Chapter 3
Sophie was my best friend and roommate.
Her family had it rough, and she never really got much love from her parents.
I'd always invite her over to my place, and Edward and I would take her out to have some fun.
Edward was always saying she was kind of dumb right in front of me.
"Charlotte, she can't even shoot a bow. Why'd you bring her along? She's just holding us back."
"Sure, you've got money, but you're not running a charity. Watch out, she might just end up leeching off you."
Edward had warned me about Sophie more than once.
Every time, I'd tell him Sophie wasn't like that.
Now, looking back, I realize how naive I was.
Edward always acted like he couldn't stand being around Sophie.
Like she was the last person on earth he wanted to see.
It turned out that all that irritation was just him hiding how he really felt.
After I hung up, my mom told me to break up with Edward.
But I was stubborn. I just had to clear things up with him.
After all, I was the one who started this whole mess by lying to him first.
Things had to come full circle. I needed to put an end to it.
*****
I waited for Edward all night at the villa.
He finally came back, reeking of booze.
He seemed to sober up a little when he saw me.
Edward squinted a bit and took my hand.
He gently pulled me to sit next to him.
"Charlotte, I've been thinking about it all night. We've been childhood friends for so many years. If something happened to my family, I know you'd help me out. But there's only so much we can do," Edward said.
"You know how it is with these wealthy families; heirs like us don't really have much say until we're in charge. The Turner Family has been in business for three generations, and even they went bankrupt.
"Even if the Brooks Family gave everything we had, there's no way we could bail you out.
"Charlotte, you understand, don't you? I can't drag the Brooks Family into this mess. I can't let both our families get wiped out in this era."
I quietly lowered my head, my doubtful gaze fixed on him.
The heartache inside me was about to spill over.
Tears threatened to fall, but I held them back.
"You don't want to help me, do you?" I asked.
Edward rushed to explain.
"It's not that I don't want to help. I'm just powerless here."
He buried his face in his hands, looking completely torn up inside.
"I talked to my parents, and they think we should put our engagement on hold for now," he said.
"We should keep our distance for now, so the Brooks Family doesn't get caught up in all this."
That was total nonsense.
Edward's mom would never actually call him.
They were all overseas, desperately trying to fix the bankruptcy, still holding onto the hope they could save everything.
Not a single person in the Brooks Family had told Edward about what happened.
He was just using his parents as a shield to dodge my questions.
I couldn't believe it.
All those years together, and it fell apart so easily.
I tried desperately to save what we had.
"Edward, what about me?" I asked.
"My family's bankrupt, but I'm still here. Are you really not going to fight for me, even now?"
Edward looked completely helpless.
"Charlotte, it's not that I'm not fighting for you. It's just there's no point," he said.
"Even the Turner Family's huge business collapsed. Even if the Brooks Family threw every dollar we have at it, it'd barely make a dent. It just wouldn't matter."
I choked out, "So just because it seems hopeless, we're supposed to give up? Are we really just going to stand by and watch three generations of hard work go to waste?"
Edward looked at me like I was just being foolish.
He was so calm it sent chills down my spine.
"What else do you expect?" he said.
"Charlotte, do you even know what bankruptcy means?
"It's like being dead; there's no coming back from that, not in this lifetime."