Chapter 4

Charlotte tried to smile, but honestly, her smile was uglier than her tears.

Even the transfer was just a leftover, something Henry only handed to her because nobody else wanted it.

She had pulled every trick in the book to get Henry to send her that transfer, but he always had some excuse to dodge her.

He claimed that his money was reserved for his wife after they got married; yet now, he could wire Vivian more than two million without batting an eye.

Turned out, it wasn't about not being able to send money; he just never wanted to send it to her.

While Charlotte was caught up in her own sorrow, she overheard the maids gossiping outside.

"Did you hear? Mr. Pierce spent the whole day transforming the Garden Restaurant into a fairy tale. He had ten thousand fresh flowers flown in just for the event. The whole scene was more magical than any movie. Ms. Wynn is so lucky."

"Wow, he's already proposed, but he's still pulling out all the stops. Mr. Pierce really went above and beyond for Ms. Wynn."

Charlotte's heart, which she thought had stopped beating for good, suddenly started racing again.

Maybe the video was fake. Maybe Henry's phone ended up in Vivian's hands, and she forged the chat logs. Charlotte kept coming up with excuses for him, desperately trying to convince herself.

Even the bell in the car, even being treated as a substitute, she could fool herself into thinking it was all just her imagination.

But when she braved the storm and rushed to the restaurant, her heart full of hope, what she saw was Henry and her dad, Richard, happily celebrating Valentine's Day with Vivian.

And the pink engagement ring he promised her was now gleaming on Vivian's finger.

No one even spared a glance at Charlotte, standing in the corner, soaked through and looking like a drowned puppy.

With everyone fawning over Vivian, Charlotte just said quietly, "You look beautiful."

Then she turned and walked away.

The rain wasn't heavy at all; it was just that Charlotte's heart had turned cold.

She tossed and turned all night, the ticking clock sounding like the pain between them, never-ending, just going on and on.

Charlotte finally drifted off, but in that blurry half-asleep state, a cold hand grabbed hers, and Henry's low, sad voice came right next to her ear.

"I'm sorry. I don't even know what's wrong with me," Henry said.

Charlotte shot awake and saw him sitting at the edge of the bed, drenched and smelling like booze. His eyes were red and wet, and his voice was so soft it was barely there.

"Please forgive me, okay? I cared about you so much that I lost my way. That's why I messed up like this," Henry said.

Charlotte's throat tightened, her nails digging into her palms as she wondered if he meant it. Before she could react, he suddenly leaned in and crushed his hot lips against hers.

The kiss came down on her like a storm, wild, possessive, and so fierce it was nothing like the usual Henry.

With the last shred of her sanity, Charlotte pushed him away. With a thud, Henry collapsed onto the floor, his drunken eyes unfocused, still muttering incoherently.

Henry said, "Vivian, don't go. Please forgive me, okay? I promise I'll never hurt Richard again. Just forgive me, please.

"Why? Why won't you even look at me? What makes him better than me? Why would you rather leave with him than ever look back at me? Why?"

He sobbed, his voice rough and broken, like a kid denied his candy. All his bitterness twisted into deep sorrow as he curled up on the floor, utterly shattered.

Charlotte swallowed hard, the pain in her throat like a knife scraping down to her heart.

Henry was always so cool and aloof; the most outrageous thing he ever did for her was sneaking notes back and forth in the bathroom until his legs nearly got numb.

But for Vivian, he could lose all composure, get drunk in the rain, let his emotions run wild, and even in his drunken haze, mistake Charlotte for Vivian, begging her not to leave, so desperate he was practically groveling.

Charlotte had always been the one who was truly sincere with him, yet she was the one who kept getting betrayed.

All her honesty and heart had only left her bruised and broken, her heart shattered on the floor. So Charlotte stopped wishing for anything, stopped even daring to dream.

Charlotte, still feeling under the weather, dragged herself through a whole day of meetings at the office. It wasn't until evening that she finally had a moment to pour herself a cup of coffee.

She had just picked up the cup when Henry burst in, sweeping the cup off the table, sending everything crashing to the floor.

Henry stormed in, looking like he was about to blow a fuse. Charlotte braced herself for some major crisis, but instead, he just started lecturing her with righteous fury.

"Vivian's heartbroken, and you still have time to sit here drinking coffee?" Henry asked.