Chapter 5: No, she stays.
1042 Words
Just a few minutes after Ryan got in his study and poured himself a drink, the door opened, and his personal assistant, Dave, stepped inside.
“Everything’s in order, sir,” Dave said, his tone professional but laced with curiosity. He hesitated before continuing. “If I may, sir… do you want me to send this woman back to her family? As a warning to the Bennetts?”
Ryan’s jaw tightened, his gaze snapping to James. “No.”
James blinked, caught off guard by the sharpness in his tone.
“But.. the Bennett family had truly gone too far, picking some woman off the streets to play the role of the bride during the wedding today. How could you let such disrespect for your family slide?”
Ryan Graham’s eyes were gentle, without a hint of anger, and his voice held no weight to it.. he appeared extremely frail.
“Never mind that. Sometimes, mistakes are not necessarily bad things.”
James protested, “But you’re...”
Ryan lifted a hand, and James fell silent.
“Let me see the marriage contract.” After confirming that Charlotte had indeed signed the contract, Ryan returned it to his PA. “Take this and prepare the marriage certificate.”
James was shocked. “Ryan, we don’t even know who this woman is or where she came from. Do you really want her for a wife?”
The marriage certificate was much more than just a piece of paper. James’s fear was that If this woman harbored any secret schemes, she could walk away with half the Graham’s fortune anytime she wished–hundreds of millions of dollars, at that!”
Ryan’s dark eyes flickered James’s way. He rose from the chair, crossing the room in a few sure-footed strides to pull on a pair of trousers.
Standing tall and upright in front of the full-length mirror, he took off his mask, and the false skin beneath it peeled away.
When he spoke, his voice was full of cold command.
“Go find out everything you can about Charlotte Bennett.”
“What?” Dave asked.
Ryan’s dark eyes flickered toward James, a flicker of something sharp in them, like a predator sensing a threat.
“You heard me,” Ryan repeated, his voice steady but undercut with an edge.
James blinked, caught off guard by the intensity of Ryan’s tone. “You want me to look into her... background? Everything?”
“Find out everything about Charlotte Bennett,” Ryan said again, his words slow, deliberate. The kind of command that left no room for argument.
James hesitated for a moment, the tension palpable. He wasn’t sure why Ryan’s request felt more urgent than it should, but he knew better than to question it.
James, still processing, nodded stiffly. “Understood. I’ll get right on it.”
As he turned to leave, Ryan’s eyes followed him, his mind still tangled with that fleeting moment of something he couldn’t grasp.
It was the way Charlotte had looked at him. The fear, the uncertainty in her eyes…
She had said she married him of her own free will, but there was something about her gaze that didn’t add up.
The way her voice had trembled when she asked him about the contract lingered in his mind.
He couldn’t shake the feeling.
Pity.
He pitied her, though he couldn’t explain why.
But still, his mind kept returning to her eyes.
**********
Charlotte sat alone at a small restaurant, her plate of half-eaten pasta forgotten as her thoughts drifted.
She hadn’t been out in what felt like forever.
Ryan’s words echoed in her mind.. ‘You’re free to do whatever you want. Go wherever you please.’
She traced the rim of her glass with her finger, lost in thought. It had been so long since she’d had a moment like this.. quiet, alone, without the pressure of pretending to be someone she wasn’t.
She thought of her best friend, Leah. The memories of their time together before her life had spiraled into chaos.. before prison, before everything changed.. flooded her mind. They had laughed, dreamed of a future, and even planned to open a boutique together.
But then Leah had left. Paris.
The distance between them had only grown, and Charlotte’s world had crumbled. Leah had been the one person who saw her for who she really was, not for her father’s debts or her stepmother’s manipulations.
Now, Charlotte was alone. Completely alone.
‘At least I’m free,’ she thought, running a hand through her hair. ‘Two years, that’s all. I can survive two years. After that, I’ll have my life back.’
Her stepmother had ensured her criminal record was erased, her pardon granted.. all because she’d agreed to replace Joanna. The choice hadn’t been hers, but the consequences of that choice were hers to live with.
‘Just two years,’ she repeated silently, gripping her glass a little too tightly.
As the minutes ticked by, Charlotte checked the time on her phone 11:59pm.
She should’ve been back already. Ryan was probably waiting, though he likely didn’t care.
She stood, feeling a little lightheaded from the drink, and walked toward the counter to pay her bill.
As she swiped her card, she felt a familiar, uncomfortable sensation.. the card was declined.
She tried again, then a third time, but the attendant was staring at her with an increasingly impatient look.
"This is embarrassing, ma'am," the attendant said, his tone becoming sharp.
"I'm so sorry, I..." Charlotte stammered, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks.
Before she could try again, a voice cut through the tension.
“Add her bill to mine.”
Charlotte froze, heart thudding in her chest. She didn’t need to turn around to recognize that voice.
“Julian?” she whispered, barely believing her own words.
She turned, and her eyes widened as she saw him.. Julian.
“Long time no see, Charlotte,” Julian said, his voice smooth, almost teasing. His lips curved upward in that familiar, lopsided grin, one that used to make her stomach flip.
Charlotte’s breath caught in her throat.
“Julian?” She repeated.
He offered a tight smile, “It’s fine, Charlotte. Let’s not make a scene."
- Writer
