Chapter 23
Ethan scoffed. “Wonderful.”
“There’s more,” Charlotte said. “Ms. Langford is pushing you to sign the divorce papers. She says she’s done waiting.
She hesitated, then continued, “I think she’s got the wrong idea about us, Ethan. You should’ve seen the way she looked at me. It
was terrifying. She kept staring into my eyes, hung up on my corneas. She still thinks I took hers. And then she said…”
Ethan’s voice dropped. “Said what?”
“That she wants to rip my eyes out because the sight of them makes her furious,” Charlotte murmured. She quickly added, “But Ethan, Ms. Langley couldn’t have meant it. There’s no way that she’s really that cruel-”
Ethan’s voice was icy. “She still hasn’t shown any remorse! Does she really think I can’t manage without her? Ridiculous! You’re coming with me to this birthday party.”
Charlotte hesitated. “Ethan, this might be risky. If Mr. Ziegler Senior asks, you won’t have a good answer.”
“How would he find out unless we told him?” Ethan’s anger hadn’t subsided. He held out his arm and said, “Hold on to me.”
“Okay.” Charlotte obediently took his arm. She lowered her head, a faint smile touching her lips.
Around them, murmurs rippled through the guests when they noticed Ethan arriving with Charlotte beside him.
Everyone knew Ethan was married, but no one had seen his wife. After all, he had never brought her to any public events. Whispers circulated as people wondered if Charlotte might be his wife.
Ethan had invited Charlotte to accompany him in a fit of anger. But now, thinking more clearly, he saw no good reason for her to be there.
He told Charlotte to wait there while he went to greet the birthday party host. He thought that bringing her along would have been inappropriate since the host was David’s close friend.
The moment Ethan walked away, an elegant woman approached Charlotte. “You must be Mrs. Ziegler. I didn’t expect you to be so young and lovely.”
Charlotte’s heart fluttered with delight at being called “Mrs. Ziegler“. She didn’t correct the woman. Instead, she simply asked, “And you are?”
“Mrs. Zeller,” the woman replied, smiling.
Tessa wandered the streets in a daze. Charlotte’s revelation–that Ethan had known everything all along–lingered in her mind. She couldn’t understand how anyone could be so cruel.
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She thought that meeting him had been the biggest mistake of her life. Her eyes stung with tears, and her whole body ached as if she’d been torn apart.
When she came upon a brightly lit storefront, she paused. Seeing that it was a bar, she stepped inside without a second thought. “Mr. Galla
Gallagher, leaving so soon? The night’s still young. Why not stick around a little longer?”
“No, I’m done. I was up all night yesterday. I’m beat.”
Derek waved off his fair–weather friends and turned to leave, but then he noticed a familiar face at the bar. He raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Well, what’s the special occasion today?”
The person beside him looked confused. “What do you mean? It’s the 18th.”
Derek rolled his eyes. “Idiot!” Ignoring his friend, he strode briskly toward the bar.
Tessa wasn’t sure how much she’d had to drink. Her vision blurred, and a throbbing ache settled in her skull again.
Lately, her eyes had been getting worse. The stabbing pains came more often now, her vision blurring at random. She’d forgotten to bring her medication with her.
She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the pain to fade. Then, out of nowhere, something smacked against the table beside her.
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