Chapter 54

When Charlotte got back to the villa, she found out that Anouk had already been taken to the hospital to recover.

She headed to the kitchen to grab a bite, but Serena blocked her way.

Serena snapped, "Why are you still here? You and Frederick are divorced.Get out now!"

Charlotte, annoyed by Serena's attitude, shot back, "If you can be here, why can't I?"

"Besides. we didn't get divorced today. If anyone should leave, it's you.Stop bothering me, or I'll have someone throw you out."

Charlotte had just come back from the Russell Villa and was in a foul mood.

"What? You didn't get divorced? Then what did you do today?"

Serena was shocked they hadn't gone through with it.

She glared at Charlotte and demanded, "What excuse did you come up with to avoid the divorce?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Maybe it's Frederick who's stalling."

"No way! Frederick promised me he'd marry me by the end of this month.Why would he delay the divorce with you? You're delusional!"

Charlotte didn't want to argue with Serena but was curious about what was going on with Frederick.

"Frederick's back. If you don't believe me, ask him yourself." Charlotte heard Frederick's car and sent Serena out to confront him.

Serena ran to Frederick, tears in her eyes. "Frederick, didn't you go to divorce her today? Why is she still here? Are you backing out? Were you lying to me?"

She pointed at the villa door.

Charlotte stepped out, waiting to hear Frederick's explanation.

Frederick gave Charlotte a long look, then turned to Serena.

He smiled gently, in a way Charlotte had never seen before.

"How could I lie to you? I'll definitely divorce Charlotte. Something came up today and delayed me. I'll finalize it tomorrow."

"Really? Are you sure?"

Serena's tears turned to a smile.

It wasn't just Frederick's words that made her happy; it was the feeling that his old attitude towards her was back.

Lately,Serena had felt Frederick was distant, which made her anxious. But now, she felt like the old Frederick was back.

"I'm sure. It's chilly out here,let's go inside."

Frederick's warm smile made Serena even more smug. She pressed her face against Frederick's chest and shot Charlotte a triumphant look. Charlotte felt a pang of bitterness.

She wasn't upset by Serena's gloating but felt it was unfair for herself.

In the years they were married, she thought that even if Frederick didn't love her, he at least liked her. But seeing his attitude towards Serena,Charlotte realized she had been fooling herself all along.

The presence or absence of love was painfully obvious.

Charlotte didn't joina them for dinner, but even from the upstairs bedroom.she could hear their voices.

Serena's overly sweet voice was so grating it made her feel sick.

After taking a bath, Charlótte was about to go to sleep when she heard the bedroom doorknob turning from the outside.

"Who is it?" she called out warily.

"Open the door, I need to talk to you," Frederick's voice was still cold and indifferent.

Charlotte had no intention of opening the door. "We have nothing to talk about. I'm going to sleep."

She lay down, determined not to open the door, no matter what Frederick had to say.

But before she could fall asleep, the door opened. "How did you get in?" Charlotte immediately sat up, looking nervously at the door. Frederick walked in lazily, raising his hand to show the keys. "This is my house. Naturally, I have the key." Charlotte was speechless, wanting to retort but realizing he had a point."What do you want to talk about?"

"Tell me the truth, why did you want me to investigate Serena?" Frederick looked at Charlotte intently, not wanting to miss any of her expressions.

"What? I didn't ask you to investigate Serena. I asked you to investigate that perfume. It's completely different, okay?" Charlotte corrected him.

She thought Frederick might be worried she would harm Serena.

"What's with that perfume? Even if it's an aphrodisiac perfume, what special meaning does it have for you?" Frederick didn't want to reveal what he had found out so quickly, but he felt Charlotte's motive for having him investigate the aphrodisiac perfume was hard to explain.

"If you can't find out, then forget it. I don't need to explain so much to you." Charlotte became wary.

'Could it be that Frederick noticed the incident in the lab back then and is trying to trick me?' she wondered.

"I need you to tell me the truth." Frederick stepped forward and grabbed her wrist.

"Stop being unreasonable. Grandma isn't here today. Shouldn't you be with Serena? Why are you here asking me?" Charlotte tried to break free,but Frederick's grip was strong, and her wrist turned red without being able to break free. "What exactly do you want to know?" "What's your purpose in investigating that perfume?" Frederick's voice was low,his eyes dark and cold. "That perfume is a formula I accidentally created, but I never made it again. That day, I smelled it on both of you, so of course, I want to know who gave Serena that perfume." Charlotte spoke quickly, her eyes moistening at the corners. "I told you, now let go of me!"

"That perfume was really created by you? When did you learn to do this?"Frederick let go of her, still somewhat suspicious.

Although Charlotte's expression didn't seem like she was lying,Frederick had a feeling she was hiding something from him.

"What else could it be? My company specializes in perfumes; it's hardly surprising that I know how to create them." Charlotte rubbed her wrist,her tone very unpleasant..

She knew Frederick was very perceptive, so she couldn't lie, but she could hide some things selectively.