to face her, I realized something.The woman was beautiful.She looked so…breathtaking even as she bawled her eyes out, and something in my heart ached as I stared at her.Someone called my name, and I broke my gaze away from the woman to se
NATHANApart from the little interruption on the first day of our honeymoon, we spent the rest of our time here in bliss.Charlotte loved the beach so much that she spent every waking moment on it.When I finally convinced her to come home, we spent a lot of passionate time together.I took particular delight in satisfying her sexually, and in return, she made lots of sumptuous meals that blew my mind.We fell into a routine, and it was so peaceful that we didn't want it to end. But it did.Days later, we packed our bags and flew back home.As I lay on the bed, Charlotte's body was warm against mine. As she read a book, a notification popped up on my phone screen.It was a wedding invite from a business colleague, and though I didn't enjoy parties, I knew Charlotte would love to attend.“Sweetheart. Would you like to attend a wedding ceremony with me?” I asked, and her head snapped away from the book at my words.“Oh, my goodness. Yes, please. I've been so bored for a while now,” she
CHARLOTTENathan had gone to fetch drinks, and I was people-watching at the wedding lounge when Selina found me.“Charming as always, my dear,” she raised her glass of wine at me in a compliment, and I giggled. “Thank you, ma’am. You too.”She raised her eyebrows at me at the formality.“Come on now. Please don't go all formal on me. Call me Selina.”“If you insist,” I conceded. We stared at the people dancing and talking and said nothing for a while.While Selina might have approached me to chat, the silence between us was too heavy to dismiss. I knew she had something in mind.“So, if you don't mind me asking, who are your parents?”The question would have made me uncomfortable in the past, with my history and spending time in prison.But my time with Nathan had softened the edges, and while my husband would certainly not be happy about me opening up to this woman, I felt a certain kind of peace around Selina.She made me feel warm as if she might accept me for who I was.It was str
CHARLOTTEI tried not to let the information of Anna’s release rattle me as we drove home. While I didn't grow up with her. she was still my mother.We were not close, and she didn't even try to know me.She also didn't stand to defend me in court during my trial, so there was no love between us.Now, what could she possibly want?When we got home, she stood at the gate and followed when the gate opened to usher us in.Without a word, Nathan gestured for all of us to go inside.“Hi, Mom.” My throat felt coarse as I said this. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”She took a deep breath and smiled.“Hello, Charlotte. It's been a while. I missed you and just wanted to see my daughter,” she said warmly.My heart started to race in my chest. She looked so genuine, so happy to see me.Maybe she had no other motive.Maybe she really did miss me and wanted to see me. I smiled back at her, and she reached out to hold my hand.We made small talk, with Nathan hovering between us. He didn't say anyt
CHARLOTTETHREE MONTHS LATERToday was my wedding day. As I walked down the hall towards my husband, my eyes watered, lips stretched into a smile.I took one step after another, and my mind flashed back to the day he officially proposed to me.*“Come on, get ready. I want to show you something,” Nathan said as he tugged me out of bed.I frowned.I had been feeling sluggish today and wasn't particularly interested in going out.Besides, I wanted to finish the romance novel I was reading, but Nathan didn't budge as he tugged me up.“I promise it will be worth your time. Please?” he pouted, and I laughed at his cute appearance.I gave in and got dressed.He waited patiently for me, and since it was almost dusk, I decided to wear a beautiful strapless gown he got for me the other day.Nathan whistled as he took in my appearance.“I don't know where we are going though. Is this alright?” I asked, and Nathan just nodded.“You're perfect. Come on, let's go.”Nathan was in a perfectly good m
NATHANI met Lucy the day after Charlie found her, and she explained everything she knew.Lucy explained how sad and heartbroken my mother was and how she tried to hide all of her broken feelings from me.She told me how my father and his wife, Melina, killed my mother to take over the company, which was rightfully hers.When my parents got married, my mother was just the rich daughter of rich parents. But after her parents' death, the company automatically passed to her.I guess that was when William started to abuse her.As her husband, he had rights to the company, but my mother held all the power.The company was to be mine when I came of age, but William and Melina killed my mother and took over, making me a CEO while still having the company in their grasp.I thanked Lucy profoundly for agreeing to talk to me.She permitted me, so I recorded all the information and took it to the police as evidence.William was arrested, along with his wife, Melina.My father was furious that I
NATHANThe sun rose before us, and I was still sleepy when the doorbell rang. I frowned as I glanced at the time.It was seven in the morning.Who could be at our doorstep this early?I groaned at the relentless ringing, and Charlotte's body became aware of mine.She opened her eyes and met my gaze, a smile on her lips. My heart skipped a beat as she smiled at me.She was so gorgeous, damn. Her smile, sleepy eyes, and messy hair made my head flutter, and I leaned in to kiss her.“Good morning,” I whispered. She nuzzled against me.“Good morning. I thought I heard the doorbell ringing,” she yawned as she sat up.As if on cue, the doorbell rang again.Charlotte wrapped a robe around her body, and we padded to the living room to see who it was.I asked her to step back while I opened the door.It was a delivery man.Several delivery men.The one closest to me glanced up at me before looking back at his clipboard.“Hello. Is this Ms. Charlotte's residence?” he asked, and Charlotte walked
CHARLOTTEWe spent some time with my new family, and when it got late, we decided to leave.Selina was sad to see us go. She tried to get us to stay overnight, but we told her we would come and visit her soon.Besides, we needed to get home for Charles.The drive home was silent. Nathan was focused on the road, and I kept thinking about what happened.I recalled the day's events, from the hospital visit to the massive feast, and almost combusted from the emotions running through me.By the time we got home, I was still too shell-shocked to speak, and Nathan embraced me.“You've been quiet, my love. Are you alright?” his brows were furrowed with worry, and I rested my head on his chest before I answered.“I'm fine. I am. I just can't…it's so hard to believe,” I said softly.“What is?” he asked.I had a feeling he knew what I was talking about, but he needed me to say the words, to articulate them, so that I could better understand myself.“That I finally found my new family. And they'r
CHARLOTTENathan held me for a long time, and we stayed in the restroom.During this time, I reflected on the reason I’d come here in the first place.The dawning news of my new family—my new beginning, my new home.My chest constricted, and in seconds, tears filled my eyes.I had a mother now.The thought hit me suddenly, so unexpectedly, and the first sob left my lips.A mother.One who loved me.I remembered our encounters and how warm she made me feel, how she laughed with me, how she made me feel at peace.I remembered our connection and the ease with which she related to me.I remembered our shopping spree and how she convinced me to play dress-up. I remembered us laughing at our ridiculous dresses and how beautiful they were.Selina loved me right from the first day we met at the beach.The sob turned into full-fledged tears.Nathan patted me on the back, saying nothi
CHARLOTTEA few days later, Selina called me to inform me that the DNA test results were ready.Nathan drove my nervous self to the hospital.When we got there, we saw Selina outside. She was bouncing on the tips of her legs and immediately embraced me when she saw me.“Hi, Selina. Shall we go in now?” I asked, but the older woman shook her head negatively.“Oh, there's no need for that, my darling. I already got the results. Here, see for yourself,” she said, handing a document to me.My heart pounded, and my hands shook slightly as I opened the document.I gasped when I saw it, tears springing into my eyes.I was Selina's daughter.Selina was my biological mother.A sob escaped my throat as I read the confirmation over and over.After all these years of searching, all these years of misconceptions and lies.After all these years of suffering, of paying for a crime she didn't
CHARLOTTEWhen I returned home, I couldn’t stop thinking about Julian's comment about Nathan's company.Julian had hinted about Nathan losing everything he worked for.What did that mean?Was someone trying to overthrow him? I wanted to call him, but I didn't.He had already started work today, so if something were wrong, he would deal with it.Right?Nathan was competent. So I did not need to worry.I paced for a while, then decided to do something to distract myself from overthinking.It had been a while since I baked, so I went to the kitchen and arranged some ingredients.The worry in my body eased as I kneaded the dough, and I relaxed.I got into a rhythm, losing myself in the chore. My body moved fluidly, the motions as natural as breathing, and as I baked, I sang.I soon lost track of time.Nothing else mattered outside the bubble I was in except for my dough and my song.I
NATHANI was on my way to the office when my phone rang. It was a strange number, and I was reluctant to pick it up.But my instincts told me it must be someone important, so I picked up the call.The call was from the city’s prison, and I frowned when the warden told me an inmate wished to speak with me.Who could it possibly be?I waited as the warden handed the phone to whoever it was, and immediately, I heard the familiar tenor of Sophie's voice; I wanted to hang up.“Before you do anything, I want you to please listen to me,” her voice was weak, and I could feel the rattling pattern of her breath.She didn’t sound very healthy.“And why should I listen to you?” I snapped.“Because the doctor said I'm dying, and I don't want to die with this weight in my chest. I need to see you, please,” she begged, coughing as she spoke.I said nothing as I hung up and parked t
CHARLOTTEI woke up in Nathan’s arms, happy and contented.The past few days were like heaven.Nathan spent every moment with me, spoiling me rotten.We went shopping, ate fancy courses at exquisite restaurants, attended posh and elegant parties, ate street food, and did everything we could think of.I nuzzled into him, not wanting to lose the warmth, when suddenly my phone buzzed on the bedside table, and I groaned.I wasn't willing to stand up yet, but the buzzing was insistent, and I sighed as I sat up and reached for the phone.It was Selina.The older woman was excited when I picked up her call, and I felt guilty for not wanting to pick up earlier.“I hope I'm not disturbing you?” she asked.“No, no. Not at all, Selina. Is there anything I can help you with?” I asked.“Oh. The thing is, I was wondering if you'd like to go shopping with me. I'm bored, and I don't want to go on my own.” I had a feeling that Selina was pouting as she spoke, and the image that came to my head at the