Chapter 14
When Elias finally arrived at the Tanzanian fishing village after a grueling journey in a
battered Land Rover, he could hardly believe his eyes.
Even during his most rigorous military deployments, he’d never encountered such
primitive conditions. The roads were little more than mud paths that threatened to swallow
vehicles whole after each rainfall. Children with no shoes ran alongside his truck, their laughter somehow incongruous with the crushing poverty surrounding them.
He couldn’t comprehend why Charlotte would choose to live in such a place. What could
possibly have driven her here, thousands of miles from everything familiar?
When he finally located the village school–a simple concrete structure with a corrugated metal roof that amplified the afternoon heat to unbearable levels–Elias experienced a profound sense of disorientation. The Charlotte he thought he knew had been raised in luxury, accustomed to the finest things money could buy. She’d never expressed interest in humanitarian work or teaching.
Yet there she was, visible through the open window, standing before a classroom of eager children. Her eyes sparkled with an enthusiasm he’d rarely seen before. She wore a simple cotton dress–nothing like the designer clothes that had filled her closet back home–and spoke with animated gestures as she brought a basic English lesson to life.
For a moment, Elias stood transfixed, something like grief clutching at his chest. It was as though he was seeing Charlotte–truly seeing her–for the first time. Not as an extension of his family or an inconvenient admirer, but as her own person with depths he’d never bothered to explore.
The school bell rang, signaling the end of class. Elias stepped forward, his heart hammering with a mixture of hope and dread, but someone else reached her first–a familiar face that stopped him cold.
Isaac Wood. The notorious Manhattan playboy whose family’s hedge fund had made billions. What the hell was he doing in this remote Tanzanian village?
As Elias watched, Isaac casually reached out and tousled Charlotte’s hair with an intimacy that made Elias’s blood boil and his stomach twist with something dangerously close to
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The Moment I Let Go My Uncle: Escaping the Forbidden Past
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jealousy, Before he could think better of it, Elias strode forward, physically inserting
himself between them,
“Wood,” he growled, jabbing a finger toward Isaac’s chest. “Aren’t there enough socialites back in New York for you to chase? You had to follow a Delaney family member halfway around the world?”
Isaac’s expression remained calm, though his eyes hardened to flint, ite turned to Charlotte with exaggerated politeness, but the protective stance he took beside her spoke volumes about his feelings, “Charlotte, are you a Delaney family member?”
Charlotte’s eyes flicked briefly to Elías, her expression not angry but something worse–completely detached, as though observing a stranger. “No, I’m not.”
The cold finality in her voice hit Elias like a physical blow. He stood there, momentarily speechless, the carefully rehearsed speech he’d prepared on the long journey here suddenly inadequate.
Isaac smiled, turning back to Elias with undisguised contempt. “Hear that? Seems like you’re the one who should keep his distance.” He paused deliberately. “Not me.”
Elias felt something crack inside him. He looked at Charlotte, his voice dropping to a plea–a tone his military subordinates would never have recognized from their commanding officer.
“Charlotte, I’m sorry,” he said, the words feeling hollow even to his own ears. “I know I hurt you. But I never meant to abandon you. In my heart, you’ve always been family. The Delaney house will always be your home.”
Charlotte’s laugh was short and devoid of humor. “I don’t have family,” she said flatly, her voice steady and emotionless. “My family died years ago.”
She looked at him not with hatred or anger, but with something far more devastating–complete indifference. The woman who had once looked at him with adoration now regarded him with the casual disinterest one might show a forgotten acquaintance.
Elias’s throat tightened painfully. How could he possibly justify calling her family when he’d fought her for her father’s bullet casing? When he’d accused her of theft? When he’d slapped her and forced her through surgery without anesthesia?
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The Momend 1 Est Go My Uncle: Escaping the Forbidden Past
Chapter 14
Before he could find words, Isaac stepped forward, his normally carefree demeanor replaced by barely contained hostility.
“If I were you,” he said, his casual tone belying the hardness in his eyes, “I wouldn’t have the nerve to show my face here at all.”
He moved closer to Charlotte, his posture protective, almost possessive. “Have you forgotten
how you treated her? This isn’t some movie where you can abuse someone for years, then
show up with a half–assed apology and expect forgiveness.”
Isaac slipped his arm around Charlotte’s waist, his eyes never leaving Elias’s face,
challenging him. “Charlotte is my girlfriend now. Show some respect and leave before ruin her day any more than you already have.”
Elias felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. His eyes darted to Charlotte’s face, searching desperately for some sign of denial, some flicker of the devotion she’d once
shown him.
you
“Charlotte,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper, his usual commanding presence
completely stripped away. “Is that true? Are you with him now?”
The proud military officer who had once looked down on her was gone, replaced by a man
who would have gotten on his knees and begged if he thought it would make a difference.
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