Chapter 2 That's Beyond Shameless
843 Words
Charlotte had just finished an extremely difficult surgery. By the time she made it back to her office, exhaustion hit her all at once, and she collapsed into her chair.
A second later, the door slammed open so hard it hit the wall.
Her father, Daniel Lindsey, strode in first. Behind him came her mother, Harper Lindsey, and her brother, Wyatt Lindsey. All three looked furious.
"Charlotte!" Before she could even rise to her feet, Wyatt crossed the room and slapped her.
"Evie woke up, saw her scar, and cried until she passed out again! You knew she cared about her face. Why did you stitch the wound like that? Did you do it on purpose?"
Pain exploded across her cheek, and a sharp ringing filled her ears.
Dominick moved instinctively, stepping in front of her.
"Wyatt, Charlotte is your sister, too. How can you hit her?"
Wyatt sneered and grabbed Dominick by the collar.
"Don't forget that Evie is the one carrying your child. If you dare screw her over, I won't let you off easy!"
Dominick went silent.
Then Harper stepped forward, eyes red, and took Charlotte's hand.
"Charlotte, I know you and Evie have never gotten along. What happened in the past..." Her voice faltered. "What happened in the past should stay in the past. A child can't grow up without a father. You... You should let Evie have Dominick."
Charlotte stood there with one burning cheek and stared at the people in front of her, people so familiar, yet utterly unrecognizable.
Her heart throbbed with a sharp, constant pain.
She remembered the day she had first been brought back to the Lindsey Villa. At the welcome banquet, Evelyn had secretly cut up Charlotte's dress and humiliated her in front of everyone.
The Lindseys barely reacted. They offered Charlotte a few lukewarm words of comfort and said, "Evie's been spoiled. You just came back. It's normal that she's having a hard time adjusting."
But when Charlotte accidentally stepped on the hem of Evelyn's dress once, the entire family went cold and demanded that Charlotte apologize. They said she needed to learn manners.
Later, Evelyn dumped an entire bottle of glue into Charlotte's hair while she was asleep, ruining the long, silky hair Charlotte had always loved. The family simply sighed.
"Well, your hair quality wasn't great anyway. Maybe cutting it off and growing it back out will be good for you."
And then there was the thing Harper had just dismissed so casually as the past. Evelyn had paid fifty thousand dollars to hire thugs near the school gate to assault Charlotte.
Charlotte had truly believed that after something that horrific, her family would finally understand right from wrong.
But when she came home the next morning, clothes torn, hair a mess, barely able to stand, and tried to call the police, they stopped her.
"Just let Evie off this time. She's about to start senior year. If you report this, her life will be ruined."
That was the thing that broke Charlotte and drove her into severe depression.
And now they wanted to wave it all away with a few light words.
They even wanted her to give Dominick to Evelyn.
Charlotte felt as if she were standing naked in a frozen wasteland. She was shivering so hard she could barely breathe.
Slowly, she moved her gaze from Harper to Dominick.
Once, she had told herself that maybe it was okay if her family didn't love her. She still had Dominick. He had been the one light in her dark world.
But now he stood with them. With the very people who had destroyed her. And together, they were pushing her into an even deeper abyss.
Charlotte looked at him, feeling as if a dull, gnawing ache tore at her heart.
"If you want me to give Dominick to her, fine." Then she looked at the family standing before her. "But only if you agree that from this day on, I have nothing to do with the Lindseys ever again."
The commotion in the office had already drawn attention. People passing by slowed down. Some stopped and peeked in.
Whispers started spreading through the hallway.
"Dr. Lindsey's husband just carried another woman into the OR. He even signed his own name as family!"
"I heard the woman's pregnant with his baby. I can't believe even a man so famously devoted to his wife would end up a cheater."
"And isn't that woman Dr. Lindsey's sister? That's beyond shameless."
The gossip hit Dominick from every direction. His expression grew darker.
Years of carefully constructed happiness were being ripped open in public. All the sweetness Charlotte had once clung to tangled together with the gossip around her, turning into something sharp and cruel that drove straight into her chest.
She tried to stay calm. But pain kept spreading through her body anyway, thick and relentless.
Then suddenly, a nurse burst into the room in a panic.
"Dr. Lindsey! Evelyn is fighting with another patient's family. You need to come right away!"
- Writer
