Chapter 12
Did Charlotte know?
Did she know he was the one who had killed this hard-won child?
Would she ever forgive him if she knew?
With nowhere to channel his frustration, Blake slammed his fist into a glass display case, blood flowing freely.
Warm blood stained the words on the medical report. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he staggered toward the nursery.
Soft lighting filled the room, making the devastation on the floor even more jarring.
The whimsical wallpaper had been splashed with ink, rendering it unrecognizable. Shattered snow globes lay scattered across the floor. The crib and children’s toys were piled haphazardly in the corner, and in the cold fireplace remained traces of partially burned clothing….
Seeing their once-lovingly decorated nursery destroyed like this, Blake felt like a swarm of hornets was buzzing in his heart. Even breathing pulled painfully at his insides.
He never imagined Charlotte could be so heartless, personally demolishing all their hopes for this child.
‘It’s okay. What’s destroyed is destroyed. Charlotte and I can still have children”
Blake took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but with each attempt, his guilt toward Charlotte and their child surged up with his breathing.
n that moment, he had only one thought-find Charlotte.
With trembling hands, Blake pulled out his phone and dialed a familiar number.
The number you have reached is currently switched off…”
he cold, mechanical voice echoed through the empty villa. Still unwilling to give up, he opened their messaging app, only to discover with shock that harlotte had blocked and deleted all his contact information
he harsh busy tone made all outside sounds gradually fade away. Elake’s vision began to darken.
harlotte’s parents had passed away, and her childhood home had been demolished for urban development. Where else could she go?
uddenly, Blake realized he knew almost nothing about Charlotte.
le didn’t know who her friends were, what hobbies she had, or where she might disappear to. The only thing he knew was that Charlotte had ecently told him she wanted to return to her career as a designer.
But the world was vast-where would she choose to go?
n this moment, despair filled Blake’s heart.
As he struggled through his pain and confusion, he suddenly noticed something on his untouched desk.
His study had always been off-limits to everyone, with only Charlotte allowed to organize his materials regularly. Hope rose in his eyes-perhaps this was a clue Charlotte had left for him!
Blake immediately walked over, but as he drew closer, that flickering flame of excitement died out.
He picked up the documents on the desk in disbelief. One was the points chart he’d seen before, and the other was their divorce agreement, already bearing Charlotte’s signature.
He remembered when he had accidentally seen this points chart, he had dismissed its contents-merely a record of points deducted for things he had done for Madeline over the years. He hadn’t taken it seriously. Everyone knew Charlotte loved him to her core. How could the possibly divorce hum over a silly points chart?
Chapter 12
But now, as he carefully reviewed each deduction, every single entry filled him with regret.
His hand involuntarily ran over the chart, stopping at the final entry where the pen had torn through the paper, evidence of how forcefully its author had written it
This line read: For Madeline, abandoned our baby, minus 5 points.
His heart seized with pain as he imagined how desperate Charlotte must have felt lying in that hospital bed.
He clutched the divorce papers tightly. What he had once wished for was now in his hands, but he’d give anything for this moment never to have
arrived.
Just as he was taking deep breaths to ease his heartache, the door was suddenly knocked on and pushed open. Blake instinctively looked up toward the
entrance.
