Charlotte’s hands were trembling. As she watched the events on the TV play out live from several miles away, she thought she would pass out.
Her husband, who had told her he was going for a business meeting was sitting and laughing with another woman, who he was apparently getting engaged to.The very beautifully dressed woman on TV pulled him closer him closer, and Charlotte felt her heart twist inside of her as she watched her husband kiss the other woman more passionately than he had ever kissed her throughout their two-year marriage.The TV remote fell out from her hands as they began to shake uncontrollably. She should put an end to the show as she couldn’t possibly bear to watch any more but she just couldn’t. There was a limit her fragile heart could take.Surely it had to be a joke, an advertisement or something. But she knew that wasn’t the case. Her husband was holding the woman and looking tenderly into her eyes like she was the most precious living being ever.She couldn’t remember the last time he looked at her, his wife that way.Charlotte didn’t know which hurt more. The fact that he looked happier with her, the fact that he had lied to her or the fact that she knew who the woman was.Who didn’t know Valerie White? She was the beautiful only daughter of Sir White, the owner of Jovy Group, the fourth largest empire in the state. Charlotte could not lie to herself anymore. She knew how obsessed her husband had been over Valerie even before their marriage.Tears filled her eyes as she cried out but no one could hear her in the lonely apartment she shared with her husband. She should not be surprised.. The signs had been there and she knew he would one day leave her, but not like this. Not now.How could he use her like this? Waste two years of her life just to go and propose to another woman behind her back. She had heard the rumors before but she ignored them. What other choice did she have? When her abusive husband stopped her from doing virtually everything.He kept her from seeing her family, from using the phone and even stepping out of the house. He had said it was for her good as the outside world was dangerous to her because of her asthma, but over time, each time she went against his will, he would beat her up and leave bruises all over her skin every single time. Now, she had no desire to ever fight back and was now a shadow of herself, always shaking and walking on eggshells so she wouldn’t cause him to flip.A feeling of anger suddenly surged through her. Anger for him and herself. He had turned her into a weakling who couldn’t do anything for herself, had wasted two years of her life and now humiliated her by dissolving their marriage without even telling her. But most of all, she was angry at herself because she had let him do these things to her.She had let him bring her to the middle of nowhere, a city where no one could reach her. She let him keep her from seeing her family and friends and even his family as well. She let him make her scared of everything, even if it placed her dignity and safety at risk.No. This was the last straw. He had hurt her enough but one thing he would never do was act like she didn’t exist. This had been his plan all along, to make sure she disappeared until no one remembered he had ever even been married in the first place.With a new resolve, she stood up and entered the room they shared together. She knew where he was and she would give him a piece of her mind. Charlotte couldn’t remember the last time she had stepped outside the house, but now it was time.Her first fear came after none of the clothes in the closet fit. How could they? When she never wore them. She finally put on the only one that managed to fit, although it was tight and didn’t flatter her body.Oh no. How could she show up like this? She asked herself, staring at her figure in the mirror. Would she not just humiliate herself and him?But from the room she could still hear the happy laughter they shared as they celebrated their engagement party on TV.Charlotte didn’t know what pushed her, but when she got to the door, she did not hesitate before taking a step outside. Her body began to shake again as the cool evening breeze hit her skin. She had not stepped out of the house in so long and it was even scarier than she remembered.That was not enough to deter her, though. She kept walking until she reached the major road before stopping a taxi and managing to tell him the address of engagement party.Trojan House was the same club where Jonah had asked her to be his wife, and now he was doing the same to another woman while she was still alive. She paid the driver his fare and walked into the building.There were hundreds of people in the club, more than the people that were shown on TV. She wasn’t sure she could do this. What would she even tell him? She would only end up making a fool of herself.Charlotte was just about to walk out and cry herself back home when she felt a pair of eyes on her. Looking up, her heart sank in her throat when she saw the couple sneering at her.Valerie walked up to her first and spun her around like she was something she planned to purchase.“Looks like the guinea pig has been let out of the pen,” she said and the people gathered around them laughed like it was the funniest joke in the world.“What are you doing here?” Jonah asked her as if her presence was nothing more than an unwelcome distraction.It was now or never. She had to find her voice.“We’re still married Jonah. What is the meaning of this?” Charlotte asked, struggling to keep her voice firm.The music stopped and now, all attention was on them.Charlotte wanted to disappear. This was all too much for her. The crowd that seemed to be closing in was making it impossible for her to breathe. She wasn’t sure she could make it another minute in here. Her entire body was shaking now. What had she been thinking? She shouldn’t have left the house. Jonah was right.She watched his face fall as sadness marked his features. Oh no. She had hurt him. She just wanted him back. She didn’t need him to be sad. No one else existed now, only both of them.“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she said, reaching out to touch him as more fear gripped her.He slapped her hand away.“How dare you?” He snarled at her, with murder in his eyes. “Haven’t you done enough? You’ve lied, manipulated and abused me for years and now I’m finally free, you won’t let me be. Leave now, before I call the cops.”Charlotte couldn’t believe her ears. He was the one who had lied, manipulated her, gaslit her, cheated, physically and verbally abused her for years but now he was confidently lying in front of all the guests who were now looking at her like she was a psychopath.“Jonah.” She choked out but he turned the other way.“Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced to the guests who swallowed up all his lies. “This woman has been obsessed with me for years. She lied that she was pregnant and forced me into a sham marriage to protect her. I never loved her, but she still forced the relationship. She is the reason why all my businesses failed. She wanted me to be with her and was scared I would leave if I became successful so she crashed everything until I became desperate and dependent on her. Now she won’t let me leave and finally have happiness.”Charlotte’s entire body was shaking now and her heart was pounding. He was lying blatantly, but who would believe her if she spoke up? The guests were throwing her dirty glances and she probably looked the part too.“No wonder she was desperate to have him,” one of the guests murmured. “She looks horrible. Who would ever want someone like that?”“No wonder we haven’t seen her in years,” another whispered.“She ruined his entire empire. What a heartless sociopath.”“Their marriage was even fake and now she’s trying to make him miserable again. Some people are just disgusting.”The voices clogged her head, each whisper worse than the last. Jonah’s figure blurred before her as she felt her body turn cold. She was breathing fast now, yet no air entered her lungs.She was not with her inhaler and her asthma had returned. The whole room was spinning and she was beginning to lose her balance, yet no one cared. She was the villain in everyone’s story.Maybe this was for the better. Her life was meaningless before and now she had no one, not even her family, it would go downhill from there. Maybe if she fell and choked to death, her worries would be over.She didn’t try to fight it this time as she lost her balance and plummeted to the floor.Upstairs in the control room of Trojan House, Xavier Roman watched the events going on from the cctv. There had been several reports of some sleazy men groping women and drugging their drinks as well as many other ugly characters he did not need to spoil the reputation of his club, so he was watching to see if he could catch one red-handed and teach them a painful lesson. Deep down however, Xavier knew that watching out for predatory behavior wasn’t his main reason for taking over supervision tonight, when he could have been doing anything else he wanted. Jonah was having his engagement party and although he had abruptly refused to go no matter how often he was asked, Xavier just had to watch it happen somehow. No one in the family truly wanted him there. They just needed to use his club as it was the most exclusive in the state and it was impossible to book an appointment there without his notice. He didn’t care that they didn’t want him though, as he had more important things to
Charlotte woke up from a dreamless sleep and tried to adjust her eyes to the brightness. She yawned and stretched, feeling more refreshed than she had been in so long. A little too refreshed, considering what had happened the day before. Her hands stopped mid-air as she took in her surroundings, a note of alarm ringing in her head when she couldn’t recognize the beautiful room she was in. Where was she? Her heart started to pound as she jumped out of the bed but when she did, she realized she was wearing a big T-shirt that didn’t belong to her. She froze. Who had undressed her? Her eyes widened when she realized she was wearing nothing underneath. The last thing she remembered was being humiliated and rejected by her college sweetheart, her husband who she had been married to for two whole years. How did she end up here? Had she been kidnapped? She heard a deep masculine voice coming from somewhere outside and she jumped to the other hidden side of the bed when the doorknob twis
“If you’re trying to joke with me it isn’t working,” Charlotte said to him, eyeing him warily after his last statement. “I don’t know you enough to want to joke with you,” he said with a set face that convinced her he was being completely serious. “When you get to know me, you’ll realize I’m a serious man with very limited time for jokes.” She swallowed when she noticed he was actually being serious. “But I don’t know you. I can’t possibly get married to you.” “I don’t know you either,” he shrugged. “That’s the whole idea.” “Marriage is supposed to be between two people who love and care for each other,” she said, hoping he would see reason. From the way he had said they were getting married, she didn’t think he was asking her permission. “Look how that turned out for you,” he said and her heart sank. “When one thing does not work, you look for an alternative.” “And in this case you’re the alternative? What makes you think you’re an upgrade from my husband?” She asked, wanting
He suddenly stilled when she looked up at him and took his hands off her like he had just realized he was holding her inappropriately. He went back to the chair he had been sitting down on and watched from a distance. “Let’s start afresh,” he said. “I’m Xavier and I’m here to make you an offer I hope you won’t refuse. I sent my men to bring you here after I ran a background check on you and discovered you had no one. I didn’t undress you like I said before. I had a maid do it, so no, I didn’t see you naked without your consent.” Every single word that came out of this man’s mouth was always crazy. He asked to start afresh, yet the things he had said did not calm her down, but only made her more confused. “How did you know all those things about me?” she asked, relaxing a little now she knew he hadn’t really taken advantage of her. She sincerely hoped he was telling the truth. “Like I said, I ran a background check on you,” he repeated, looking at her like she was the one who was c
Xavier groaned in frustration when he entered his room, angry at himself for messing things up. He wrongly assumed that once he threw the fact that he had more money than she could ever spend, she would happily oblige him and get married to him, but that had ended up getting her angry instead. What had he been thinking? He had basically kidnapped her and no matter what he explained, she would never see past that fact. His chance to finally mend his bad reputation had slipped out from his hands. Maybe it was for the best though. It was crazy to want to marry his nephew’s ex-wife. Sighing, he lifted his phone to call his assistant to take her back to her home, hoping she wouldn’t reveal any of this to the reporters who worked tirelessly to smear his name. There came a knock on the door. “Who is it?” He asked, as he dialed his assistant’s number. “It’s me, Charlotte,” came the faint reply from the door. He dropped the phone and breathed in. He would have to send her away himself.
Charlotte read the contract again and again, as she tried to come to terms with it. According to the piece of paper she was holding, their marriage would be by paper and name for the public only, unless they decided otherwise. “What does this mean?” She asked Xavier who had remained silent ever since they entered the marriage hall. “It means we won’t have to act like a married couple when there is no one around, unless we decide to.”“Oh,” she said, unable to imagine how she could willingly pretend to live this man in private. She wasn’t even sure she could do it in public. The rest of the contract was reasonable. She would follow him for every function, meeting or party he went to as his wife and plus one, and act the part, anything to convince onlookers they were truly married. In return, she would be paid handsomely. There was no specific payment given, but she didn’t feel comfortable asking in front of all the lawyers who had to be present to legalize this. As she signed the
“No,” Xavier Roman said when Charlotte appeared once again, wearing a new dress from the boutique. This was getting exhausting. All he did was sit down there comfortably and cross-legged, saying just one word while she had to struggle to fit into a new unnecessarily complicated dress each time he rejected the last one. “I’m tired,” she said, leaning against the wall. Not only was she tired, but she was greatly insecure. She had put on some weight from staying home all day in the past year and each time he rejected whatever she put on, she automatically assumed it had something to do with her weight. He watched her for a few moments, as if he wanted to ascertain if she was really tired of testing out those ridiculously expensive outfits or if she was just being lazy. He sighed as he came to a decision. “Fine. You can rest for five minutes and that’s it.” She took off the last outfit she had put on and wore the gown she had worn originally. Unlike the others, these one didn’t snatc
Charlotte ended up getting three more dresses which were just as expensive to complement the mauve one, in case of future outings. After seeing how quickly Xavier had been willing to part with his money, she now knew he wasn’t bluffing when he told her he was very generous with his money. “Are you hungry?” He asked her after they had been driving for some time and her stomach grumbled. Perfect timing. “A little,” she whispered, feeling embarrassed. “Alright then,” he said, thankfully not remarking on what just happened. “There’s a restaurant close by that has the best roast meals. What type of food do you like?” “Roast will be fine,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. She noticed his gaze go down to where her hands were and stay for a while before he eventually turned away. Why did the car suddenly feel so hot? When Xavier spoke of a restaurant that had roast meals, she had imagined a small and simple place with smoke everywhere. This establishment that looked so glass
“It’s time for bed, Caleb. Let’s go,” Charlotte told Caleb with her arms crossed over her chest, giving him no room to argue. “Just let me win this game…” he argued absently, more focused on the game he was playing on his iPad. “You’ve spent your extra fifteen minutes,” she said, taking the device out of his grasp. He frowned, but conceded in the end. “Fine.” As Charlotte tucked him into bed, she couldn’t imagine how the times had changed. It had been six months since Laura had been taken away, her parents had been released and since she had started running her own business. Caleb had started therapy again, and it had definitely worked. These days, he spoke so often and did whatever he wanted to do that it was hard to believe he had been the same mute boy from months ago. He had just turned four, but the topic of his birth mother never came up fortunately. He seemed to blend right in, just as sweet and annoying as any other four year old boy. “I love you mommy,” he wh
When Charlotte saw Jonah being led out by a prison ward officer, she froze and started to wonder what she had been so scared about. He looked nothing like he did before. He had slimmed down to an almost unrecognizable state and his face looked like he had permanently lost the ability to smile. He walked with the slouch of someone that had given up on life in general. Charlotte doubted that whatever he was going through had happened in that prison in such a short time. “You can wait for me,” Charlotte whispered to Carlos who reluctantly left her side when he understood. “Hi,” Jonah said when he was sitting opposite her. He tried to smile, but it ended up looking like a grimace. He couldn’t meet her eyes. “Hi,” she said simply. She couldn’t let him see she pitied him. “How have you been?” He managed to ask. “You look good.” She couldn’t say the same for him. “Why did you call me here, Jonah?” “Straight to the point like always, huh?” He said with something she suspec
Xavier could only relax comfortably when they were back on the jet and on their way back to California. He could finally let himself be convinced that his dream had been nothing more than that. It hadn’t been a sign of anything, because it had gone on perfectly with no dramatic appearances from anyone. Unfortunately, the thought of one day running into Laura again came often to him and disoriented him. However, he always pushed that possibility away to the back of his mind. He had run a background check on the psych ward Don had placed her and from his research, it was a very exclusive place, so her chances of leaving were lower than zero. It was like a madhouse for wealthy people to drop off their family members who had lost it through drug use of whatever means. Their security was so prioritized that it was practically impossible to get in or get out unless the very owner of the establishment permitted. There was also no possible way Laura could bribe anyone there. It was afte
“Xavier, wake up! Wake up!” The sound of the female voice calling out to him sounded so distant at first, but the hand violently shaking his shoulders brought him back to consciousness. He was breathing fast, as his eyes got accustomed to the light around him, his chest heaving rapidly. “Are you okay?” Charlotte asked him, peering into his eyes as she touched the sides of his face. He could see the fear in her eyes as she studied him. “Charlotte,” he whispered, holding her arms and wrapping her in a tight hug. She was alive, here in front of him. “You’re alive.” “Yeah,” she said uncertainly, hugging him back. “Did anyone kill me?” She asked with a chuckle. He finally pulled out of the hug and glanced around. They were still in the jet, on their way to Orlando. He had just had a bad dream. “Where’s Caleb?” He asked. “Right here,” she said, pointing at a part of the jet where a small makeshift bed had been made for Caleb to lie on. “Is everything okay?” “Yeah,
After bidding Kate and her family goodbye, Xavier and Kate had to take the journey back, while consoling Caleb, who couldn’t understand why the twins had to leave without him. It was a Saturday, and for the first time in such a long time, Xavier had a free day. They all decided to spend the day together, to make up for Caleb’s friends leaving. Charlotte was extremely happy. She chatted and laughed all the way to the four seasons Orlando, where they decided to spend the day with their son, since he had seen a video about it online and wouldn’t shut up about going there. She held Caleb’s shoulders during takeoff in Xavier’s private jet, more to distract herself than him. No matter how often she rode in the jet, she still got jittery when they had to go anywhere in it. She had made an appointment with Dr Anna that morning and she couldn’t wait to finally carry out the surgery the week after. “Are we really going to Orlando?” Caleb asked, peering out of the window of the jet.
The ride home was mostly silent, with Xavier at the backseat, pondering on all that had happened that day while Carlos drove them home, shooting glances at his boss from time to time. “How was your break?” Xavier asked all of a sudden and Carlos cleared his throat. “Great. Thanks again for it. I really needed it,” he said with a smile. “How did it feel to have an actual conversation with her after so long?” Carlos sighed. “Not as bad as I thought. I actually feel better. Thanks for advising me to do it. We cleared some things out. She was mature about it and that’s that.” Xavier nodded and looked out the window at the trees that were zooming past. He remembered when Carlos had come to him for help when having to see Kate after the history they had was threatening to drive him insane. He had advised him to take a break, and then discuss with her when he was ready. It seemed to have worked. Carlos looked like himself again. It had been weird to find out that there had been a
“When will you come back, daddy?” Caleb’s little voice came over the phone and Xavier smiled. He could picture his son standing next to Charlotte and holding the phone to his ear with both his hands. “I’ll be there this night, I promise,” he replied. From the corner of his eye, he saw Private trying to get his attention. “Take care of mom for me, okay? I’ll see you soon.” “Bye daddy,” Caleb said and Xavier nodded before he ended the call. “What’s up?” He asked Private. “She’s causing a scene, boss. She’s yelling at everyone and she even pushed her brother and broke a glass on the doctor’s head when he tried to sedate her,” Private told him. There was an urgency in his private investigator’s voice as he reported to him, but there was also a hint of amusement in his tone. Xavier rolled his eyes and walked past him toward the ward he had left to answer his wife’s call. “Why was there glass next to her in the first place?” He asked no one in particular when he enterrés t
“My daddy used to beat my mommy before that woman took me and told she’s my real mommy,” Caleb explained the best way he could. “He told me he’s not my real daddy and that my mommy sold me to him.” “Wait, wait,” Charlotte told him. She had no idea what he was talking about and the more he spoke, the more confused she became. None of what he was saying made any sense. At this point, he was just throwing the words ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’ around. “Laura, the woman that brought you to us, she’s your mommy, isn’t she?” She asked him slowly, hoping his answers would make sense to her this time. He shook his head. “That’s what she told me and then she brought me here after,” he said. “So you had other parents before she came?” She asked and he nodded. When Charlotte realized he wouldn’t give her an understandable answer, she decided to stop asking him so that he wouldn’t confuse her more. Since Xavier had gone out to find answers, this one might be one of them. She would ask him wh
“Mommy!” Caleb squealed when he saw Charlotte and ran up to her. She carried him up and enveloped him in a tight hug. She was still not used to him calling her ‘mommy’, but hearing it was so natural and calming. Whenever she was with him, she secretly hoped something would happen to Laura or that she would say she didn’t want him again. She didn’t think she would be able to move on if he had to leave to go back to his real mother. “Did you miss me?” She asked, tickling his tummy. “Uh huh,” he replied, laughing and trying to get her hand away from him. Charlotte kissed him on the forehead and carefully set him back on his feet. She held his small hand and allowed him to lead her into the house. She had been in a sour mood after the meeting with her parents, but just a few minutes with Caleb had softened her up. Kate looked at her and smiled. With a playful frown, she nudged Caleb and asked him why he didn’t notice her. He started to laugh. “What did you do today while we were g