That evening, Charlotte received a call from her best friend, Mia.
away. Got any ns?”
“Babe, New Year’s is just a few days away. i
Charlotte nced at her phone’s calendar. December 28.
“Not really.”
py from all the crying earlier.
+25 Bonus
Her voice was raspy
Mia immediately picked up on it..
“Whoa, babe, what’s wrong<b>? </b>You sound <b>awful</b>!”
<b>“</b>I’m fine, post caught a little cold.”
“Oh, y,” Mia said, not pressing further. “So what’s the n for New <b>Year’s</b>? Are you spending it with your sweet sean<b>, </b>or are you hanging with me and Lena?
At the mention of sean, Charlotte felt tears prick her eyes again.
“Sean and L.,” she started<b>. </b>
“what about you two<b>?</b>” Mia asked.
The room was brightly lit, but outside, snow had begun to fall–<b>soft </b>and silent, nketing the <b>world </b>in stillness.
Charlotte sat on her <b>bed</b>, holding the phone to her ear, eyes lowered to her toes
“We…we had a fight,‘
She couldn’t bring herself to say they broke up
In her heart, it wasn’t over. They had just <b>hit </b>a rough patch
Mialet out a breath of relief.
<b>“</b><b>Oh</b>, that’s it? You scared me for a second, Couples fight, babe–It’s normal. We’ll get Sean to join us on New Year’s. I’ll ask my brother to invite him out. We’ll set the mood, give you two some space. Nothing a good hug or kiss can’t fix.
She <b>paused</b>, then giggled.
“And if that <b>doesn’t </b>work–go big. Go really big. I’m telling you, a night in bed can fix anything.”
Charlotte turned bright red. She knew Mia had no filter and was always this bold, but it still made her blush.
Charlotte was at a loss for words.
“Don’t be shy, Lottle. I’m serious <b>men </b>don’t respond to logic. They want simple, direct solutions”
Charlotte enoured nearly fifteen minutes of ’s <b>“</b>rtionship advice” before finally hanging upter head was filled with images she wished she <b>could </b>un–hear.
She really shouldn’t leave brought Sean up to Min.
That night, diarlotte couldn’t sleep,
She tossed and tumed in bed, wide awake.
Finally, she gave up and started reviewing everything that had happenedtely, walldog through every detail in her mind.
And the conclusion she reached<b>? </b>
Sean mint have broken up with her to protect the Riley family from joseph,
rahved things with Joseph, they would get back together
she could pretend not to know what was going on.
In public, she would act lile thiry weren’t close. but in private, they could still talk and still <b>stay </b>connected.
She thought about calling him, just to hear his voice
Hedhim so much.
But when she checked the time, it was already 2-10 in the moming
She hesitated Sean had been soy and exhaustedtely. She didn’t want to disturb him.
“Tomorrow,” she thought. “191 call him tomorrow.”
with that, she sent Mia amIPALADE.
-Mia, don’t ask Sean toe to the New Year’s thing. Things are a bitplicated right now. I’ll exin next time we meet. It’s not the right time for us to see
next moming, Sean Informed Mr. Jasper St. that he had officially ended his rtionship with Charlotte
Without hesitation, Mr. Jasper Sr arranged for a generous apology gilt. He then gathered Sean and Sean’s parents, and together they made their way to the hospital to formally apologize to Desmond.
Inside the hospital room, the Jasper family’s attendants quietly ced an array of luxury gifts, nutritional supplements, and fresh trust on the side table. Once everything was neatly arranged, they stepped out of the room without a word.
The space around Desmond’s hospital bed was soon filled with people.
Everyone from the Jasper
r family hade, except for Mrs. Jasper St., who was recovering at home from a cold.
Mr. Jasper Sr. was the first to step forward.
to reham to Jersey City so I could visit you in
“Dramond, “<b>he </b>said in a calm, steady voler<b>, </b>“when I heard you were injured, I personally requested permission to retum to person I hope you make a full and speedy recovery.”
As one of the most powerful figures in the capital, Mr. Jasper Sr.’s presence alone carried significant weight. Even Jersey City’s top officials would treat him with the utmost respect.
D