Chapter 15
“Yes, I’m with him,” Charlotte said, her voice as cool and detached as if she were discussing the weather forecast. “Is that a problem?”
Elias’s face tightened, his military bearing reasserting itself as he grasped for control of a situation rapidly slipping through his fingers. “I can’t let you do this, Charlotte. Do you even know what kind of man Isaac Wood is?”
He gestured dismissively toward Isaac. “He’s had a different girlfriend every month since prep school. Men like him don’t do commitment–they play with people until something shinier comes along.”
Charlotte’s lips curved into a bitter smile. “You’re right. I don’t know what kind of man he
is.”
She took a deliberate step closer to Elias, her eyes never leaving his face. “But I know
exactly what kind of man you are.”
The quiet intensity of her voice made several nearby children stop their play and stare.
“Would you like me to list everything you’ve done to me?” she continued, her voice steady
and emotionless. “Or should we skip straight to the part where you forced me to donate a kidney without anesthesia to a woman who was manipulating you?”
She shook her head slightly. “Besides, who I’m with is no longer any of your concern. We
severed ties, remember? You signed the papers yourself.”
Her voice hardened. “Please go back wherever you came from. You’re not welcome here.”
There was no anger in her tone that would have required emotional investment she no longer had for him. There was only the calm finality of someone who had closed a door and had no intention of ever opening it again.
Elias looked as though she’d physically struck him. “Charlotte… you’re saying these things because of him? I’m only trying to protect you. I would never hurt you.”
The absurdity of his statement made Charlotte laugh–a sharp, humorless sound.
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“You wouldn’t hurt me? That’s rich.” She didn’t raise her voice, didn’t need to. “You let me
undergo major surgery without anesthesia for your precious Scarlett. You slapped me. You accused me of theft. You exposed my private letters to humiliate me.”
She stepped back, putting distance between them. “If that’s your idea of protection, I’ll pass.
Your concern comes about five years and one kidney too late.”
Without another glance at Elias, Charlotte took Isaac’s hand and walked away, leaving Elias
standing alone in the schoolyard, stunned and hollow.
He had traveled thousands of miles, gone without sleep for over twenty–four hours,
endured bone–jarring roads and sweltering heat–all to find Charlotte. Instead, he’d
discovered she was with another man. The revelation felt like a physical blow, knocking the air from his lungs.
Once they were out of earshot, Isaac turned to Charlotte, his expression troubled.
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I shouldn’t have said those things back there. I just couldn’t
stand the way he was looking at you, like he still had some claim on you.”
Charlotte cut him off with a gentle squeeze of his hand. “Don’t apologize. I know you were trying to help.”
“Actually, I should thank you for standing up for me.”
Isaac’s eyes brightened with surprise. “Really?”
Charlotte nodded, and Isaac ran a hand through his hair, suddenly nervous.
“About what he said… it’s not true. Since I fell for you, I haven’t dated anyone else. Not a single person.”
He looked at her earnestly. “My feelings for you are real. And I’m not the spoiled trust fund kid everyone thinks I am. I’ve built my own business, separate from my family’s money.”
Charlotte stepped closer to him, a genuine smile softening her features. “I know.”
Isaac’s face flushed, and he stumbled over his words. “So… would you consider giving me a chance? To show you how I feel? For real, I mean–not just pretending to keep Delaney away.”
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Charlotte glanced back over her shoulder, then turned to him with a radiant smile that had
never once appeared during her years with Elias. “If I hadn’t already given you a chance, what do you think we’ve been doing all this time?”
Isaac’s ears turned bright red, his face lighting up with joy. “Charlotte Whitmore, someday you’re going to be my girlfriend for real. I promise you that.”
A few evenings later, Isaac led Charlotte through the village with mysterious excitement, refusing to tell her where they were going.
“Seriously, Isaac,” she protested as they reached an open field at the edge of the village. “It’s
late, and I have an early class tomorrow. What are we doing out here?”
Before he could answer, a sharp crackling sound split the night air. Charlotte looked up just
as the first fireworks exploded overhead, painting the African sky with brilliant colors.
She stood transfixed, momentarily speechless at the unexpected display.
As she watched the light show, Isaac reached into his pocket and pulled out something that
caught the reflected glow of the fireworks–a pendant on a silver chain.
Charlotte’s breath caught. It was her St. Michael’s pendant–the one Scarlett had deliberately broken–now completely restored to its original condition. The silver oval gleamed as if new, the blue glass center repaired so perfectly it was impossible to tell it had
ever been damaged.
For a moment, it was as if the pendant had never been broken, as if her parents had never
left her.
Tears welled in Charlotte’s eyes. She’d mentioned the pendant only once in passing, yet Isaac had not only remembered but had somehow found a way to repair it.
Isaac’s hands trembled slightly as he held it out to her. “Charlotte, my entire life has been planned out by my parents. Every school, every internship, every career move–all of it
decided for me.”
He took a deep breath. “Falling for you is the first decision I’ve ever made completely on my
own.”
The fireworks continued to burst overhead, illuminating his earnest expression.
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“I had the pendant restored because I wanted to show you that your parents are still with you in ways you can’t see.”
He stepped closer. “And I was wondering… would you let me be the third person in your life. who promises to protect you? Not because you need protection, but because you deserve to
be cherished.”
His voice grew more confident. “Charlotte Whitmore, will you be my girlfriend? For real
this time?”
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