The ride home was quiet but the tension in the car was sharp enough to cut through steel. Xavier was so angry because of how nonchalant Charlotte was being with the whole thing, that even the fear of her running away no longer made him watch his mouth when he threatened her. Charlotte on the other hand was angry, but her anger was more or less a mask to conceal her fear. No threats could pass the one she had just been given a few minutes ago by the driver of that Audi. From how Xavier had attacked her without trying to convince her to explain herself, it was obvious he wouldn’t believe her even if she told him the truth. When they finally reached the house and got down from the car, Xavier held her hand and pulled her to her side of the house. “Stop holding me like that. You’re hurting me,” She cried out because he was dragging her roughly, but he simply ignored her. He opened her door with one hand and pushed her in, while his curious guards watched everything unfold from a dista

Charlotte lay down in her bed, staring up at the ceiling like he had been doing for the past four days. The only sound in the room was the sound of the TV showing a program she never bothered to glance up at. She left the TV on to leave some semblance of reality in the otherwise quiet house, to keep her from going insane in that cold and gloomy house. It had been four days since Xavier tugged on the strings of her heart and broke them to pieces, four days since she had been threatened by Matt and four days since she had spoken a word out loud. Matt’s threats no longer bothered her. In fact, she never answered his calls, just let them go to voicemail and never listened to them either. How could she be bothered about one person soiling her name when her reputation had already been soiled, ruined and damaged by the entire internet in less time than she thought possible. Charlotte neither felt sad nor heartbroken. There was just a numbness that settled below her chest. No matter what

Xavier watched her comfortably from the couch where he was sitting, with a smug expression on his face. Charlotte’s face was frozen in shock at what he had just said and he couldn’t be more satisfied. If only she could read his mind, she would have known she was the one who had the upper hand here. Each day he expected the maid to tell him one or two things about how Charlotte was doing, but if there was a problem, the maid never showed it. She didn’t even say anything when he first handed her the key to Charlotte’s room and gave her the instructions to lock it back up after giving Charlotte her meals for the day. Xavier hadn’t been able to bring himself to ask her the question either. His workers already suspected their marriage was not normal so he didn’t need to confirm it to her, but on the other hand, he hadn’t only been thinking about how he would react when he finally met Charlotte again, but he had secretly been hoping to find her just like this. It was proof that she was

The house looked even bigger than Charlotte remembered. Her eyes widened when Xavier led her to the dining room which was just as big as a conference hall. She sat down on the first chair and Xavier sat next to her thankfully. The dress she was wearing suddenly felt too tight on her, and too much for something as casual as eating in the house. Xavier hadn’t even noticed the dress. She felt ridiculous. When they were both sitting, the maid announced what the meal was. “Roasted chicken with wild mushrooms, spinach, and a rich demi-glace, served with saffron-infused rice, chili sauce and boiled chicken broth.” She curtsied and left the room. Charlotte had neither heard of nor tasted the meal before. There were too many side dishes and too much cutlery as well. She didn’t know which one was to be used for which food. She had never been under this much pressure just to have a meal before. “Does she always announce the food before you eat it?” Charlotte asked, deciding to reduce the st

“Eighty million?” Charlotte gasped. The sales woman looked at her like she had lost her mind. “Is there a problem? Is it too cheap?” She asked. “This is the most expensive dress in the whole state currently. I assure you…” “No, no. It’s fine,” Charlotte said. “You discussed the price with Xavier?” “Oh of course. His budget was one hundred million but this is the most expensive we have in stock. Let me try this on for you.” There was no reason to be dramatic about it. Xavier wanted to go all out for his wedding. It was a business venture for him basically. The more beautiful and expensive she appeared, the better it would be for him - as he once explained. If he wanted to spend millions on the dress then so be it. When Charlotte looked at her reflection in the mirror after putting it on, she was speechless. The dress lived up to its worth. It was so beautiful, she felt a surge of warmth fill her chest so strongly, she felt like crying. Never did she think that a single piece of