Charlotte: Her Twisted Fate

A Crush

CHAPTER 7

A Crush

Charlotte POV

PRESENT

I waited for Damian to come back. Minutes passed, then hours, But he didn’t.

At some point, exhaustion took over, and I drifted off to sleep. I felt something soft—a light touch against my face. My eyes fluttered open slowly.

Damian sat beside the bed. The moment he noticed I was awake, he pulled his hand back quickly, like he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t. But before he could move away completely, I reached out and grabbed his hand. He stilled, surprised. Gently, I guided his hand back to my face. I didn’t know why I did it, but it felt… right.

He looked at me, his expression unreadable, but there was something in his eyes I couldn’t quite place.

“I brought you these,” he said after a moment, turning slightly toward the table. I followed his gaze: coffee, a sandwich, and a phone—a new one. I stared at it for a second before realizing my old phone must have been damaged. A small smile formed on my lips.

“Thank you,” I said softly. He nodded once. “Okay.”

And just like that, he walked out. I watched the door for a long moment after he left.

The night passed quietly. By morning, I knew I couldn’t stay any longer. Dad would be worried. Lucy too. I waited for him, just for a little while, but he didn’t come back.

So I left.

Damian POV

I’ve liked her for a long time. Longer than I should have. I was twenty-four the first time I noticed her. It was a normal day. Andrew had called me, asking me to bring something he forgot—typical. The school was crowded when I got there: students everywhere, noise, movement, nothing out of the ordinary. And then… I saw her.

She stood out immediately—not because she was trying to, but because she wasn’t. The way she walked, the way she smiled at people, the way she carried herself… it was simple, but it was enough.

“Who is she?” I found myself wondering. I wasn’t paying attention and bumped into a locker, nearly colliding with someone else.

“Careful,” a soft voice said. I looked up, and our eyes met—amber-green eyes, warm, bright, alive. For a second, I forgot everything else.

“Here, let me help you,” she said, reaching for the box in my hands. We carried it together. She talked as we walked—simple things, random things. I listened, answered when I had to, but mostly… I just watched her.

Later, I found out the truth: she was with my brother. Something about that didn’t sit right with me. Not because she was taken, but because of who she was with.

He didn’t deserve her.

I saw the way he treated her, the way he ignored her, the way he took her for granted. And it made me angry. Sometimes, I wished she was mine.

But I let it go, I had to. Andrew was my brother , so i couldn’t cross the line.

At twenty-five, everything changed. My five-year-old sister died in a fire. And somehow, it became my fault. My parents turned against me.

The house I grew up in no longer felt like home, I became an outcast.

Then came the debt. My family owed a man, a dangerous man, Thomas Ramirez.

When everything fell apart, I was the one who paid the price.

They took a loan from him to invest in a business that later failed.

I was given to him. Years passed. Five. And then… I saw her again. It wasn’t planned and It wasn’t expected.

I was out, trying to clear my head, when I saw a group of girls near the water. Something felt wrong. By the time I got closer, they were already running. And then I saw her—in the water, unmoving. My heart stopped. I pulled her out quickly, my hands shaking slightly. And when I saw her face, I froze. I would never forget it—her, even after all those years. My chest tightened. Something I thought I had buried came rushing back. I thought I had moved on. I thought it didn’t matter anymore. But I was wrong. Because in that moment, I realized something I didn’t want to admit: I still loved her.

When she woke up, I didn’t want her to leave. Not this time. Not again. But she did. And now… she’s gone. Again. But this time… things will be different. I won’t step back like I did 5 years ago. I won’t watch from a distance. I won’t leave her to him. Not anymore.