Chapter 2
The room went dead silent, so quiet that one could hear everyone's breathing.
Charles's face darkened instantly. His suspicious gaze darted back and forth between me and Edward, his eyes practically shooting daggers at us.
Seeing Charles about to blow up, his buddy Michael Reed quickly stepped in front of him, flashing me a cheeky grin. He said, "Natalia, even if you're mad, you shouldn't mess with Charles like that.
"Everyone knows Edward just married two months ago. His wife is still overseas, not even back yet. If you're gonna make something up, at least get your facts straight first, or you'll just end up embarrassing yourself.
"I know you're pissed because Charles mixed you up with someone else, but it's not like he did it on purpose. He's the victim here, too. Don't be so petty."
Edward raised an eyebrow, about to say something, but I tugged on his arm, signaling him to stay quiet.
Michael rolled his eyes at me, then, ever the loyal bro, grabbed Charles, who was about to blow a fuse, and dragged him away.
Sophie, her eyes red with tears, trailed after them. Just as they were about to walk out, she suddenly spun around, pointed at me, and shouted, "Natalia, you've really gone too far today.
"Charles is already not in a great place mentally. Why do you have to upset him?
"If something really happens to Charles, I swear I won't let you off the hook."
With that, she shamelessly latched onto Charles's arm, acting like the sunshine heroine from a romance novel, insisting on leaving with him no matter what.
The rest of the group followed after them, all shaking their heads at me as they left, like I was the villain of the story.
Once the party hall was empty except for Edward and me, he sighed and, with a smirk, said, "Now I finally understand why you agreed to our engagement so quickly.
"Looks like Charles isn't the only one who's a little crazy. That whole bunch is pretty nuts.
"But since you already exposed our relationship, why didn't you let me come clean in front of everyone?"
Edward pulled me into his arms, looking at me all hurt and needy.
I gave a faint, bittersweet smile, part self-mockery, part resolve.
I said, "It's nothing. Guess I was still holding onto a bit of hope for Charles, just wanted to see how he'd respond."
I gave a helpless, bitter smile and let myself lean against Edward's chest. Even though my heart ached, I forced myself to let go of the last bit of hope I had for Charles.
"It's truly over between Charles and me. There's no chance for us anymore," I said quietly.
On the drive home, Edward kept tossing out lame dad jokes, trying to get a laugh out of me.
But my mind was all tangled up. Every time I even thought of Charles, it was like a needle pricking at my heart. There was no way I could even crack a smile.
As his childhood sweetheart and ex, I knew better than anyone just how severe Charles's face blindness really was.
He'd had it since he was little, but back then, it didn't really mess with his life.
But when he turned ten, everything changed. He mistook his dad's mistress for his own mom right in front of his actual mom.
His mom couldn't handle the shock, and the next day, she took her own life in his room.
After that, he was left with PTSD, and his face blindness only got worse.
Back when he couldn't even tell the people around him apart, I was always there for him, day in and day out, helping him figure out who was who, so he could get by like everyone else.
What gave me a little secret joy was that, even though Charles had mixed up so many people over the years, he'd never once gotten me wrong.
He always said other people's faces looked like they were behind a haze. He couldn't see them clearly, so telling people apart was nearly impossible.
But every smile, every frown, every little thing I did was etched into his memory. Even if he couldn't picture my face, he could always spot me by how I acted or moved.
When Charles turned twenty and finally managed to get his face blindness mostly under control, able to live like a regular person, it was only natural that his parents suggested we get engaged.
I was all smiles, ready to share the good news with him, but the moment I pushed open the door, I saw that he had Sophie pinned against the wall.
It was dangerously close to turning into something more.
For a moment, I was completely stunned.