Chapter 48
“What’s with this bloodbath?‘ Charlotte wondered internally, taken aback.
Guilt niggled at her consciousness in a rush when she gazed upon Zachary’s devilish expression. She understood immediately that he’d heard something he should never have.
Yet, Charlotte swiftly didn’t care, thinking it would be a win if he would divorce her cleanly now that she was painted as a villainous character.
“What are you scheming again?” he bit out stonily.
“Didn’t you hear it all?” Charlotte shot back at him.
Zachary raised his voice. “Charlotte, blame me solely for what happened three years ago. Annie’s innocent!”
“It’s got everything to do with me since she’s eaten under my roof before,” Charlotte roared back while glaring at his bloodshot eyes.
‘Innocent?‘ she mused sardonically.
One should not expect anything in return when doing a good deed. Yet, this didn’t mean that one should anticipate bad luck either.
If Charlotte genuinely had nothing to do with Annie, she would have only regarded Annie’s destructive behavior as that of a homewrecker attempting to take her place and a toxic competition amongst fellow women.
Alas, Annie had shared several meals at her home. They also used to be picked up to and from school by Charlotte’s father countless times. All these prevented Charlotte from labeling her as merely a woman to whom she had no ties.
Charlotte took a step forward, meeting Zachary’s fiery gaze. “What? Are you going to compensate me on her behalf because of this so that I’ll stay away from her?”
“Name your price,” he demanded glacially.
Laughter burst out from within Charlotte. ‘Money. That’s a good one,‘ she scoffed to herself.
“You’re welcome to compensate me for the meals she had. But do you know how she got into college?” Charlotte took two deep breaths.
No answer came from Zachary.
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Charlotte said, “My father was the one who tutored her daily after work when she got poor grades, and Mrs. Lopez couldn’t afford any tutors. This is not something you lot can repay in terms of money!”
Zachary answered, “Does this mean you can freely seize what belongs to her? Charlotte, don’t you know how important this competition is to her?”
Charlotte responded, “Doesn’t it mean a lot to me as well?”
Zachary roared, “Even so, you shouldn’t have taken her place!”
The atmosphere around them instantly dipped into silence.
Zachary’s and Charlotte’s gazes met in a confrontational deadlock.
‘Well, well. Seems like Zachary still has no clue about Annie’s true colors for the past three years. I’m looking forward to the day they get married and witnessing how she toys with him like the fool he is. It’s the retribution he deserves, Charlotte thought wryly.
she deserved being destroyed by me, let alone have her place taken with
how you two hurt me three years ago. She deserves it all!” Charlotte was indignant.
“Do you still plan on participating in the competition?” Zachary’s eyes swept over the roomful of wedding dresses, his eyes dripping with loathing.
“What do you mean by that?” Charlotte queried suspiciously.
“I’m here to officially inform you there’s no point in putting so much effort into your prep work. After all, a thing robbed will never truly belong to you.” With that, Zachary turned to leave.
His back had never looked so distant.
“Come clean with me! What do you mean by that?” Charlotte caught up to him and grabbed his wrist. ‘Could he… she thought.
Zachary shook her off, the disgust in his gaze thickening. “Charlotte, your character is equally as deplorable as your person!”
Charlotte was rendered speechless, thinking, ‘Deplorable person? These words… Zachary’s words invaded her mind like a gale that battered Charlotte.
She knew precisely what Zachary was referring to. She spoke, “If so, let’s divorce.”
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Charlotte had abruptly switched from desperation to calmness before he’d barely taken two steps away.
Zachary, who was about to leave, felt compelled to turn back with a frown at the unusual composure in Charlotte’s tone.
The sorrow in Charlotte’s gaze was clear as day when their eyes met.
The truth was that Charlotte wasn’t to blame. Even so, he still deemed it unfair when his grandfather forced him to marry her.
Zachary spoke, “Divorce? Am I supposed to give my blessings for you and Gordon to remarry? Charlotte, do I seem like a dunce to you?”
Charlotte answered, “Didn’t you accuse me of being filthy? Let me continue tainting others while you marry your pure Ms. Annie Lopez, all right?”
Zachary went on, “You’d better not think of inflicting trouble on others.”
He then strode off before Charlotte could respond.
The strength that Charlotte had mustered left her at once at his criticism, and she dropped to the ground in a heap.
“Ms. Lynn, are you okay?” Julie looked at Charlotte concernedly when she entered.
“I’m fine,” Charlotte assured.
Her heart was in a state of turmoil despite that.
No one knew how much she wanted to tear to shreds the man whose face she couldn’t make out that night.
She still regularly dreamed of him after many years had passed and had undergone psychological counseling for two years.
All this while, Charlotte’s pain never went away.
The members of the Sullivan family never used the incident against her, although they detested her, and neither did Zachary.
Yet, he would go to such lengths for Annie’s sake.
The thoughts were interrupted by the buzzing of her phone.
Charlotte eyed her screen and saw that it was Susan. “Hey, Susan.”
“Charlotte, where are you? I have something I need to tell you. Let’s meet and talk,” Susan said.
They met an hour later at a café in the largest shopping mall in Liene City. “My boss heard that Georgia will personally be participating in the Westrope Competition. Hence, he assigned me to Westrope to get the latest scoop. In other words. I will be your field reporter.” Susan could barely conceal her excitement.
While Charlotte was used to having field reporters following her in the past, she’d never foreseen Susan being one of them.
Susan soon noticed that Charlotte didn’t seem glad to hear that and paused, querying tentatively, “What’s wrong, Charlotte?”
“It’s nothing to worry about. Please write a raving article about me, then!” Charlotte brushed it off with a smile.
Although Zachary and Annie took turns bombarding her with threats to forfeit her spot in the competition, she would not give in.
Five days was sufficient preparation time for Charlotte.
Susan said, “But of course. I even fear that my writing doesn’t do your excellence any justice! By the way, do you know that Annie is a participant, too?”
Charlotte remained silent.
Her mood soured even further at the mention of Annie, and her face turned
sullen.
The sight of that triggered Susan’s sense of justice, and she launched into a fervid. tirade targeted at Annie for several minutes. “How could she even dream of going international with her incompetence? What a lost cause!” she concluded.
“That’s enough, Susan. Those who are capable of climbing to the top will remain there, while those who do so scrupulously can’t sustain for long.” Charlotte spoke
the truth.
Susan nodded in assent. “You’re right. A homewrecker is destined for failure, even if she relies on her man.”
Charlotte offered no reply to that.
It was hard luck that Zachary was still her legal husband.
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Chapter 48.
While she had exhausted any means possible to make Zachary divorce her, none proved effective.
