Chapter 21
Chapter 21
His eyes were dark and intense.
Hers were empty and cold.
The tension in the parking garage was suffocating.
Evelyn spotted Charlotte but instead of creating space between herself and Issac, she deliberately wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear, her actions even more brazen.
Charlotte felt like someone had stabbed her eyes. She looked away, got in her car, and drove off without a backward glance.
Shortly after arriving home, she heard another car pulling up downstairs.
She was removing her necklace in front of the glass cabinet in their walk–in closet when a hard wall of muscle pressed against her back. Issac’s dominating presence instantly invaded her space.
He planted his hands on the glass cabinet, leaning forward to see her face. “Pissed off?”
Without looking at him, Charlotte calmly put away her necklace. “Pissed enough to commit murder. You might want to sleep with one eye open.”
Issac studied her silently before speaking again. “The Granthams want in on the Polaris Program. I’ve been meeting with Jayden Grantham for weeks. Evelyn is his sister.”
“What, he won’t sign unless you screw his sister too?”
“…Charlotte, I’m trying to explain here. Cut the bitchy attitude!”
“No explanation needed,” Charlotte finally turned to look at him, her eyes cutting through him like ice. “Issac, if you’re bored with this marriage and want fresh meat in your bed, I can walk away.”
Issac’s face darkened instantly. “What the hell did you just say?”
Charlotte sighed. “I said, let’s get divorced.”
She pushed past him.
As she tried to leave, he yanked her back forcefully, grabbing her face. “Don’t even fucking think about it.”
Charlotte said nothing.
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She’d done more than think about it.
She. Was.
Done with him.
Issac stayed home until late that night before being called away by a phone call. Charlotte clearly heard a young woman’s voice on the other end, whining and crying.
The next morning, her divorce lawyer and friend Summer Spears sent her a screenshot: Evelyn’s latest Instagram post–a mountain summit at dawn, showing a heart shape made by a large hand and a small one. The caption read: “Feeling our heartbeats merge in the gentle sunrise.”
She recognized Issac’s hand instantly.
Charlotte sat there, holding her water glass for what felt like eternity.
When she finally set it down, it made a sharp clink, as another piece of her heart crumbled.
For several days after, Issac didn’t come home.
They only saw each other at company meetings, where he sat in the center chair while she sat with other executives. No eye contact, no acknowledgment.
Charlotte didn’t bother going to his office.
In her free time, she hunted for a new apartment and purged every gift he’d ever given her–anniversary presents, birthday gifts, Valentine’s Day trinkets, wedding presents… she even sold her wedding ring.
If she was dumping the man, why keep his trash?
***
That evening, Serena Quinn, the owner of Vankco Technologies, invited Charlotte to Midnight Wild.
It was almost eleven, and she initially didn’t want to go, but considering she’d need connections after leaving Harmonex Group to start her own venture, she went anyway.
As soon as she entered the club, she spotted Serena.
“Serena, I could have found my way up. You didn’t need to come down.”
Serena linked arms with her as they entered the elevator. “I was afraid you’d get lost. First time here, right?”
That was true–she had never been here before.
The Moment I Let Go My Uncle: Escaping the Forbidden Past.
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Chapter 21
They went upstairs, and Serena led her into a large private room divided by glass partition walls.
Entering, Charlotte noticed several people on the other side of the partition, but Serena didn’t take her there. Instead, she seated Charlotte on the side with just one other woman–someone vaguely familiar, likely the girlfriend of one of Issac’s buddies.
The woman clearly recognized Charlotte, looking uncomfortable but managing a tight smile.
After Charlotte took off her coat and sat down, Serena stepped out.
She took a sip of her drink, gradually picking up the loud conversation from the other side of the glass. Soon, the conversation turned to her.
“Notice how Wood doesn’t bring that Whitmore girl to anything anymore?”
“Duh. Evelyn’s young and hot. He parades her around everywhere, treats her like his fucking princess.”
“About damn time Issac got some fresh pussy after all these years.”
“Doesn’t matter how hot Charlotte is, eight years in the same bed would bore anyone.”
“She’s such a dumb bitch. Spent all those years with Issac only to get fucked and tossed aside. Hey, if Issac’s done with her, maybe I should give her a ride. Been wanting to grab that tight ass for years.”
Charlotte’s eyes turned glacial.
She recognized two of the voices–Issac’s friends who always called her “sis” with fake smiles plastered on
their faces.
The woman sitting with Charlotte looked so mortified she couldn’t meet her eyes. When Charlotte stood up, the woman thought she was going to run away humiliated.
Instead, Charlotte cleared her throat, picked up her drink, and walked to the other side. S
he casually leaned against the glass partition and joined their conversation in a bored tone, “Gentlemen, let’s be fair here. When Issac and I first hooked up, he was an eager little virgin who couldn’t last five minutes. Couldn’t I say I’ve been suffering through bad sex for eight years too?”
The room went dead silent.
Everyone on the sofa stared at her in shock.
Just as she finished speaking, two tall men walked into the room.
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Everyone looked at her, then behind her… and their faces went white with horror.
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