C06
And that was when Charles burst in. “What the hell is going on here?” he demanded, his eyes darting to Jenna. He caught the last bit of Gregory’s scolding and immediately stepped in front of her.
“You all think it’s okay to gang up on Jenna? She’s just a young girl trying her best! Shame on you!” He shot me a glare, his usual self–righteousness on full display.
“Jenna, don’t worry. I’m here and no one’s going to bully you,” Charles said, his tone firm but gentle as he gazed at her with so much tenderness it was almost over the top.
Jenna’s eyes brimmed with tears. She clung to his arm, her voice shaky as she choked out, “Charles, please don’t fight with Sydney because of me. It’s not worth it.”
“Don’t stress about it. I’ll handle everything,” he assured her, patting her hand like she was the most fragile thing in the world. Then, with a sharp pivot, he turned to me, his expression hardening.
“If you have an issue, bring it to me. Don’t drag innocent people into your mess!” he snapped, his voice cutting. Before I could say a word, my boss stepped in. “Sir,” he said, holding up his tablet, “the surveillance footage clearly shows Miss Shepard pouring the water on herself to frame Ms. Harrison.”
Charles blinked, taken aback. He hesitated for a moment before snatching the tablet.
His jaw tightened as he watched, his expression cycling through disbelief, anger and frustration. Finally, he
turned back to Jenna.
“Jenna… why would you do this?” His voice was quieter now, but it was clear he was struggling to keep his
composure.
Jenna lowered her head, her face pale. She muttered something I couldn’t hear and honestly, I didn’t care enough to ask her to repeat it.
Watching Charles’s reaction, I felt a pang of bitterness.
Even after everything, his anger toward Jenna was mild, almost forgiving. He didn’t even glance in let alone apologize for believing her over me.
my direction,
Maybe they really were perfect for each other. Either way, I was done letting it bother me. They could have their happy ending. I had already moved on.
Charles escorted Jenna out of the building shortly after. Gregory, on the other hand, wasted no time making up for the disaster. He set up a whole new company in Altherra, halfway across the world and handed it to me on a silver platter. It was surreal, one day, I was just the vice president and the next, I was running an entire branch as the
boss.
Meanwhile, back in Tianara, Charles showed up at the Town Hall on Monday, just as he had originally plani He waited from eight in the morning until noon, glancing at the doors every few minutes like he expected me to walk through them any second. His restlessness grew with each passing hour, unease clear in his posture.
Finally, he pulled out his phone, only to realize he had blocked me days ago. His face tensed as he unblocked my number and typed out a message, [Are you coming or not?]
As soon as Charles sent the message, he noticed it didn’t go through. The little notification said it all;
undelivered.
For a second, he just stood there, staring at his phone like it might suddenly change its mind. And then it hit him.
7:37 AM
Goodbye, Lover
I had blocked him.
@
O
“Seriously?” he muttered, his frustration flaring. He wanted to yell, throw his phone, anything to release the
tension, but he clenched his jaw instead. There were bigger things to deal with. He hit the call button, his last resort.
“Hello, the user you dialed is out of service area. Please try again later.” The robotic voice sounded almost smug.
It gnawed at him, feeding the growing knot in his chest. Something was wrong, really wrong. Without another thought, he grabbed his keys and drove home like his life depended on it.
The moment he stepped inside, his heart dropped. The house was… empty. My things were gone.
The little details he had grown used to–the shoes by the door, the scarf draped over the chair, even the pictures of us on the wall–had all disappeared.
The frames were still there, but the photos were missing, leaving only empty spaces where our memories used
to be.
Charles stood frozen, his eyes scanning the hollow shell of what used to be our shared life. Panic mixed with guilt as he realized he didn’t even know where to start looking for me.
He had never cared enough to notice where I went when I was upset, who I leaned on, or what brought me peace.
He dropped onto the sofa, his head falling into his hands. The silence in the house was deafening, pressing in on him from all sides. The emptiness wasn’t just in the room, it was in him too.
Then, his phone buzzed in his hand, breaking the stillness. He glanced at the screen. Jenna.
He let out a sharp breath and turned the screen off without answering.
Since that day at the office, he had avoided her completely.
Watching the surveillance footage had shattered whatever image he had built of her. Sweet, innocent Jenna,
always playing the victim, had turned out to be anything but.
Now, sitting in that empty house, with Jenna’s name still flashing on his screen, Charles couldn’t shake the
feeling that he had lost more than just me. Maybe he had lost himself too.
