Second in Silence Chapter 08

Second in Silence Chapter 08

On day four at Sunny Bay, an unexpected visitor showed up.

“Alicia, are you doing okay?” he asked.

“Don’t worry about the mess with the wedding. You can always come home. Don’t suffer alone out here without telling anyone,” he said.

Charles sat down next to me, his face a picture of heartfelt concern.

I could not help but grimace and move to another chair.

Charles let out a sad chuckle. “Alicia, you don’t have to keep avoiding me. I’m not sure when you caught on, or what rumors you’ve heard, but I’m telling you, there’s a reason for everything. I’m willing to explain it all,” he said.

At that, I took off my glasses and looked at him for the first time in ages.

How could anyone have skin that thick?

“I made a promise to my little brother to look after Emily for life, and I intend to keep it. Think of it as a debt I owe you, one I’ll repay in our next life,” he said.

I repeated, word for word, what I had once heard Charles say outside the study.

Charles’s face lost all color, his earlier show of emotion then replaced by sheer panic.

I raised my hand to stop him from speaking.

“If you’re about to tell me that you’re only trying to honor your brother’s last wishes, save it. I’m not interested in any more of your excuses,” I said.

“The sight of you and Emily kissing by the door while your brother was in the morgue three years ago is forever burned into my brain. It makes me sick just thinking about it,” I said.

“Don’t you ever worry about your brother haunting your dreams?” I asked him.

“Maybe the Wallace Group’s financial troubles are your brother’s way of getting back at you,” I said, musing.

Ever since that wedding fiasco, the Wallace Group’s reputation had tanked.

Charles, who was never quite as sharp as his brother, only got to lead the Wallace Group because he lucked out by being born two minutes earlier.

With the media storm brewing, Charles was powerless to stop the freefall.

The Wallace Group continued to spiral downward, and he had no idea how to stop it.

Olivia let slip that the Cobb family had cut off the cash flow to the Wallaces, and they had even written off Emily, their not-so-bright daughter.

As soon as she finished speaking, Charles came striding over to me, his eyes brimming with what looked like crocodile tears.

“Alicia, I was out of my mind back then. I really do regret the mess I’ve made.

“Still, the Wallace Group stands on the pride of the Wallace family. For the sake of what we once had, please save the Wallace Group. Please save me.

“You’re tight with Olivia, and the Joneses are on top of the world right now. Just a little push from them, and the Wallace Group could bounce back!”

“From here on out, I’m at your beck and call. I’ll do as you say.”

At that, I quirked an eyebrow and asked, “So, if I told you to divorce Emily, you’d do it?”

Charles nodded.

“Absolutely, Alicia. Ever since you walked away, I realized you were the one I loved. She was just a teenage crush. I no longer love her.”

I hit the record button, a smile playing on my lips.

Then, I stood up and gave Charles the boot.

“Who do you think you are? A used-up nobody, and you still dare to bargain with me?

“Get out of here!”