Chapter 2
She remembered when she first met Edward—how he'd driven thirty kilometers in the pouring rain at 3 a.m. just to get her favorite breakfast. He showed up soaking wet, but the sandwich was still warm in his hands.
She remembered his proposal, how he'd put her name on every taxi screen across Kimland, and then he dropped to one knee under a sky full of fireworks.
He said, "Charlotte, marry me. I swear to God, I'll never make you cry, never make you sad, and I'll never let you down."
She remembered how he studied recipes every single day after they got married, trying new dishes just to make her smile, all because of her stomach problems.
Everyone envied her. And now she had to tell him it was all a lie, everything fake.
She'd suspected something between Edward and Diana before. The way he worried about her too much, the way he looked at her sometimes.
But Edward always had an explanation. "Diana's the kid Mom and Dad adopted. She had it rough growing up, and as her brother, I should look out for her."
Charlotte believed him.
After all, Diana was his sister and her best friend.
She never thought they'd use her trust to fool her for all these years.
But she still stared at Edward with bloodshot eyes, silently begging him to tell Diana she was wrong.
Edward said nothing.
He lifted his hand and gently wiped the tears from Diana's face, and his touch was practiced, like he'd done it a thousand times before.
Then, while Charlotte watched and felt herself breaking apart, he pulled Diana into his arms—holding her way too close for a brother and sister.
"It's okay, don't overthink it." Edward bent his head and kissed Diana's forehead. "Your eyes won't look pretty if they get all swollen from crying."
Charlotte stood outside the door, and her throat tasted like blood. Anger, humiliation, and grief wrapped around her throat so tight she could barely breathe.
She stared at the two people on the bed, wrapped up in each other, and watched the same man who had kissed her just this morning. The whole thing felt like a sick joke, and she was the punchline.
Before she could even process the betrayal crushing her chest, Diana spoke up. "Edward, I want that Lucky Coin. Can you give it to me?"
Charlotte's scalp prickled with dread.
That Lucky Coin—she had mined the raw jade herself when she and Edward got engaged.
It had been pouring rain that day, and the mine collapsed. She nearly died in that pit, and then she'd carved the pendant with her bare hands until her fingers bled and her palms were raw.
When Edward saw her covered in cuts and bruises, he broke down. He pulled her into his arms and said, "Are you insane? What would I do if something happened to you?"
He'd clutched that Lucky Coin in his fist and promised her, "I'll wear this for the rest of my life."
And he had. He'd worn it every single day since then and never once taken it off.
Would he really give it to Diana?
"This thing?" Edward reached up and pinched Diana's cheek, his tone casual, almost dismissive. "If you like it, take it. It's just a pendant."
He unclasped the smooth, polished Lucky Coin from around his neck and dropped it into Diana's palm.
Charlotte watched it happen, and something inside her turned to ice.
It felt like someone had carved out a piece of her heart with a dull knife, and the pain made her knees buckle. She could barely stay on her feet.
The token she'd nearly died for—he just handed it over like it was nothing, like it was trash.
Edward was a complete bastard, through and through.
Diana cradled the Lucky Coin in her hands, her face lighting up with pure joy. "Edward, I knew you loved me the most."
Edward smiled gently, "Alright, she's coming back soon. You should go."
Diana pouted and let out a reluctant "fine" before climbing down from their marital bed.
Charlotte spun around in a panic, like a rat caught in the light, and hid in the bathroom.