Chapter 14 A Humiliating Dinner
1217 Words
Seeing Charlotte say nothing, Natalie continued, "Well, even if you're married, so what? You know, he doesn't even want to go home! He doesn't even want to see you! How do you feel when Gerald hates you so much? You're his legal wife, but you are worse than a widow!"
Charlotte paused with her dishes and left the tap running. Those words felt like stones.
Yet Charlotte could only admit Natalie was right about the widow part. Her husband even wanted her out of his sight.
"I knew that Mia and Bruce were fond of you. They've known us since we were kids. We grew up together, but they're only nice to you. They like you so much that they even wanted Gerald to marry you!" Natalie continued.
Natalie had been very upset since Gerald and Charlotte had gotten married. She was not only furious but also resented Charlotte. However, she knew she could do nothing about it other than living with the fact.
When Natalie found Charlotte and Gerald working in the same office, she almost lost it!
However, Miller Group held a board meeting. Bruce announced that he would retire, and Gerald took over the company.
Natalie had been waiting for this a long time.
Therefore, she held a dinner party to celebrate for him and asked Charlotte over. She meant to embarrass Charlotte!.
"Do you know what kind of a deal Bruce and Gerald made? Bruce said that if Gerald marries you, he'll let Gerald run the company," Natalie continued.
Natalie eavesdropped on their conversation, only to find how much the Millers were fond of Charlotte instead of Natalie from the way Bruce insisted!
"You meant to get me whipped here, didn't you?" Charlotte said calmly.
"That's right. I thought you should know about this."
"Yes, I know that better than you," Charlotte said.
She knew that the news would be made public in a few days.
"I'm just trying to brace you in case you get into a shock or something."
"More like trying to get my goat."
Natalie grinned and said, "Whatever you say!"
Charlotte stared at the sink and fell silent.
However, Natalie came up to her and whispered, "Don't worry. You won't be a widow for long."
Charlotte immediately knew what she meant. She realized that Gerald would divorce her and marry Natalie someday. Thinking about it, Charlotte picked up a glass and smashed it onto the floor. The sound of the glass shattering was deafening in the quiet room.
Then, Charlotte still felt that it was not enough. She took two more plates, slammed them hard onto the floor, and deliberately threw them towards Natalie's feet.
The pieces bounced off the floor and cut Natalie's ankle; blood immediately came oozing off.
"I slipped. My bad!" Charlotte said with her eyes rolled.
Then, she bent down to pick up the pieces. At that moment, she deliberately cut Natalie's ankle again.
Natalie immediately stepped back and then glared hard at Charlotte. Natalie knew Charlotte had done it on purpose!
Hearing the loud noise from the kitchen, everyone came over.
"What's wrong?" Joan asked.
"I'm fine. Charlotte accidentally broke the plates. Oops, Charlotte, are you okay? Does it hurt?" Natalie said with great concern.
Joan immediately saw the blood on Natalie's leg. She screamed, "Ah! Natalie, you're bleeding!"
"God! You're bleeding," Oliver said.
Immediately after Gerald saw Natalie's bleeding ankle, he went to her side. He picked her up and asked, "Where's the aid kit?"
Oliver immediately ran out, "It's in the living room. I'll get it."
Joan then asked, hypocritically and politely, "Charlotte, are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
" I'm fine!"
Linda got mad. She exclaimed, "Charlotte, what's going on here? Don't you even know how to do the dishes? You hurt Natalie! You useless b***h!"
"It's okay, Linda. It was just an accident. Charlotte didn't mean it," Joan said.
"Huh? She's done an awful lot by accident! She even accidentally stole Natalie's boyfriend. She's so shameless!"
Charlotte threw the pieces into the trash. After cleaning up the floor, she looked up at them again.
Charlotte realized that although her aunt seemed to care about her, she did it out of courtesy. The only people Joan cared about were her son and daughter.
Charlotte knew her grandmother hated her much, especially after Wayne's death. At that time, Charlotte moved in with Linda and George. Every time Linda saw her, she would blame her and was often grumpy with her. Charlotte also knew that Peter and Oliver had always treated her like a stranger.
When Charlotte saw Natalie, she had even more mixed feelings. Everyone thought she and Natalie were close. They were about the same age, as Natalie was just a few months younger than Charlotte. They went to school together. However, few people knew that Natalie was a backstabber that only acted like Charlotte's sister!
George was the only one who tried to treat Charlotte right!
Charlotte had put up with these people for years. It wasn't that she never noticed anything, but rather she knew that the family bond between them was too fragile to ever count on.
"What do you want?" Linda asked with a frown as Charlotte stared at her coldly.
"Nothing. It's getting late. I have to go," Charlotte said.
Charlotte had just taken two steps away from the kitchen and then stopped. She said, without even turning around, "No matter what you think, Gerald and I are legally married. So please stop Natalie from pestering him every day. That would make her look like a mistress!"
"A mistress? You're the one who stole Natalie's boyfriend!"
They scolded her. Charlotte ignored them and went out of the kitchen. She didn't even look at Gerald and Natalie but just grabbed her bag and left.
"Look at her! What nonsense she said just now!" Joan was angry hearing Natalie being called a mistress.
Natalie felt happy just watching Gerald gently bandage her wound. As a result, she became more and more contemptuous of Charlotte.
Natalie knew Gerald only loved her, not Charlotte.
"Gerald, why don't you walk Charlotte out? It's getting dark."
"Impossible!"
"Hey, come on. You know, she didn't mean it. Don't get mad at her."
Gerald did not move at all.
"Don't you think that Charlotte is lonely?"
Gerald didn't think so. In his eyes, Charlotte was just a scheming little b***h.
When Charlotte was back on the street, she breathed heavily. The air inside was too stifling for her.
She looked at her hands and found some cuts. She took out a paper towel and casually wiped the blood.
Charlotte stood under the streetlight and watched the weaving traffic. The neon lights lit up the city, making it look vivid and beautiful. It was a beautiful image, but she felt bleak.
After Gerald came out of Thompson's house, he saw Charlotte standing there still. He glanced at her with no intention of speaking to her.
"Lunch tomorrow?" Natalie asked Gerald.
"No. You're hurt. You should stay at home and rest."
"I'm fine. It's not a big deal."
"Natalie. It's hot outside."
Natalie gave a tender smile to Gerald. "I'm not afraid of that. I just want you to have the lunch I made."
Hearing their intimate conversation, Charlotte hailed a cab and left.
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