Chapter 11
Charlie’s eyes turned sharp. His piercing gaze was almost enough to draw blood.
“What is that supposed to mean?” he said as he grabbed her by the neck. “What the hell did you just say?”
Zara couldn’t escape his clutches and decided to go all out. “The trust fund! You signed it, remember?
She was the one who went to Mrs. Listford Senior and asked for a divorce. She doesn’t want you anymore!
Zara’s face was red from exertion, but she continued forcing out words of mockery.
Her voice rose with every sentence, wearing down Charlie’s senses as if she were getting revenge.
He suddenly laughed. Even though it was very quiet, it was much scarier than if he had just screamed.
Suddenly, he let her go, and she landed against the expensive rug with a loud noise. She collapsed on the
ground like a battered dog.
She clutched at her throat desperately, taking large breaths of air.
“Destroy all of her documents,” he said to Alex. “Since she’s already so desperate to belong somewhere, she can be an illegal immigrant in another country.”
Zara looked up, horrified. She widened her eyes in disbelief. “Charlie! I gave birth to your kids! You can’t
do that to me!”
“Can’t I?” Charlie’s gaze darkened as he smirked mockingly.
“One more word of nonsense and I’ll make sure no one finds your body.”
The bodyguards began to forcefully push Zara out of the door under Charlie’s command.
As she struggled, her knee knocked heavily against the edge of the marble table. Her eyes filled with tears from the pain.
“You bastard!” Zara said as she held desperately onto the doorframe. Her fingertips were bleeding from the force she used. “Yasmine left you because she saw your real personality! She’ll never come back!”
One of the bodyguards knocked her out with a blow to the back of her neck, cutting off her evil curses.
However, her last sentence kept echoing in Charlie’s head.
Charlie didn’t want to believe it. He was about to ask Alex to look into it when his phone rang.
It was a call from Josephine.
“Charlie, I’ve found some suitable women for you to meet,” she said in a voice that was gentle but left no room for arguments. “Now that Yasmine is gone, we can’t just leave the role of Mrs. Listford empty.
“Even though Zara gave birth to your kids, she’s not exactly the appropriate fit. I’ll warn her not to get her
Chapter 11
hopes up and pay her to leave.”
2/2
Josephine continued, “You should marry a woman from a proper background. We need to continue the Listford family’s legacy.”
Charlie didn’t hear anything she said after that.
The mechanical noise of phone static echoed next to his ear, making his heart pulse painfully and his fingertips tremble.
His usually stoic expression was tainted by a broken look in his eyes.
During the study trip, he would occasionally think of Yasmine, but it seemed like she was throwing a tantrum. She was giving him the cold shoulder.
She didn’t send a single message, nor did she make a single phone call.
Charlie finally knew it was because Yasmine no longer wanted him.
Why?
He tried his best to come up with a reason why. After all, she loved him so much that she was even willing to give up her life for him.
Charlie bent down slowly and pulled the kids into his embrace.
Their bony chins buried into the crook of his neck as tears began to fall against his shoulders, causing his heart to ache painfully.
“Dad, is Mom really not our real mom?” Rachel asked through sobs.
Charlie’s lips pressed into a thin line. He was about to speak, but he fell silent instead.
He suddenly thought of the last time he had seen Yasmine.
He had walked away with Zara and the twins while she had been left alone to stare after their retreating
backs.
“That’s not important,” he said as he reached out and tucked Rachel’s hair behind her ear. “All you two need to know is that Mom loves you very much, whether you’re her kids or not.”
His voice eventually trailed off and became so quiet that even he couldn’t believe himself.
