Chapter 2

When Melvin and Elizabeth reached Charlotte's ward, they happened to see Leandro walk out. Seeing that Leandro was leaving, Melvin immediately followed him. There were a lot of visitors in the hospital at this time, so the elevators were crammed with people. Melvin didn't get a chance to ask questions until he and Leandro got in the car. "Mr. Romero, did Ms. Bernard tell you what she wanted?" Hearing this question, Leandro opened his eyes, tapped the leather seat with his finger, and said, "She did." "Then what do you need me to get for you?" Melvin asked, feeling a bit glad that Charlotte was a straightforward woman. Then, he heard Leandro speaking in the back seat, "A wedding house." Melvin thought he heard it wrong, and he subconsciously turned his face around, staring at Leandro. "Mr. Romero, did you just say 'a wedding house'?" Meanwhile, Melvin thought, 'I'm not that old to lose my hearing, am I?' "Yes," Leandro confirmed it. Then he closed his eyes again and raised his left hand to signal the chauffeur to drive. The car slowly started. And Melvin turned his face back and pinched his hand. The pain told him that this wasn't a dream, and Charlotte wanted Leandro to give her a wedding house! Melvin was now really curious to know what Charlotte had said to Leandro. Being Leandro's assistant for years, Melvin naturally knew this "wedding house" wasn't prepared for Charlotte and Marcus. If it was, Leandro would directly ask him to transfer the ownership of the house to Charlotte. Melvin was bewildered. Meanwhile, in the hospital, Elizabeth was shocked by the presence of Leandro. After all, Leandro was a legend. He became the president of the Splendid Group five years ago. It was extremely difficult to make an appointment with him, even for someone wealthy, like Greyson. So, everyone was dying to know the reason why Leandro showed up in Charlotte's ward. Staring at Charlotte, Elizabeth couldn't help but let her mind run wild a bit, thinking, 'Leandro met Charlotte no more than three times. What possibly could he want from her?' After pondering for a moment, Elizabeth gathered her thoughts and asked directly, "Lottie, why was Leandro here?" Charlotte answered, "The car that hit me last night was his. He came to discuss the compensation." Elizabeth paused and said, "I see. What did you tell him then?" Charlotte's eyes roamed. Just as she was about to say something, a man dashed into the ward. "Lottie!" It was Marcus! Before Charlotte could say anything, Elizabeth stood up and shouted at Marcus, "Why are you here? Get out! Don't act like you care about Lottie! It's disgusting!" Facing Elizabeth's accusation, Marcus didn't say anything. He just looked at Charlotte silently because he knew Charlotte would let him stay. However, he was wrong this time. Charlotte remained quiet as Elizabeth pushed Marcus out of the ward. Outside the ward, when Greyson saw Marcus, he instantly went into a fury. He slapped Marcus and shouted, "Bastard! How dare you come here? Get out! You're too 'good' for my daughter! So don't come to her ever again, understand?" Remaining silent, Marcus stood at the door and gazed into the ward through the window. He could see Charlotte was watching him. He remembered her eyes were full of affection before, but now, they were cold and indifferent towards him. Marcus knitted his brows, knowing that Charlotte wouldn't forgive him this time. After one glance at Marcus, Charlotte looked away. Marcus abandoned Charlotte at their wedding. Later that day, someone took pictures of him being together with Lydia. Overnight, Charlotte, once the bride everyone envied, had become a clown that everyone laughed at. Someone taunted, "Well, I thought they were deep in love. After all, they've been together for three years! But come on, childhood sweethearts? A perfect match? Turned out it was just Charlotte's wishful thinking!" Another person sighed, "Most miserable bride ever! Got jilted by her groom-to-be. Got hit by a car when she chased after him. And now, she's lying in the hospital! How will she ever recover from that?" A third person remarked, "What can you expect from an arranged marriage? They've known each other for years. If Marcus had feelings for Charlotte, he wouldn't have run away at their wedding! Tell you what, I even suspect this was his retaliation against Charlotte!" *** Either on the internet or in real life, Elizabeth could hear people talk about Charlotte's tragedy. For fear that Charlotte would do something stupid, Elizabeth hid all the phones and tablets away. Charlotte was aware Elizabeth worried about her. Instead of asking for her phone, Charlotte asked Elizabeth to read all the insults against her in the comment section. Hearing this request, Elizabeth thought Charlotte was losing her mind and said, "Lottie, are you insane? Why do you care about those haters?" But Charlotte just stared at Elizabeth calmly and said, "If I don't hear their insults, how will I remember the pain?" It took Charlotte twelve years to finally come around. She had to be harsh to herself this time because she didn't want to make the same mistake again in the future. Looking at Charlotte, Elizabeth felt very sad for her. "Lottie, actually..." But Charlotte cut Elizabeth short and said casually, "Don't worry. No one's life is ever easy." Elizabeth knew she couldn't change Charlotte's mind, but she handed the phone to Charlotte instead of reading those insulting comments to her. Charlotte understood Elizabeth. She took her phone, logged into Twitter, and found that her scandal had become a trending topic. At first, Charlotte would feel terrible after reading the comments, but the more she read, the saner she became as if she was reading about someone else's story. Charlotte broke five ribs and left calf bone in the car accident. There were also injuries in various degrees on her arms and back. She was hospitalized for over a month before she was discharged. On the day of discharge, Charlotte was caught off guard by someone's appearance. It was Leandro. He went to the hospital to pick her up. Charlotte hadn't seen Leandro since he came to discuss the compensation last time. As time passed by, Charlotte slowly realized that she really acted like a jerk the other day. So, when Charlotte saw Leandro again, she was embarrassed and guilt-ridden. On the other hand, Greyson wasn't surprised to see Leandro because Leandro was the culprit of the car accident. But Elizabeth didn't overthink it. She thought Leandro was a nice guy and shouldn't be fully responsible for the accident. After Greyson exchanged pleasantries with Leandro, he went to sign the hospital discharge papers, while Elizabeth took Charlotte's medical card to print the test results, leaving Leandro and Charlotte alone in the ward. As it still needed time for Charlotte's broken calf bone to heal, she was confined to a wheelchair now. Leandro was very tall, and Charlotte had to raise her head to meet his eyes. "Mr. Romero, about the compensation..." "I've thought it through," Leandro interrupted her. He then suddenly crouched down and picked up the blanket for Charlotte, continuing, "I accept your request." Charlotte stared at Leandro in disbelief. "Mr. Romero, I was..." But Charlotte could finish her words, she was interrupted again, and it was the ringing of Leandro's phone this time. And Leandro said to Charlotte, "I'll send people to pick you up and drive you to the city hall tomorrow. Excuse me, but something urgent came up. I gotta go." With that, Leandro left the ward directly. Elizabeth came back quickly after she printed the test results. When she saw Charlotte sitting in the wheelchair in a daze alone in the ward, she was curious, asking, "Where is Mr. Romero?" Charlotte came out of her trance and darted a look at Elizabeth, saying, "He's busy and has gone." "I see." Elizabeth nodded. Seeing Greyson hadn't completed the discharge process, Elizabeth went to sit on the chair behind Charlotte and rested her head on Charlotte's shoulder. "Lottie, what did you say to Mr. Romero that day? I mean, about the compensation." Charlotte turned her head and glanced at Elizabeth. Then she took a breath and replied, "I wasn't myself that day. So I asked him to..." "What?" Elizabeth was very curious. She had known Charlotte for years, and she knew very well that Charlotte wasn't some greedy and selfish woman. Otherwise, Charlotte wouldn't have suffered so much in her relationship with Marcus. At this moment, Elizabeth looked at Charlotte, saying, "Don't be pressured. Leandro is rich. Any problem that can be solved with money isn't a problem for him, you know? How much did you ask for? Come on, surprise me!" Charlotte shook her head slightly. "I didn't ask for money. I only made a request." "What request?" Charlotte didn't want to keep Elizabeth in the dark, but she thought her request was too ridiculous, so she hesitated a bit. Just then, Greyson came back. "I signed all the forms." Charlotte looked at Elizabeth and whispered, "I'll tell you later." Charlotte figured she needed to form a proper sentence to break her ridiculous request to Elizabeth. When getting out of the hospital, as there were steps outside the inpatient department, Charlotte had to get out of the wheelchair. In fact, Charlotte had almost recovered, but it would take more than a month for her calf bone to heal, so she asked for a wheelchair, which could make it more convenient for her when she went out. After Charlotte stood up, Greyson lifted her wheelchair and walked down the steps. He didn't spot Marcus and Lydia. When Elizabeth was talking to Charlotte, a familiar voice suddenly sounded. "Lottie." It was Lydia's voice. And when Charlotte heard it, her smile instantly disappeared. "What are you doing here?" As Charlotte spoke, she raised her head and saw not only Lydia but also Marcus. During the last month, every time Marcus came to the hospital to visit Charlotte, Elizabeth and Greyson would drive him away. Lydia shivered when she picked up on the hostility in Charlotte's voice. Her face turned pale. "Lottie, I'm sorry." At this moment, Lydia looked so pitiful, making it look like Charlotte had just bullied her. But seeing this, Charlotte rolled her eyes, feeling a bit tired of Lydia's same old trick. If it were in the past, Charlotte would be enraged. But after lying in the hospital for over a month, she just found this so funny, and she sneered at Lydia, "Keep up your act in front of the guy next to you. I'm not interested. And listen, your little trick won't work on me. It'll only embarrass you." "No, I-I didn't. Lottie, don't get me wrong. I-I was just..." Lydia shook her head anxiously, and tears rolled down her face. Marcus frowned. "Lottie, can you be nice to Lydia?" "Be nice to her?" Charlotte snorted. Then, after shooting a stare at Marcus, she raised her hand and slapped Lydia hard. "Like this?"