Chapter18
The past and present collided in the blaze, and panic surged through Julian Lancaster like a tidal
wave.
Charlotte…
“Charlotte!”
He shoved aside the burning beam in front of him like a madman.
Flames licked his palms until they were raw and bloodied, but he didn’t feel a thing. He bolted out of
the villa like a soul on fire.
He had to see her.
Only if he saw her with his own eyes could the suffocating weight on his chest finally ease.
Outside the Westwood estate, he stood shouting her name at the top of his lungs until his throat
was torn raw. Finally, the heavy doors creaked open.
But just as relief washed over him, a punch landed squarely on his face.
Julian stumbled back, crashing into the cold doorframe, and looked up to meet Logan Westwood’s frigid stare.
“Shame the fire didn’t finish you off,” Logan said coldly. “You’re a lucky bastard.”
Right now, Julian didn’t care about who started the fire. All that mattered was getting past the man
in front of him.
“Let me see Charlotte!”
Another punch flew at him, grazing his jaw with a sharp gust of wind.
Logan’s eyes burned with rage, the veins in his arm bulging.
“You remember the fire at the Lancaster estate?” he growled. “You thought Charlotte had started it, set it to kill the woman you loved, and you laid hands on her. You should’ve died in that fire, and it still wouldn’t have been enough to make up for it.”
Blow after blow rained down. The taste of blood filled Julian’s mouth.
He clenched his fists, ready to fight back, but the moment he remembered what he had done to
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Charlotte, his arms dropped limply to his sides.
His voice came out hoarse and pleading.
“I’m not here to fight. Just… let me see her, just once,
Before he could finish, a loud thud echoed from the stairwell.
It sounded like something heavy had fallen.
Both men turned pale at once.
“Charlotte!”
Charlotte looked up innocently from Logan’s arms, her voice weak from the episode.
“I heard you two yelling… wanted to come see what was going on.”
Her eyes flickered away as she added softly, “I didn’t think I’d relapse again.”
She had almost collapsed on the staircase.
The image of that moment, the way she’d nearly fallen down an entire flight, was still vivid in
Logan’s mind.
His heart twisted in fear, though he forced himself to stay calm.
“It’s okay,” he said gently. “Let’s get you back to the couch.”
It was the first time Julian had witnessed Charlotte in the middle of a flare–up.
She slumped against Logan, her entire body limp, like her bones had vanished.
She couldn’t even lift her hand.
She looked like a fragile glass lamp, one careless touch away from shattering.
If she’d been even one step closer to the edge…
She would’ve been gone.
Julian’s chest tightened so hard it felt like he couldn’t breathe.
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He trailed after Logan, step by step, watching him gently place her on the couch before heading off to get the first aid kit.
As the antiseptic–soaked cotton swab dabbed her scraped knee, the stark red of her blood against her pale skin made Julian’s vision sting.
He remembered, she used to pout if a paper cut stung. She would run to him, demanding he blow on
- it.
But now?
She just smiled quietly, letting Logan tend to her. She didn’t even have the strength to frown.
Her gaze shifted toward Julian, a touch of helplessness in her eyes.
“Scared you, didn’t I?”
“It’s not that serious yet. I’m okay. Don’t worry.‘
Julian opened his mouth, trying to speak.
“I’m…okay.”
But inside, he was terrified.
He was afraid she’d relapse when no one was around.
Afraid she’d fall again.
Afraid that one day, she wouldn’t wake up with that soft smile and those dimples.
Charlotte tilted her head and looked at him, her eyes calm and clear.
“Julian, I don’t know why you came tonight, but you’ve seen it. I’m not in any condition to entertain
guests.”
“If you came for forgiveness, I’ll say it again,
She met his gaze, unwavering.
“I’m not mad at you. And I don’t hate you.”
“If you really need an answer,” she added with a faint smile, “then here it is: I forgive you.”
She lowered her head, voice soft and muffled.
med.
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“Now, will you please go? I don’t like people seeing me like this.”
“And I don’t want you to see me like this ever again.”
Julian tried to smile, but the corners of his mouth wouldn’t move. It felt like they’d been nailed in
place.
There was an aching hollowness in his chest, as if something had been carved right out of him.
He clenched his fists hard, as if hoping to find some trace of defiance or resentment in her eyes.
But there was none.
All he saw in her gaze was peace.
Not anger.
Not pain.
Not even sadness.
And it was in that moment that he finally understood,
Charlotte Wynn no longer loved him.
Not even a little.
She didn’t hate him either.
If she had, at least that would mean she still cared.
But now? She didn’t hate him because…
She simply didn’t care anymore.
That realization struck him like a spike of ice to the chest, making every breath feel like agony.
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