Win My Forsaken Ex-wife Back (Charlotte and Arthur)

Chapter 5 Receiving a Photo

"You little brat, where are your manners? Is this how you speak to your mother?"

Julius froze. "You..."

Charlotte calmly picked up her fork and started eating. "Just stop talking. If I had a choice, I wouldn't want a son like you."

Julius stared at her, stunned. This woman who had always bent over backwards to please him and his father was suddenly different.

She had never acted like this before!

Back then, she'd run to him with hugs and kisses, always eager to hear about his life at Harrison Villa. Now her words cut like a knife.

Julius had never really enjoyed her attention.

Her constant hovering and meddling irritated him. He even thought her excessive concern for him was disrespectful to his grandparents.

As Julius pulled away, Charlotte's love never wavered - her eyes always full of warmth when she looked at him.

But now she'd just said she didn't want him as a son.

Julius stood there speechless, his face hardening by the second.

Given the choice, he'd pick Sarah over her any day.

Sarah - the graceful, elegant ballerina who dazzled audiences - would make a much better mother figure.

Julius pushed away from the table and stormed upstairs, leaving his dinner untouched.

Before her accident, Charlotte would have chased after him, trying to make things right. His feelings had always come first.

But this time, she just watched him go, clutching her fork tightly.

Her heart hurt, but she pushed it down, feeling a bitter smile tug at her lips.

This was the child she'd loved so deeply and raised with all her heart. Now here he was, scolding her, looking at her with the same cold disgust as his father.

She forced herself to keep eating, swallowing past the lump in her throat.

Upstairs, Julius waited for her usual apology, but for the first time, Charlotte never

came.

*****

After a long bath, Charlotte felt lighter. Letting go of her desperate need for Arthur's love was surprisingly freeing.

She couldn't believe she'd wasted so much time chasing after him.

She'd really thought if she could just be perfect enough, he'd fall for her. How stupid.

Now she knew - love had to start with herself.

Coming out of the bathroom, she dug out her old phone from the back of her closet. Five years of dust had collected on it.

While it charged, she looked through her clothes.noveldrama

The closet was filled with soft, understated dresses - all picked to match Sarah's style. Five years of playing dress-up as someone else.

She'd been nothing but a stand-in, Sarah's shadow.

Her lip curled in disgust. Without a second thought, she dumped every dress in the trash.

She was done being someone's replacement.

Her phone buzzed. An unknown number had sent a photo. The picture showed Arthur in a dim private room, lounging on a sofa. His usual cold expression was there, shirt collar undone, a woman's hand on his chest. He held her wrist, the dark lighting making everything look intimate.

Even in the poor light, she could see that tiny smirk on his face.

Her fingers gripped the phone so tight her knuckles turned white.

Even though she'd promised herself she was done with him, it still hurt.

How had she fallen for someone so heartless?

Her hands shook as she saved the photo, each moment reopening old wounds.

The next evening, Arthur walked into the house to find Charlotte on the sofa. She looked completely different - she'd put on natural makeup, her curls now straight and pulled back in a simple ponytail. She looked fresh, vibrant, transformed.

The desperate housewife was gone. In her place sat someone new, as if she'd finally broken free.

"Perfect timing," Charlotte said coolly, holding up her phone to show him last night's photo.

Arthur walked over slowly, his face a mask.

He barely glanced at the screen before his eyes narrowed, questioning her like she was a spy,

"you hired someone to spy on me?"