Chapter 23
Charlotte arrived at the Wood Family Estate around 11:40 AM.
Edward, the family steward, seemed surprised to see her.
He knew another guest was expected, but had no idea it would be Mrs. Wood. Considering Mr. Wood and Miss Grantham were currently in the living room, beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
Besides their respective parents, only Ronald Hills and the household staff knew that Issac and Charlotte were actually married.
“This way, please,” Edward said.
The steward had no choice but to follow Mrs. Jones’s instructions, reluctantly leading the way.
Before they even reached the living room, Charlotte heard a sugary, girlish voice: “I totally beat you again! Come on, you’re not even trying, are you?”
Charlotte stopped in her tracks.
Her mind went blank for a moment before everything suddenly clicked into place.
“Well, isn’t that convenient,” she muttered with a bitter laugh as she walked in.
Since she’d been moving books earlier, she wasn’t wearing makeup and was dressed casually–a loose white button–up, jeans, and her long hair loosely tied back.
Even so, her skin was flawless, her eyes bright, her lips naturally red. The few loose strands framing her face added an effortless sensuality to her striking appearance.
In the living room, Issac’s eyes registered shock when he saw Charlotte enter. “What are you-”
“Your mother invited me,” she replied coolly, her eyes gleaming with sarcasm. “Wait, weren’t you supposed to be in Portugal? When did you master teleportation? That’s impressive.”
Issac’s eyes flickered with unmistakable guilt.
Evelyn rose from the sofa and approached Charlotte, extending her hand with obvious challenge. “Hi there, I’m Evelyn Grantham.”
Charlotte looked right through her, as if she were a ghost.
From the doorway, Amanda Jones entered.
Ca Mu Unala: Fecaning the Forbidden Past.
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Chapter 23
She glanced dismissively at Charlotte before warmly taking Evelyn’s hand. “Darling, having fun? You know you’re practically family here.”
Then she introduced Charlotte: “This is Ms. Whitmore from Harmonex Group. I needed to discuss some
business matters with her.”
Everyone knew Charlotte was Issac’s wife, yet deliberately introducing her as a company employee made it crystal clear Amanda didn’t want her there. It also sent Evelyn a message: Charlotte was nothing, and there were no obstacles to a union between the Wood and Grantham families.
Evelyn lifted her chin smugly. “Oh, just an employee. I see.”
Charlotte didn’t look at either Evelyn or Amanda. Her eyes were fixed on Issac, watching him silently.
She wanted to see how he would react.
But he maintained his cold expression, showing no intention of stepping in or defending her.
Did he not understand what was happening? No, he understood perfectly–he just no longer cared about
her humiliation.
“Mrs. Jones, let’s just talk about whatever you wanted now,” Charlotte turned to her mother–in–law.
“We’ll talk another day. Since you’re here, stay for lunch.”
“No thanks. Got better things to do.” Charlotte turned to leave.
Amanda’s voice cut through the air: “You ungrateful girl! When someone of my standing invites you to lunch, you show some damn respect!”
Charlotte turned back, her gaze steady as she studied Amanda. “Fine, I’ll stay. Don’t say I didn’t warn
you.”
She walked over and chose a single chair.
Evelyn brazenly sat next to Issac, clinging to his arm. “Issac, let’s continue our game.”
Issac pulled his arm away, his eyes on Charlotte.
“Does Ms. Whitmore play Connect Four?” Evelyn asked, looking at Charlotte.
Charlotte glanced at the expensive game set on the coffee table. The vertical board was clearly set up for Connect Four, yet Issac had somehow managed to lose at this children’s game…
He hadn’t lost his ability to charm women–he’d just stopped trying with her.
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She looked up at Issac with an icy smile playing on her lips. “Of course I do. Would you like to play, Miss
Grantham?”
Issac’s eyes flashed with annoyance, silently warning her.
Evelyn confidently reset the game. “Red or yellow, Ms. Whitmore?”
Charlotte took the yellow pieces. “Yellow suits me better.”
Amanda and Evelyn almost laughed at her apparent self–insult–who would deliberately choose the color associated with jealousy?
A few seconds later, they realized she was actually implying something about them.
Evelyn angrily made the first move, dropping a red disc into the center column.
They played back and forth, filling the vertical grid. Amanda watched Evelyn play with apparent strategy while Charlotte seemed to place her discs with no pattern. Biased toward Evelyn, Amanda didn’t look closely before giving Issac a pointed look: See what a real lady from a good family looks like.
Issac showed no reaction.
As the board filled, Evelyn repeatedly thought she was about to win, only to be blocked at the last second. Her emotions fluctuated, growing increasingly frustrated. Still, if she couldn’t win, at least Charlotte wasn’t winning either. A draw would be acceptable.
Hmph, tying with this nobody would be embarrassing enough.
“Your move,” Charlotte said casually.
Evelyn had already set up three red discs in a diagonal pattern. One more in the right spot and she’d definitely win.
She dropped her piece with forced calm, then anxiously watched Charlotte, afraid she’d block her again. When Charlotte placed her disc in a seemingly random column, Evelyn triumphantly exclaimed, “I won!”
Amanda immediately applauded.
But in the next moment, they watched as Charlotte calmly pointed to four yellow discs forming a perfect horizontal line that everyone had somehow missed.
The color drained from both their faces.
