Chapter 23 Go To Charles’s Company
I froze as I recognized that voice–it was my father’s.
I never would’ve expected him to show up at Charles’s office. The second it registered, I bolted for the elevators.
Now I understood why everyone had been giving me those strange looks–my father had come to cause trouble.
I watched as my father chased a woman out of the elevator while shouting curses. “You shameless homewrecker! My daughter and her husband were perfectly happy until you seduced him and ruined their marriage.
“How can you have so little self–respect? Instead of working hard like any decent young woman, you throw yourself at wealthy men.
“There are plenty of rich men in this city, yet you specifically targeted my son–in–law. You should be utterly ashamed of your. disgusting behavior.”
The woman he was harassing appeared innocent and delicate, with silky, long hair that emphasized her vulnerable
appearance.
I hurried over and grabbed my father’s arm to stop him. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“It’s her, Annie,” he exclaimed. “I found out everything. This seductress went after Charles. There’s no other reason he would’ve divorced you when he loved you so much.”
I couldn’t believe what my father was implying. “This has nothing to do with anyone else,” I insisted, trying to keep my composure. “Charles and I divorced because of our own issues. Don’t listen to those rumors.”
My father shook his head. “Don’t be naive, sweetheart. Charles adored you. He never would have divorced you unless someone came between you two.”
“That’s enough,” I interrupted, my voice growing sharper than I intended. “I didn’t want to be with him anymore. I couldn’t stand being married to him. I was the one who asked for the divorce. Is that clear enough for you?”
Just as I finished speaking, I heard several nervous voices behind me murmuring “Mr. Bennett.”
I froze where I stood before slowly turning around to see Charles approaching with a stormy look on his face.
“Charles…” The woman my father had been yelling at moments earlier immediately moved toward Charles. She held her arm as if injured and wore a deeply hurt expression.
There was something familiar about her figure. It took me a moment to place her–she was Cheryl, Charles’s first love, the woman I’d seen by the hotel elevator. Her slender silhouette was unmistakable.
Their office relationship must have been obvious for everyone to know about the affair and tell my father.
The realization left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Charles’s face darkened when he noticed the bruise on Cheryl’s arm. His eyes turned cold as they met mine. “What happened here?”
His icy stare made my chest tighten, stealing my words.
My father offered a nervous smile. “Charles, no other woman compares to Annie.
“You loved her so much before. How could you just walk away from your marriage?”
“Dad, please stop,” I whispered, tugging his arm as embarrassment heated my cheeks.
Charles turned to me with a mocking smile. “Who said I ever loved her?”
I froze at his words, feeling an undeniable ache spread through my chest.
The truth was, Charles had never actually said he loved me. He only married me because we got drunk and ended up in a situation that the media misinterpreted, leaving him with little choice.
No man would willingly choose to become a live–in husband only to face mistreatment and humiliation, and certainly not someone as strong–willed as Charles.
He’d married me out of obligation, not desire.
But my father refused to believe it. “How could you not love Annie?” he insisted to Charles. “You used to do anything for her. It must be this seductive woman who has tempted you away from her.”
“Dad, that’s enough. Please stop,” I said while pulling at my father’s arm in embarrassment, hoping he would end this scene.
But he wouldn’t listen and said to me with disappointment, “You never stand up for yourself, which is why these scheming women take advantage. Today, I’m here to make things right for you.”
My father rolled up his sleeves as he spoke, making a move toward Cheryl.
I tried to pull him back in alarm, but I was already too late.
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Chapter 23 Go To Charles’s Company
Just as my father’s hand was about to strike Cheryl’s face, Charles suddenly caught his wrist.
Cheryl leaned into his arms, her eyes glistering with tears. “Charles, who are these people? Why is that man trying to hit me?”
“It’s okay now,” Charles said, shielding her behind him while giving my father a cold stare. “Mr. Thompson, you’re attacking someone important to me on my property. Did you think that was acceptable?”
His words, “someone important to me,” hit me like a physical blow. My gaze flickered to Cheryl, safely positioned behind him, and I felt my hand clench tightly at my side.
My father stared at Charles, clearly taken aback. “Mr. Thompson? Since when are we on such formal terms? We were family once.”
Charles let out a humorless laugh, his words directed at my father but his eyes fixed on me. “As you noted, that was in the
past.”
Everything about him now felt fundamentally different from the man I once knew.
My father noticed the tension and quickly put on a smile. “You know what, Charles? You’re not the same guy you used to be. I’ve got to hand it to you–I’m seriously impressed.
“Just look at how successful my son–in–law has become. I’m actually proud to tell people I know you.”
I just stared at my father, wondering when exactly he’d become so shameless.
I’d told him over and over that Charles and I were divorced, but he kept calling him “son–in–law” like nothing had changed.
People were starting to whisper and laugh at my father, but he acted completely oblivious.
It was only then that I realized how much both Charles and my father had changed after my family went bankrupt.
My father turned to Charles with an increasingly flattering smile. “Charles, the reason I came to your office today is to ask you for a small favor.”
I knew exactly where this was going–he was about to ask Charles for money. I yanked his arm and hissed, “Haven’t you embarrassed us enough? We’re leaving. Now.”
“Watch your tone! Is that any way to talk to your father?” he snapped, and then immediately turned back to Charles with this pathetic grin.
I was furious as I practically dragged my father toward the exit. “We’re leaving right now, or I’m done helping you for good,” I snapped under my breath.
Just then, Cheryl stepped into our path with a sweet smile. “You must be Charles’s ex–wife,” she said gently. “Is there something you need help with?
“You should talk to him. He’s always been one to remember the past fondly.”
Her gentle demeanor made my father’s earlier outburst seem even more unreasonable.
She drew Charles closer and said softly, “Even though you two are divorced now, you’d still help them, wouldn’t you?”
Charles looked at me with detached calm while I kept my eyes fixed on the floor, unable to face him.
At that moment, I experienced a humiliation deeper than any I’d known before–worse than when I’d first gone to Charles for help in that ridiculous outfit.
At least his perfect partner hadn’t witnessed that previous shame. Now, standing before her, I felt utterly diminished.
“That won’t be necessary,” I said, my voice flat and final.
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