Strange Text Made Me Go Back to Orphanage

Chapter 6

After leaving the hospital, Raymond submitted a divorce application to the military.

That very day, he brought the divorce agreement to the hospital.

When Charlotte saw the divorce papers, she did not say much and simply signed her name.

Raymond stared blankly at the agreement for a long while. After some time, his lips trembled slightly as he asked, "Charlotte... what are you going to do now?"

Leaning against the hospital bed, Charlotte frowned impatiently upon hearing this.

"None of your business."

At that moment, she felt a wave of relief that they had registered their marriage in Osmela.

The laws there were different from other places. It only took one week to obtain a divorce certificate.

In one week, she would be able to begin her new life.

Raymond looked at Charlotte's pale face with conflicted eyes and apologized softly. "I'm so sorry, Charlotte. I put you through so much for nothing."

Charlotte did not respond and simply lowered her head to look at her phone.

A week later, she and Raymond appeared at the Civil Affairs Bureau as agreed and finalized their divorce procedures.

The moment Charlotte received the divorce certificate, she felt as if she had truly come back to life.

From beginning to end, she did not say a single word to Raymond.

As she was about to leave, she noticed Sarah standing not far away, but she chose to pretend not to see her.

Sarah hurried toward her with frantic steps, her eyes red as she looked at her.

"Charlotte, wait! I've applied for a transfer. I'm leaving the Navy unit. I'll never see Raymond again after this. Can we please just—"

"No."

Charlotte rejected Sarah without hesitation, looking at her with distant unfamiliarity.

"Sarah, you're like a needle buried in my skin. If I don't pull you out and throw you away, the pain will never stop."

Sarah looked as if she had been slapped. She stumbled back a few steps, struggling to keep her footing.

"Charlotte, please just take care of yourself," Sarah choked out. "If you ever need anything... just call me. Anytime."

Charlotte gave her a deep, unreadable look before turning around and driving away.

She returned to their former home one last time and packed only the things that belonged to her.

As for the rest—the belongings shared between her and Raymond, and the items connected to the three of them—she left them all behind.

The existence of those things would only remind her again and again that she had once been nothing more than a clown, toyed with by her husband and her best friend.

Just as she was about to leave, she accidentally knocked over a panda building block set in the study.

Those building blocks had been a gift from the orphanage director when the three of them got into the same middle school.

The woman they called Ms. Helen had said, "If the three of you finish this set together, you'll be able to get through anything life throws at you."

Back then, she had truly believed they would always stand behind her.

But in the end, she was the only one left alone.

From now on, she would never see them again.

After Charlotte walked out the door, she dragged her suitcase straight to her car and drove to the airport.

That afternoon, Raymond was at Sarah's house, tirelessly trying to comfort her.

"Sarah, look, she was going to find out sooner or later," Raymond sighed. "It sucked, but the outcome was always going to be the same."

Sarah shook her head while crying, her swollen eyes filled with guilt.

"It's my fault. I should've walked away from you a long time ago. If it wasn't for me, Charlotte wouldn't have written us both off like this."

"No, it's my fault. If I had just been firm from the start, we wouldn't be in this mess."

Raymond pulled Sarah into his arms helplessly. "Let's just give her some space for now. We'll go see her together later and ask for her forgiveness, okay?"

Before Sarah could respond, Raymond received a phone call from the police.

"Hello? Is this Charlotte Grant's family?"

After a moment of shock, Raymond's grip on the phone tightened slightly as he answered in a low voice, "Yes, what happened?"

The next second, the officer's heavy voice came through the phone. "There was an accident near the construction site by the Penrose Street overpass around 2:15 PM. Ms. Grant's car went over the edge and into the sea. Rescue teams have been searching for three hours, but there's still no sign of her. Honestly, at this point, the chances of survival are slim to none."