Lorraine immediately turned her “friendly” gaze toward Charlotte. “Carlie, Mimi called and told me that Zachary’s organized a karaoke party for my birthday. I was so happy, but it’s made me even happier to know that you’re here too.”“Oh, really?”Charlotte gently raised her dark brows.“My arrival shouldn’t bring you joy, should it? It should come as a shock instead, am I correct?”Lorraine’s pale face immediately filled with hints of embarrassment.Charlotte openly snapped back at Lorraine and continued speaking to her in a curt tone. “It’s Miranda who organized this party for you. Zachary and I were tricked into coming here. Zachary never planned on celebrating your birthday with you. I’m afraid your little surprise is an empty celebration.”“Is this true, Mimi?”Despite having orchestrated this charade with Miranda, Lorraine still acted shocked.Miranda played along with Lorraine. “So what if I did? Besides, you’re our aunt now. Uncle Jebediah’s been out of the country for
Miranda was speechless from shock.Lorraine felt as if she had fallen into a cave of ice. Her smile froze in place.Zachary refused to look at Lorraine any longer. His magnetic, regal voice showed no signs of warmth. “I find singing such a sentiment song with my own aunt utterly disgusting. It’s dishonest.”Lorraine’s beautiful figure wavered. Her pretty, limpid eyes filled with disappointment.Charlotte immediately felt a warm current washing over her heart. Her gaze upon Zachary gradually filled with warmth.“Zach! It’s Lory’s birthday! You won’t even sing with her? When did you become so unreasonable?” Miranda was extremely indignant.Zachary’s inky, dark eyes were only filled with ice. “If you’re so eager to be reasonable, you can sing with her.”“You…” Miranda angrily stomped her foot. “Hmph! Big deal. I’ll sing with her then. Come on, Lory, let’s sing together!”Lorraine, who was pale with disappointment, looked at Zachary. Her sultry red lips replied in a heartbroken ton
“Hmph! My brother’s gone too far, Lory! He knows you’re here because of him, yet he’s tossed you aside and left without so much as a word. Why the hell should we even continue with this karaoke? Let’s go!”Miranda sulkily glared at Charlotte and dragged Lorraine away, leaving Charlotte all alone.‘I’m not leaving! I promised Zachary to wait for him to pick me up. So I’m going to stay here and wait for him.’The excitement and songs from next door served as a foil for her loneliness.Time passed slowly. Finally, after an unknown measure of time, someone pushed the door open.“Za—” Her voice immediately trailed off when she saw that it was Miranda. The joy in her eyes instantly turned to disappointment.Miranda stood by the door and stared at her with disdain.“What a joke. Zach’s abandoned you long ago, and you, his deserted wife, are still waiting for him like an idiot.”Charlotte lifted her face curtly.“Miranda, I know you don’t like me, and I’ve never once expected for anyt
“Wait here, Miranda.”She climbed up the wooden ladder as she spoke and poked her head out of the skylight. Suddenly, she felt as if she had been doused with a bucket of cold water. The smirk on the corners of her lips immediately froze in place.She had actually seen Zachary, and he wasn’t alone. The woman held tightly in his arms was most definitely Lorraine.Initially, she wondered if she had been imagining things. However, she focused her gaze and saw Zachary’s chiseled face underneath the sun, clear as day. There was no mistake!“Zach, I felt like the world’s luckiest woman when you told me you still loved me. I want to hear you say it again.”Lorraine, who lay the side of her face against Zachary’s chest, looked like she was drowning in bliss.The man’s thin lips gently nibbled against Lorraine’s ear.“Lory, I love you. It’s always been you.”“Zach…” Lorraine’s beautiful figure trembled while tears streamed down her face like pearls.“I love you too. My heart will always
Charlotte returned to the karaoke room.Charlotte sat on the loveseat that she had shared with Zachary. She had been consumed with thoughts of Zachary when she waited for him here, and her heart was filled with warmth.Now, this room felt more like an ice cave. Every pore in her body was screaming from the chill.“Lory, I love you. It’s always been you.“I will continue this nominal marriage with her. Lory, as long as our hearts are one, no one can tear us apart.”Zachary’s voice reverberated in her ears like a spell. That kiss he shared with Lorraine felt like a poisonous dart to her heart. Her heart ached every time she thought of it, and her body trembled.However, she was determined to wait for Zachary here!Zachary had told her to wait for him here, so he would come back to her.She was going to ask him, personally, once he returned—he clearly still loved Lorraine, so why was he still lying to her and making her think that he was determined to break it off with Lorraine?
“Must be nice to be rich. You can afford a luxury car, comfortable interior, more than enough space…”The girl forcefully pulled on the man’s arm, “Let’s go home and continue that dream then. You’ll never be able to afford the tires off that car with your pay.”“Sigh…” The man stared pointedly at the intertwined figures in the car. His eyes filled with envy.“Hmph! You men are all alike. You just can’t stop staring at beautiful women. If you don’t leave now, you can forget about coming home!” The girl pushed the man away and left in a huff.The man reluctantly tore himself away from the scene in the vehicle and ran after the girl. “Mary, I was just enjoying the show. Don’t be angry…”Based on the couple’s conversation, Charlotte knew that someone was getting busy in the car parked in lot number 17. Usually, she wouldn’t miss out on such an entertaining show. However, she wasn’t in a good mood at this point, so she did not peer inside the car at all. Instead, she headed toward he
The corner of Lorraine’s lips curled up as a hint of profundity that did not match her innocence crossed her alluring eyes. “I will tell and apologize to Zachary myself about this in the future. For now, you have to keep it a secret.”Miranda chuckled. “Don’t worry. I know my brother better than you do. I wouldn’t risk my neck to lie to my brother if I had the choice. I just hope that he never learns the truth.”Zachary was the person who doted on her the most in this world.The thing he hated the most was that the people he cared about lied to him. Therefore, Miranda had silently vowed that she would never deceive or tell him any lie no matter what happened.‘Zach, please forgive me this time. That slut Charlotte Simmons doesn’t deserve you. Everything I do is for your own good!’Lorraine went back into the car, and a clear voice erupted from the back. “You’re playing with fire. Once Zachary finds out everything you did behind his back, you’re screwed.”Lorraine gave a dry smile
Charlotte cracked her eyes open, and Garrison’s handsome face rammed into her vision.Garrison was standing in front of the bed. He looked at her fondly and said, “Well, you were driving against traffic on a one-way street yesterday afternoon, and we crashed into each other. My personal doctor was with me at that time, and since your injuries were not serious, he said that there was no need to send you to the hospital. After he tended to your head injury, I carried you back to my home to rest since you were still unconscious.”It was only now Charlotte remembered the scene of her car accident after she heard what Garrison had said.‘Hold on a second!’Charlotte looked around the room in a panic.“You just said I had an accident yesterday afternoon, so how long was I out!?”Garrison lifted his arm to look at his watch and then replied, “To be precise, you have been sleeping on my bed for 15 hours and 6 minutes. It’s 7:02 a.m. in the morning now.”‘Oh my good lord!’Charlotte’s f