Chapter 3
Edward and Charles were so busy welcoming Vivian that they didn't even notice us.
Joanna was furious, venting to me nonstop for a whole hour.
Vivian was fake nice to the core. Every part of her just screamed manipulative.
But Edward acted like he had selective blindness, totally ignoring all the crap Joanna was dealing with.
Joanna let out a long sigh. "As expected, forced love never works out. There's no way any of this could turn sweet."
I chimed in, "We have to bolt. Otherwise, am I supposed to stick around just to make their drama even juicier for the holidays?"
So Joanna and I got together, scheming up a fresh plan.
Sure, we blew our shot today, but lucky for us, Vivian had her debut concert set for the next day.
Charles and Edward were sure to be there.
No way were we letting this opportunity slip through our fingers again.
Joanna and I stayed up, plotting and going over every detail late into the night.
To my surprise, Charles was still awake, just sitting there at the head of the bed.
I couldn't help but wonder if he was waiting to call me out.
I immediately switched into whining mode, collapsing onto the bed in dramatic fashion.
"Oh no, how did I manage to catch the flu even with a mask on?" I whimpered, trying my best to look miserable.
Charles's brow furrowed in an instant.
He reached out to feel my forehead, but I was faster. I whipped out the thermometer I'd stashed earlier, flashed him that 102°F reading, and shoved it into his hand.
"Keep your distance. I don't want you getting sick, too," I mumbled.
"Seriously, what were you thinking? Why did you go to the hospital? You happy now?" he shot back.
But before I could say a word, Charles wrapped his arms around me from behind, holding me tight.
"Did you take your medicine?" he asked.
"Yeah," I mumbled.
"Your fever's burning up. My body's usually cooler. Stay close to me. Maybe I can help bring it down." He squeezed my hand, his voice gentle now.
It really felt like he was a different person from the cold, stern guy who'd told me to apologize to Vivian earlier.
I could feel his heart beating faster against mine.
"I'll skip her concert tomorrow," I said.
Charles just nodded. "Alright, you just stay home and rest up, poor girl."
I went quiet for a few seconds, then finally asked, "So, you're really not going to hold it against me for roasting Vivian?"
He let out a low laugh. "Are you kidding? You totally humiliated me in public. Once you're back on your feet, you still owe me an apology."
I really shouldn't expect anything from him at this point.
Joanna finally made it right on time, and I let out a sigh of relief.
But her eyes were so red and swollen, definitely been crying a river.
"Spill it. Did that jerk give you a hard time?" I blurted out, worry written all over my face.
"Who, him? As if," Joanna scoffed.
"I picked a huge fight with him over what happened yesterday and cried half the night. Today, he finally stopped talking to me. Otherwise, he would've dragged me to that bitch's show again."
Joanna used the dog walk as her cover to sneak her luggage out.
We jumped into a cab and made our escape, getting to the airport without a single hiccup.
Seriously, everything went off just like clockwork.
But just half an hour before our flight, Joanna suddenly had a bathroom emergency.
I was stuck waiting outside forever, and finally Joanna shot me a text.
Joanna: [Lucia, we're running out of time. You get on the plane first. I'll catch up.]
I kept calling for her, but she didn't respond at all.
No clue what she ate to get herself into this mess.
I could only sigh. Our bags were already checked, so not boarding wasn't really an option.
If I didn't get on, they'd probably start investigating, and if the whole flight got held up, all our plans would go down the drain.
[Okay. Just hurry, you can still board up to fifteen minutes before departure.]
I slung my two bags over my shoulders and grabbed Joanna's two, then booked it to the boarding gate.
I got through the check-in, sprinted down the jet bridge, and finally made it onto the plane.
What? I blinked, suddenly sensing something was off.
This plane looked kind of strange.
I came to a halt without even thinking.
Suddenly, I froze in my tracks, feeling every drop of blood in my body turn to ice.
There was just one person in the entire cabin.
Charles lounged in the front row, legs casually crossed, fixing me with that not-quite-a-smile look.
"So, you finally made it. Tell me, sweetheart, what should I do with you?" he drawled.
My hands went slack, and the bags I was clutching tumbled to the floor with a heavy thud.
If Charles was waiting to ambush me, then Edward must be lurking around, too.
"Wait? What about Joanna? Did she get snatched as well?" I stammered.
Charles scoffed, "What do you think? The Sterling family's runaway bride? You really think my dear brother would just let her escape?"
His eyes flashed with ice, that ruthless, killer vibe flaring up all over again.
He clamped down on my wrist with an iron grip and yanked me out the door, no chance to resist.
Charles's grip was no joke. He could've snapped my wrist in half.
The pain was so sharp that my eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"Let me see Joanna," I begged.
Charles gave a cold snort as I'd just told the dumbest joke.
"Why don't you guess again? Think you'll ever see her again?" he said.