Chapter4
Charlotte stood staring at the fading embers of the fireworks for a long time.
The night dew soaked her shoulders, and the chill snuck down her collar, finally dragging her out of
her daze.
She pulled her coat tighter and turned to head back into the house.
The Lancaster estate was quiet in the dead of night.
Only soft rustling sounds came from the kitchen.
Julian was busy inside. The air was tinged with the scent of ginger, and his voice drifted through the
receiver of his phone.
“Julian, thank you for making me ginger tea so late. Come upstairs and I’ll give you a kiss~”
Bianca’s voice was sickeningly sweet.
“Only one?” Julian teased, his tone laced with laughter.
A drawn–out pout came through the speaker. “Fine, two then! My lips are already swollen from your kisses. Any more and I’ll break the skin. You’re such a kiss maniac!”
They were just upstairs and downstairs from each other, barely a few steps apart, yet still glued to the phone like inseparable twins, unable to spend even a second apart.
Charlotte looked away and was about to head upstairs when Julian stepped out of the kitchen with a bowl of ginger tea, pausing when he saw her.
“You’ve been outside so long. You must be freezing. Here, this one’s for you.”
He handed her the bowl and turned back to the kitchen to get another, mumbling instructions as he went, words that made Charlotte’s throat tighten with emotion.
“Girls are delicate. You’ve got to take care of yourself. Don’t be like Bianca, always in the water doing mermaid shows, always drinking iced stuff.”
“Bianca has me to look after her. You’re on your own, so you’ve got to be extra careful.”
He turned back around with a fresh bowl in hand and smiled, adding, “Or I can help you find a boyfriend soon, someone to take care of you instead.”
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Outside the window, the sound of footsteps passed by, staff chatting as they finished cleaning up
the fireworks. Their voices drifted through the night.
“Ever since Mr. Julian went missing, I haven’t worked this late in ages.”
“No kidding. Back then, he’d always plan surprises for Miss Charlotte, fields of flowers, candles by
the river… It was exhausting to clean up. Thank god the pay was good.”
One of them lowered their voice. “Honestly, I feel bad for Miss Charlotte. She searched for him for
months, finally found him… and now he doesn’t remember her. Brought back another woman too.
That’s just cruel.”
“I thought he was the faithful type. Turns out, men really are all the same…‘
Charlotte lowered her eyes, swallowing the heat welling up behind them, then forced her voice to
stay even as she echoed Julian’s words.
“Sure.”
But she knew the truth, but given her health, anyone she got involved with would only be dragged
down.
Julian didn’t seem to notice anything off.
He simply nodded and said, “Get some rest,” before heading upstairs with his bowl.
He looked completely unbothered.
Whether he’d heard the staff’s whispers or not, she couldn’t tell.
Charlotte was still lost in thought when her hand, still holding the ginger tea, suddenly went numb.
With a loud crash, the ceramic bowl slipped from her grasp and shattered on the floor.
The sound snapped her back, but she no longer cared to guess what Julian had or hadn’t heard.
She simply crouched down and calmly began picking up the shards, already realizing,
So the symptoms were starting this early.
She hadn’t even noticed it.
She didn’t tell anyone about the accident.
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She carried it alone for days, pretending nothing had happened.
Whenever the wave of emotion got too strong, she’d force herself to sleep, at least her dreams
offered peace.
But for several nights in a row, the clanging from the Courtyard Garden kept waking her.
One morning, seeing her standing by the window, a worker spoke up.
“Miss Bianca loves Hydrangea. Mr. Julian told us to remove the Wisteria Swing and plant a
Hydrangea shrub instead. It should bloom by next summer.”
Charlotte pressed her lips together as she watched the swing, once covered in Wisteria Blooms, get dismantled, turned into a pile of broken wood under the workers‘ tools.
It reminded her of the photos that had been burned to ash.
Every year on her birthday, Julian would sit by her bed at sunrise, resting his chin in his hands,
waiting for her to wake up.
Then he’d pull her straight outside to take a photo under the swing.
Wisteria blossoms draped down from above, and their faces would shine with laughter.
The only thing reflected in his eyes back then… was her.
“When we get to twenty photos, you have to marry me,” he used to say, so full of boyish pride.
Now, the Wisteria was in full bloom again.
Only one more photo was missing from that promise.
But Julian had forgotten.
And Charlotte couldn’t bring herself to tell him… that summer was also Wisteria’s blooming
season.
It wasn’t until the entire area had been filled with Hydrangea seeds that Bianca suddenly stopped
her in the garden.
Chin lifted high, she flaunted the ring on her finger.
“Julian found this old ring design in his room,” she said, eyes glinting. “Said he could tell it was for a future bride. He stayed up for nights to make it for me. He proposed.”
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She wiggled her fingers. “Pretty, isn’t it?”
The design, birds and fish interwoven, was once Charlotte’s favorite.
She nodded, her voice steady and sincere. “It’s beautiful. Looks good on you.”
But Bianca’s expression darkened. “I don’t like it.”
“We both know who this was really designed for.” Her eyes sharpened as she stared at Charlotte.
“You keep saying you’re over him. But his feelings for you in the past are a ticking time bomb. I
don’t feel safe.”
“So what is it you want?” Charlotte asked.
“I want…”
Before Bianca could finish, she suddenly threw herself sideways,
And plunged straight into the murky, newly dug shrub.
