Chapter 14
When Dins finally
at the Tanzanian fishing village after a grueling journey in a battered Land Rover, he could hardly b
believe his eyes.
Even during his most rigorous military deployments, he’d never encountered such primitive conditions. The rocks were little more than mod paths that threatened to swallow vehicles whole after each rainfall. Children with no shoes ran alongside his truck, their laughter somehow incongruunus with the crushing poverty surrounding them []
He couldn’t comprehend why Charlotte would choose to live in such a place, What could possibly have driven her here, thousands of miles from everything Familiar?]]
When he finally located the village school–a simple concrete structure with a corrugated metal roof that amplified the afternoon heat to unbearable levels–Chas experienced a profound sense of disorientation. The Charlotte he thought he knew had been raised in luxury, accustomed to the finest things money could buy She’d never expressed interest in humanitarian work or teaching
Yet there she was, visible through the open window, standing before a classroom of eager children. Her eyes sparked with an enthusiasm he’d rarely seen before. She wore a simple cotton dress–nothing like the designer clothes that had filled her closet back home–and spoke with animated gestures as she brought a basic English lesson to life.|.
for a moment. Elias stood transfixed, something like grief clutching at his chest. It was as though he was seeing Charlotte–truly seeing her–for the first time, Not as an extension of his family or an inconvenient admirer, but as her own person with depths he’d never bothered to explore.]
The school bell rang, signaling the end of class. Elias stepped forward, his heart hammering with a misture of hope and dread, but someone else reached her first–a familiar face that stopped him cold.]
Isaac Wood. The notorious Manhattan playboy whose family’s hedge fund bad made billions. What the hell was he doing in this remote Tanzanian village?]]
As Elias watched, Isaac casually reached out and tousled Charlotte’s hair with an intimacy that made Elias’s blood boil and his stomach twist with something dangerously close to jealousy, nefore he could think better of it, Ellas strode forward physically inserting himself between them.]
“Wood” he growled jabbing a finger toward Isaacs chest. “Aren’t there enough socialites back in New York for you to chase? You had to follow a Delaney family member halfway around the world?”
Isaac’s expression remained calm, though his eyes hardened to flint. He turned to Charlotte with exaggerated politeness, but the protective stance he took beside her spoke volumes about his feelings. “Charlotte, are you a Delaney family member?“|
Charlotte’s eyes flicked briefly to Elias, her expression not angry but something worse–completely detached, in though observing a stranger. “No. I’m not“]
The cold finality in her voice but Elias like a physical dow. He stood there, momentarily speechless, the carefully rehearsed speech he’d prepared on the long journey here suddenly inadequate.}}
Isaac smiled, turning back to dias with undisguised contempt. “Hear that? Seems like you’re the one who should keep his distance. He paused deliberately. “Not
military subordinates would never
never have recognized from
Dias felt something crack inside him. He looked at Charlotte, his voice dropping to a ple–a tone his mill their commanding officer |
“Charlotte, I’m sorry,” he said, the words feeling hollow even to his own ears. “I know I hurt you, But I never meant to abandon you. In my heart, you’ve always bern family. The Delaney house will always be your home‘||
Charlotte’s laugh was short and devoid of humor. “I don’t have family she said flatly, her voice steady and emotionless. “My family third years ago ́ll
She looked at him not with hatred or anger, Init with something for more devastating complete indifference The woman who had once looked at him with adoration now regarded him with the casual disinterest one might show a forgotten acquaintance||
Lias u tiimat tighteneil painfully. Blue could be pasably justify calling her family when he’d fought her for her tallers Inullet casing? When he accused her of thefo When bed slapped her and foured her duuugh surgery without anesthesia?}]
Before he could find words, Isaac steppest forward, his normally carefree demeanor replaced by barely contained hostiny||
by face here at all ~||
“If I were you,” he said, his casual tone belying the hardness in his eyes. I wouldst have the nerve to show my
He anged closer to Charhine, his posture protective, almost possessive. “Have you forgotten how you teated her? This some movie where you can als komeone for years, then show up with a half assed aquilogy and expect forgiveness. [
deur slipped his arm around 4
his arm around Charlotte’s wast, his eyes never leaving Law’s face, challenging him “Charlotte is my trend now show some respect and trave
before you ruin her day any more than you already hate
Thas felt like he’d been punched in the stomachs. His eyes darted to Charlone’s Care, searching desperately for some sign of denist, some flicker of the devotion she’d once shown him.]
“Charlotte,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper, his usual cominanding presence completely stripped away
true? Are you withchim now?“||
The proud military officer who had once looked down on her was gone, replaced by a man who would have gotten on his knees and begged if he thought it would make a difference.
