Chapter 484

Charlotte watched Anthony in silence for a few seconds, then finally shuffled her feet, doing what he’d asked and walking over to him.
Up close, she noticed the crystal ashtray was overflowing with cigarette butts. A quick glance told her there had to be at least ten. He’d only been home for about an hour, maybe less.
With her hands stuffed in her pockets, Charlotte stood there, posture relaxed but her gaze locked on him. She didn’t say anything right away. After a few moments, she wet her dry lips and bent down, her face close to his. The thick smell of smoke on him made her wrinkle her nose. “Maybe you should take a shower,” she said quietly.
“No need.”
Anthony reached for her wrist, his fingers circling her skin as he tugged her gently toward him. “Come here.”
She let him pull her down so she was sitting right in front of him, their knees almost touching. For a minute, neither of them spoke.
Judging by the look on his face, he must have seen the news online and figured out at least part of what happened.
Did you eat yet?” Charlotte finally asked, breaking the silence. She guessed he’d been running around for eight hours straight, probably hadn’t had a chance for a meal.
“Want me to ask Helen to make you something?” Her eyes softened, lips curving up a little as her voice dropped to a gentle murmur. “What do you feel like eating?”
Anthony stayed quiet. He hadn’t moved since she sat down, just stared at her with those dark, unreadable eyes, like he was searching for answers deep inside her.
“Lottie
His voice was rough and low, almost a whisper. Charlotte looped her arms around his neck and blinked at him. “Yeah?”
“At The Blair Estate… that wasn’t the first time we met, was it?”
He asked so directly that Charlotte went still, and something troubled flickered in her expression.
He knows about that?
“Yeah.” She tried to sound casual, even though her heart wasn’t in it. “We met once, five years ago.”
“At the psychiatric hospital. The girl on the rooftop… that was you, wasn’t it?”
It looked like saying those words drained whatever strength Anthony had left. His
eyes were red, almost raw, and the pain in them made her chest ache.
So he really did find out.
Back then, she’d been bald, her face dirty. It made sense he hadn’t recognized her after all these years She wasn’t planning to ever bring it up, notif he didn’t remember. She never expected Anthony to dig up the truth this quickly.
“Yeah.”
Charlotte took a breath and nodded, letting her cool fingertips brush his
che stroked him gently, a
faint bittersweet smile lifting the corners of her mouth. “Funny, right?”
“So Anthony’s fingers tightened around hers. His breathing was uneven and his
voice sounded wrecked. “You recognized me at The Blair Estate, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
She kept her answer short.
If he hadn’t found out on his own, she probably would have kept this secret forever.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Anthony’s
breath came a little rougher, his forehead pressing against hers His voice was barely more than arasp. “Why didn’t you say anything?
Charlotte smiled, but it was thin, her heart twisting under the surface. “It’s all in the
past. I didn’t think it mattered anymore.” She hesitated, her eyes meeting his.
Anthony waited, his gaze intense and unwavering.
“The old me… I wasn’t someone you needed to know about.”
Her lashes fluttered as she spoke, and the small smile in her eyes faded into something sadder. “That’s why I never told you.”