Chapter 9
Charlotte rushed to the airport with her luggage.
As the plane broke through the clouds, she felt reborn.
Landing in Austin, she was no longer the nameless, dutiful wife in Blake Hayes’ shadow, but a partner in a startup design firm.
Three hours earlier, back in Chicago, Blake was at Madeline’s hospital bedside when he suddenly clutched his chest. A searing pain made him wince, as if something was being violently torn from his flesh.
“Charlotte.”
Blake instinctively called her name, his heart gripped with uncontrollable panic.
His voice wasn’t loud, but Madeline caught the whisper. Her eyes immediately welled up as she choked out: “Blake, if Charlotte needs you, just go. It’s not like anyone would care if I died anyway.”
Hearing this, Blake quickly pulled her into his arms to comfort her. “Don’t talk like that. As long as I’m here, you won’t die.”
“Then stay with me tonight.”
Madeline’s voice was soft and seductive. Her hand, smooth as a water snake, slipped under his shirt, roaming freely. Within moments, Blake was aroused, though a strange sense of urgency kept telling him to leave.
While he hesitated, Madeline leaned in, trailing hot kisses along his ear, breaking down his final defenses. Soon they tumbled from the bed to the floor
That night, Blake slept restlessly, repeatedly jolted awake by nightmares. Before dawn, he prepared to leave.
Madeline, still half-asleep, heard the rustle of clothing. Opening her eyes to see Blake about to depart, she whined: “Blake, do you have somewhere to
De?”
‘My leg hurts so badly. Could you massage it for me?”
As she spoke, she draped herself over him.
This time, however, no matter how she tried to detain him. Blake gently pushed Madeline’s hands away. “Madeline, the nurse is here to keep you company. There’s an emergency at the company-I have to go back. Be good.”
Without waiting for a response, he left the hospital at top speed, ignoring Madeline’s calls behind him.
Returning home, Blake instinctively searched the villa, but no matter where he looked, he couldn’t find the face he longed to see.
Her clothes were gone from the closet, her design drawings had vanished from the desk, and even the teddy bear she always kept on the nightstand had disappeared.
An impossible thought began to form.
Had Charlotte left?
He refused to believe it.
In their three years of marriage, Charlotte had threatened to leave more than once-initially to pursue her dream of becoming a designer, and later because of Madeline’s appearance. They’d had countless arguments, but she always came back with just the crook of Blake’s little finger.
Surely this time would be the same.
Blake tried repeatedly to convince himself, but still felt uneasy.
Suppressing his anxiety, he called for the housekeeper, asking casually.
1724
Midnight Calls from His Sister
“Martha, I lost one of my cufflinks. Please contact Charlotte and ask her to buy me a new one.”
The housekeeper hesitated before speaking: “Sir, Mrs. Hayes already left yesterday…”
Before she could finish, Blake’s phone rang. Crying and broken sounds came through the speaker-a frantic male voice mixed with a woman’s sobs. From the fragments of conversation, Martha quickly understood the call’s true purpose.
Madeline was claiming that Charlotte had brought bodyguards to the hospital and created chaos throughout the ward.
Her lie was clumsy. Not only was Charlotte always gentle with others, making such outlandish behavior implausible, but she had left Chicago yesterday. How could she suddenly appear in Madeline’s hospital room?
Blake wasn’t completely blind to the inconsistencies, but thinking of Madeline’s sickly pale face, concern won out.
Ending the call, he left only a few words before rushing out.
“Madeline’s in danger. I have to go.”
“Tell Charlotte when she gets back to go to the hospital immediately and apologize to Madeline.”
Fearing Madeline’s condition might worsen if she became emotional again, Blake instructed his driver to run several red lights. Their excessive speed nearly caused an accident.
The driver nervously slowed down, but Blake stopped him:
‘It’s fine, James. If anything happens, it’s on me.”
The therapist’s words echoed in his mind as Blake’s heart pounded in rhythm with the passing scenery. The further they got from home, the more incontrollably he thought of Charlotte.
His heart thundered in his chest, and he couldn’t tell if it was racing for Madeline’s sake or because of Charlotte, who had appeared in his dreams all night.
Ten minutes later, the flashy luxury car smoothly pulled up outside the hospital
Not bothering to fix his appearance, Blake hurried to the VIP ward Pushing open the door, he found Madeline surrounded by a group of men, beaming with happiness.
1724
