Chapter 5

As soon as Charlotte got home and sat down on the couch, the door was flung open.

Her mom, Sandra, stormed in furiously, and slapped Charlotte hard across the face.

Sandra snapped, "You useless trash! How could you let that mistress push you around?

"Now the Foster family is cutting off their investment in the Sinclair family! Go seduce Edward and get yourself pregnant as soon as possible!"

Charlotte's face swelled up instantly. Her head lolled to one side and stayed that way for a long while.

In her previous life, after Melissa passed away, the Foster family had also cut off their investment in the Sinclair family.

Back then, Charlotte listened to Sandra and secretly spiked Edward's drink, which led to her getting pregnant almost immediately.

She thought having a child might help mend their relationship, but she never imagined that this would be the start of her nightmare.

Edward finally found a way to torment her and avenge Melissa.

The first time she got pregnant, Edward watched Charlotte's belly grow bigger every day, lied to her that the baby hadn't passed the genetic screening, and forced her to witness the child dying inside her.

The second time Charlotte got pregnant, she was locked in a dark, damp room, her sanity slipping away. She fell off the bed and lost the baby.

After suffering multiple miscarriages, she was robbed of her ability to ever be a mother again.

Charlotte clutched her burning cheek, fighting back tears.

She said, "Mom, I already repaid you for bringing me into this world. When I married Edward to secure the Foster family's investment for the Sinclair family, that was the end of what I owed you.

"I don't owe you anything now, so stop trying to use that as leverage over me."

Sandra's finger shook as she pointed at Charlotte, but seeing not a hint of regret in Charlotte's eyes, she left in a fury.

Just before Charlotte was about to turn in, Edward knocked on her bedroom door.

He lounged against the doorframe, letting out a tsk when he saw how swollen her face was.

"You look a mess," he said.

He tossed some anti-swelling cream at her.

"You've been my wife for ages, and you're still so pathetic," he mocked.

Charlotte gripped the cream tightly in her hand, and her lips were pressed together in stubborn silence.

The next day at noon, Charlotte brought the engagement ring Edward had given her when he proposed and set it down on the counter of a shop.

"Please keep it safe for me and send it to Mr. Foster's office in a week," she said.

Just as Charlotte was about to leave, Melissa strolled in.

Melissa shot a mocking look at the ring the clerk was sealing up and smirked, "What, are things so bad for the Sinclair family that you're pawning your jewelry now?"

The clerk wanted to say something, but Charlotte cut her off. "It's none of your business."

Melissa's brows furrowed in anger, and she was about to retort.

Suddenly, shots were fired downstairs, and a clerk shouted, "There's a robbery!"

In the next second, a group of masked men stormed in, smashing the glass display cases at the jewelry counter.

Melissa let out a terrified scream as one of the robbers grabbed her and put her in a chokehold, using her as a hostage to threaten the security guards.

Melissa spotted Charlotte hiding behind the counter and suddenly yelled, "That's Edward Foster's wife! If you kidnap her and demand money from Foster Group, he'll definitely pay!"

The robbers instantly zeroed in on Charlotte.

Charlotte froze, staring down the barrel of the gun, her face drained of all color. "I'm not—"

"She is," Edward's voice rang out.

Charlotte whipped around, only to see Edward standing there like a guardian angel, boldly claiming her as his wife.

He stepped right in front of the gun, grabbing her hand with unwavering resolve.

But his anxious eyes kept flicking over to Melissa, quietly urging her to sneak out the back door.

Witnessing everything, Charlotte thought it was so absurd that she almost wanted to laugh.

Edward was finally protecting her, but only to confirm her identity for the robbers so they'd let Melissa go.

Edward wrapped his arm around Charlotte's waist, holding her close in a deliberately intimate gesture to keep the robbers' eyes on them, all while subtly blocking their view of Melissa slipping away behind him.

After the quiet shuffle of footsteps behind them faded away, Edward's hand slipped from Charlotte's waist.

Edward's expression eased as he lifted his hands, addressing the robbers, "Can we talk?"

The robber sneered. He suddenly yanked Charlotte's hand and jammed the gun against her temple. "So, Mr. Foster, what do you want to negotiate? Let's see how much your wife is really worth, shall we?"

Before the robber could finish his sentence, Edward caught, out of the corner of his eye, that the police were already in position. He lunged straight at the guy, reaching for the gun, but his hand closed on nothing.

He could only watch helplessly as the robber pulled the trigger, right in front of him.

"Move away!" Edward shouted.

Charlotte was shoved aside, and the bullet missed its mark, hitting her shoulder instead.

She broke out in a cold sweat from the pain, clutching her wound as she staggered, barely able to stay upright.

All she could think about was how calm Edward had been when she was the one being kidnapped, and how frantic he'd looked when it was Melissa.

People always panicked when it was someone they truly cared about.

She let out a bitter, ironic laugh and collapsed to the floor.

Right before she blacked out, Charlotte vaguely saw Edward grab her and carry her straight to the ambulance.