Why the Billionaire Cried

Chapter 1

Charlotte and Edward looked at each other and laughed. They rose up and made their bed.

"What time did you sleep?" Edward asked.

"Try guessing it. Here's the hint." Charlotte playfully touched her eye bags.

Edward pretended to think for a second. "8:00 pm?" he jokingly replied.

"Jackpot!"

The two laughed again and went to the shower. They couldn't sleep last night because they were too excited for today's interview. Their company became one of the top 50 companies with the highest net profit last year.

Once they finished showering, they ate, brushed their teeth, and dressed up.

"Who is this handsome man? Are you single, sir?" Charlotte smiled.

"The moment I saw you, you have taken my heart already."

They broke into fits of laughter at their cheesy lines. When Julian's eyes landed on the clock, he immediately stopped and told Charlotte to hurry up. They had less than 30 minutes before the start of the interview.

They rushed to the place and thankfully, the traffic wasn't heavy. They drove for just about 10 minutes. That meant they had quite a time to go up to the interview room. Charlotte wouldn't need a retouch since she wasn't sweating.

Before entering the room, they looked at each other and softly said together, "I love you."

They breathed out and with a smile, walked inside.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Farley," a woman greeted them. She ushered them to their seats and were told to wait for five minutes for the interviewer.

Five minutes felt like a short time as the couple held their cold hands. They practiced how to introduce themselves in their heads. They practiced answering the questions they were given in advance. They had just thought of the third question when the interviewer came in.

They rose and greeted the interviewer with big smiles.

The day Charlotte and Edward got called for the interview, they immediately wrote a script and talked about what kind of image they wanted to send to the public. They decided on simple yet elegant so they planned to sit upright all the time, laugh in a quite polite manner, and answer with a calm tone. But that plan was never brought to fruition the moment they introduced themselves. It's all because the interviewer commented on their eye bags and they began to laugh.

Although it wasn't part of the plan, the result was still good. The interview went smoothly and the staff were very happy with what happened.

As they drove to a restaurant, they talked about how stupid they were with all their preparations.

"Next time, let's prepare more so that whatever we plan will really happen," Charlotte said.

"And what's our next plan?" Edward asked.

"How about becoming mysterious owners? We're going to become the talk of the town because our company's image is really the happy type but the owners are dark, mysterious, edgy." Charlotte was waving her hands in the air as she said those words.

Edward chuckled. "That's going to be hard."

"Why would it be hard? We just don't have to show ourselves to others and if we do, we have to wear everything black..." Charlotte's voice trailed off as she looked at their pastel outfits. She nodded. "Yep. It's going to be hard."

Edward's phone rang. Charlotte tapped the answer button and used the speaker mode. Edward mouthed her a thank you.

"Yes, Mr. Johnson," he said to the phone.

"Good morning, sir. I am sorry for disturbing you. I know it is Saturday and you told me that you are off limits in the weekends because it is your time to-"

"Just get to the point," Edward interrupted.

"Ms. Sanchez got into an accident while coming to work. Dead on arrival, sir," Mr Johnson explained.

Edward immediately stepped on the breaks which caused him and Charlotte to jerk forward. The vehicles behind them honked so Edward had to find a place where they could stop for a while.

All the while, Charlotte didn't complain at all because she knew the importance of Ms. Sanchez in their company. She was the executive secretary and she was the only one who knew the company in and out to the point she could fill for Edward. She was the only reason why Edward could be off limits in the weekends.

Ms. Sanchez was one of their long-time employees. When Charlotte stopped being hands-on in the company to pursue her dream of becoming a writer, they promoted Ms. Sanchez to the position of the executive secretary.

After Edward hung up, Charlotte said, "Let's go to the company."

She knew that even if they went to the restaurant, her husband's worries would just be eating him up. It was better to solve whatever was on his plate at that moment.

"But it's almost 12. You just ate a slice-" Edward couldn't finish his sentence because Charlotte took out two pieces of sandwich from her bag.

"I came prepared. I'm always prepared."

Edward smiled and began driving towards the company.

It was quarter to 11 in the evening when they got home. It took a long time to take care of the things in the company and they knew from that that they had to find somebody to fill in the position of Ms. Sanchez.

They were lying in bed already because of the exhaustion. Edward had his back on Charlotte and that meant he couldn't sleep because of a bad reason. He kept on worrying about the vacant position. He hadn't seen somebody whom he could trust yet. That was his first qualification in choosing the executive secretary.

That position being vacant entailed that he had to be on-the-go l the time. His time with his wife would be halved. He didn't want that.

"Edward, how about I fill in for her until you've found a new one?"

"No." He turned around. "Absolutely not, Charlotte."

"It's not like it's something new for me. Just one year ago, I was with you working in the company."

"That's exactly why you shouldn't do it again. It has just been a year since you've been going for your dream. And next week, you're going to work as an intern in your dream company. You can't go back to our company," Edward said with his voice quivering a little.

Charlotte put her hand on his cheek and gently caressed it. "Edward, I am very happy that you have this stand because I know you are just thinking of me. You don't want me to pause my dream again and you don't want me to get hurt by pausing it again. You really love me." Charlotte smiled. "But I also want you to remember that I love you as much as you love me. I don't want you to get hurt by worrying about it so much either. I love you, okay? And if you really don't want me to be the executive secretary, then I'm very much okay if you'll spend less time with me for the meantime. It's not forever and I will always love you."

Edward let out a sigh of relief. He had just been reminded that his wife was Charlotte, a woman who would love him even if he would fail sometimes.

He put his hand on Charlotte's waist and pulled her closer. Then he shifted to her head and kissed her forehead. They stayed in that position while they silently cried.

The great happiness in their hearts that they had married each other was too much to contain. They were very thankful that they were each other's spouse.

Edward began recalling the struggles he faced and noticed how Charlotte was always there. And even at that specific moment, she was there still.

"I couldn't thank God for you. Thank you for existing, Charlotte," he whispered.

In response, Charlotte hugged her husband much more tightly.

As if the heavens wanted to lull them to sleep, the skies began to rain. It was a soft downpour, one that would calm a person. That made them more comfortable.

It didn't take long for this comfort to be disturbed when they heard the doorbell ring repeatedly.

"I'll get it. You stay here," Edward said as he broke free from the embrace.

He checked the camera and when he saw who was there, he hurriedly rose from the bed and grabbed an umbrella. Charlotte noticed the rush.

"What's wrong, Edward?"

"It's Melanie."

"Melanie? Who's that?" she asked.

"Melanie Sanchez. You know that Ms. Sanchez has a daughter from her ex-boyfriend, right? It's her."

Charlotte rose up. "I'll prepare some drinks," she said.

Charlotte headed to the kitchen while Edward headed to the gate.

He took big steps to reach the place faster. He opened the gate and saw how wet Melanie was.

"Melanie," he said.

Although the rainwater covered the tears on her face, it was still very clear that she was crying on her way and even at that time. Who would miss the sadness in that kind of expression?

She freed her hands from her bag and hugged Edward. He let her be because he knew how Melanie felt that time. 10 years ago when he was 18 years old, he felt miserable when he saw her parents' dead body in the car crash.

Melanie might be 21 years old now but she still lost somebody and that somebody was her mother. Losing a mother is always painful no matter how old a person is.

With his free hand, he caressed her back. There was a certain rhythm to it. It was the same rhythm that Charlotte used when he cried at the hospital. It calmed him and he was hoping it calm her, too.

Melanie's sobs started going silent so he said, "Let's go inside."

She nodded.

Edward took her bag and they walked together under the same umbrella. The moment they got in, Charlotte wiped Melanie with a towel. She asked no questions at all.

Melanie looked at her and saw the worried expression on Charlotte's face.

"Why?" she asked softly.

She wasn't planning to actually say it but she couldn't control her mouth. She was confused. She understood why Edward allowed her to hug him because they had met quite a lot, but she didn't know why this woman whom she had just met for the first time was so caring towards her.

"Because you're wet," Charlotte said without stopping. "Edward, please get the hot cocoa in the kitchen."

"I got it already," he said and handed it to Melanie.

"Come sit here," Charlotte beckoned her and she followed.

The three sat in silence with Melanie's sipping sounds overwhelming it every now and then.

Melanie observed the house and the couple. She began to feel peaceful. She wanted to stay there. It was the only place that made her fears go away after her mother's death, especially with the way her relatives treated her.

"Can I stay here?" she asked, facing Edward.

Edward looked at Charlotte. She nodded.

"You can always stay here," he said.

Melanie smiled and uttered a thank you while hugging Edward. Charlotte and Edward smiled as well.

Melanie wanted the peace of the house so she wanted to stay there. Who knew what else she would end up wanting? Charlotte was certainly not expecting this young woman to covet somebody's love in the house.