Chapter 3
Rain drifted in through the car window, chilling Charlotte to the bone.
It was just a plain, uneventful night; so how did everything suddenly turn upside down?
Charlotte pressed her lips together, struggling to hold back her tears, but Vivian suddenly pointed at a hanging charm in the car and shouted excitedly.
Vivian said, "Why is this little bell hanging in Charlotte's car? We agreed it would hang in my car in the future. But I left for abroad in such a hurry, I forgot to take the gift you gave me.
"No worries. As long as you keep it hanging, our promise is still good. When I wasn't around, Charlotte was there for you instead. It's only natural you'd see her in a better light because of that."
Henry, sharp as ever, somehow missed the jab hidden in Vivian's words and just kept sparring with her.
Henry said, "Shut up. I'll give my wife whatever I want. What's it to you?"
Vivian shrank back, too scared to say another word after Henry snapped at her, but Charlotte's heart clenched painfully.
Back then, Henry would always notice whenever Charlotte was upset and do everything he could to cheer her up. But now, she hadn't said a single word the whole time, and he was completely oblivious.
Right in front of his fiancée, he thought he was just arguing with Vivian, but he was actually flirting with her, making Charlotte just another prop in their drama, and he didn't see anything wrong with it.
So this was what it felt like when love was gone; her presence felt unnecessary, like she was just extra.
That night, Charlotte burned with a fever. The next day, she skipped work and didn't text Henry at all.
Back then, he would've been calling nonstop, worried sick. But this time, his phone stayed silent.
It wasn't until that evening that Henry finally remembered to send Charlotte a transfer of two hundred, the digital way of saying I love you.
Henry sent: [Happy Valentine's Day. Always love you.]
Just cold words, as if he were just checking off a task.
Henry always went all out for Valentine's Day. No matter how busy or away on business, he still made time to call Charlotte and text her sweet, over-the-top love notes at the crack of dawn. He never failed to make her smile.
Now, the man who used to be all about her was nowhere to be found.
At least there was still a transfer. Maybe his love hadn't completely faded away after all, Charlotte comforted herself, pretending to be cheerful as she thanked him.
Henry must really be swamped; he used to always keep the conversation going, never letting Charlotte be the one to say goodbye, but now he couldn't even spare a second to send back a quick emoji.
Staring at the smiley face she sent, Charlotte felt like it looked so sad it could cry.
In her cramped little room, Charlotte coughed violently and took a sip of water, forcing down all the sourness in her chest. But as she turned, she caught sight of Vivian's latest update.
It read: [Who's so lucky to get so many red roses and pages and pages of over-the-top sweet messages first thing in the morning? I can't even finish reading them all, so annoying.]
The post showed flowers, a blurry love letter, and a hand with sharp knuckles, intertwined with Vivian's, inseparable.
Charlotte recognized that hand in an instant; it was Henry's, the same hand that had once given her comfort, now holding someone else tightly.
But what really made Charlotte feel suffocated was that Henry, who had been missing all day, suddenly dropped an instant comment.
He sent: [You claim you don't care for my gifts, but you're still showing them off online? What, itching for trouble?]
Vivian immediately threw in the towel.
She replied: [Mr. Pierce, please be the bigger person and forgive me just this once.]
Henry instantly commented again.
He sent: [Hump.
[Make sure this post is for me only.]
Vivian replied: [Relax, Mr. Pierce. Your precious fiancée won't see a thing.]
This time, Henry took almost a full minute before finally replying.
Henry sent: [She's no sweetheart of mine. If you hadn't left the country, I wouldn't have even bothered to look at her.]
Charlotte's hand fell weakly to her side, phone still in her grip. Her chest tightened so much that she could barely catch her breath.
Just as Charlotte was desperately trying to keep her emotions under control and force herself to stay rational, Vivian's reply suddenly popped up.
Vivian sent: [So, when you sent her that transfer today, I bet she was over the moon for such a tiny, pitiful gift, right?
[She probably never imagined you'd stay up all night just to send me two million. If I hadn't told you to send her anything, she wouldn't have gotten a single cent. And there she is, so proud of herself, totally clueless.]