Chapter 54: Chapter 54

I BLINKED. It was really Charlie.

He was standing near the counter and checking out our collection of bestseller books there.

He was wearing a black short sleeve polo shirt and faded jeans. His black hair was a bit longer than the last time I saw him. His skin got tanned.

What was he doing here?

All along, I thought it was Gideon. But of course, why would he fetch me when he won't come home to his house? Our house.

"Oh, there's Bianca," Kelly announced on the counter.

Charlie's eyes automatically snapped at me. "Hi," he greeted. A smile appeared on his face. He put down the book he was holding and then slowly closed the distance between us.

"Bianca."

I gave him a small smile after I recovered from my shock. "Charlie, I didn't know you're already back."

"I just came back yesterday."

Yesterday? Does it mean he and Gideon saw each other at their parent's house?

"Oh… uh." I noticed Kelly was watching us. "This is where I work," I said to Charlie. "And this is Kelly, one of my workmates here." I turned to Kelly. "Kelly, this is Charlie. Gideon's brother."

Kelly's lips brother as she turned to Charlie. "Gideon has a brother."

"Adopted brother, Miss." Charlie smiled.

"Oh." Kelly pursed his lips. "That's why… I don't see any resemblance between the two of us. You have Asian features."

Charlie chuckled. "I'm half-Asian." His eyes went back to me. "So, Gideon's visiting you here?"

I cleared my throat and glanced at my watch. "I'm already out. Let's talk outside."

"How long have you been working?" Charlie asked when the waiter took our order. After leaving the store, we decided to go to a nearby restaurant.

"Almost two months."

He smiled while looking at my face. "You look good, Bianca."

"Well, the past months have been good to me. I've been back to work." And Gideon was taking care of me. I wanted to add but I stopped myself.

"I'm happy for you. It's a good thing Gideon allowed you to get work."

"Who told you about my place of work?" Was it Amelia? Or Gideon?

Charlie clasped both of his hands on the table.

"It was Gideon. When I got home last night, he was there…" Charlie slightly raised his brow. "He said he left you in his house here in Pasadena."

My throat went dry. "Y-yeah. He left."

"Gideon talked to me last night. He… apologized for what happened ten years ago. He said you've told him about Diana."

"I did. I had to, Charlie. He was asking me about his relationship with you."

Charlie looked at me. "But you left the part when Gideon took you away from me."

I swallowed. "I don't think it's wise to tell him everything, Charlie. Gideon's no longer the man we knew. He was already healed from the accident. The memory he lost won't come back anymore. He would be devastated if I told him everything, Charlie."

"But that's the truth, Bianca. If the truth will really hurt him, then so be it." His face went serious. "Even if he lost his memories, you can't hide the truth from him."

"Gideon's already suffering enough, Charlie. He suffered from losing his memory."

His lips parted. "Are you defending him, Bianca?"

"I just believe it's unimportant to tell him everything. He's trying to start his new life, what would you think he'd feel if he found out about our past?"

"You're defending him," Charlie said, this time it was a statement, not a question.

I swallowed when I realized something. "D-did you tell him the truth?"

"No. I didn't."

"Oh." My chest relaxed. I felt relieved. "How's your work, by the way?" I asked, trying hard to change the topic.

Charlie noticed that, but he stopped opening his mouth when the waiter came back with our food.

"After spending a month in the Philippines, I went to Thailand. I stayed there before I came back here."

"I see. You got tanned." I smiled, then reached for my drink. After sipping on my water, I cleared my throat.

"Why do you ask to talk to me, Charlie?" I finally asked.

His eyes met mine. "I told you the last time we talked, I'll be back, haven't I?"

I remembered our last talk. That felt like ages ago. I couldn't believe that a lot would happen within those months.

I couldn't believe that I would move on from him. I couldn't believe that I'd fallen in love with Gideon.

Yeah. With Charlie in front of me right now, everything became clear to me. I didn't have any feelings for him anymore.

I remembered how my heart used to beat faster when he was looking at me. But that feeling is gone now.

Looking at his face, staring back at his eyes, I didn't feel anything.

Charlie looked me straight in the eyes, his expression serious. "I'm here to get you back, Bianca. Like what I had promised."

I blinked. "Charlie… I told you we're already done."

The moment I gave him back his engagement ring, I had already let go of him.

I was serious when I said that I want him to find another woman—someone who's deserving of his love.

"I… I told you to move on from me. We're already done, Charlie."

"Didn't you think that I haven't tried to move on from you, Bianca? I tried. I tried dating other women." His eyes lingered on mine. "But I keep on coming back to you. In the end, it's still you," he whispered softly.

"But you know we can't be together anymore, Charlie."

"And why is that, Bianca?"

"You know why. I'm married to your brother."

"But I talked to him, Bianca. I found out he was already letting you go."

No. He's not letting me go. He's just giving space to think about everything. He's just giving me time to figure out my own feelings.

Charlie examined my face. Then his lips parted. "W-what, Bianca? Don't tell me… you wanted to remain married to him?"

I felt something clenched in my chest. For another time, I was going to hurt Charlie again.

"I'm sorry, Charlie," I whispered softly.

His lips parted but no words came out of his mouth. Then he swallowed. His eyes looked at me with accusation.

"Are you in love with Gideon, Bianca?"

I shut my eyes for a moment. Then slowly, I nodded.

Now, I was finally admitting it. I'm in love with Gideon. I'm in love with my husband.

"You said you won't fall in love with him," Charlie said, words barely coming out of his mouth. Like he couldn't manage to say it aloud.

I could see it in his eyes. He was hurt.

"I know, Charlie." My voice wavered. I felt the stinging tears in the corner of my eyes.

I was hurting. For him. For myself. For the situation, we were in again.

"Did you forget everything that Gideon did? He ruined our relationship, Bianca. He threatened you. He forced you to marry him!"

A tear fell on my cheek. I immediately wiped it with a finger. "I know, Charlie."

If only I could stop myself from falling for Gideon. If only I could control my own feelings. If only I could command my heart not to fall for the man who hurt me.

Charlie shook his head. Then he reached for my hand on the table.

"No, Bianca. You're not in love with him," he said, looking me straight in the eye. "You're just confused. He probably manipulated you."

"No, Charlie. For the past two months, he's been nothing but kind to me. He… takes care of me even though I should have been the one taking care of her."

"That's it. You're confused because he's kind and nice to you. You thought it's love but it's not, okay?"

Charlie gently pressed my palm. "Bianca, look at me," he demanded. "I'm the one you love. We had plans together… before Gideon came and ruined us."

I stared into Charlie's eyes. Those chocolate brown eyes that I once admired looking at. Those eyes used to send butterflies to my stomach.

But now. I felt nothing as I looked at them.

I smiled sadly at him. "I'm sorry, Charlie. I don't love you anymore."

"No, Bianca. You're just confused. But I'm here now. I'm now taking you back from him."

"Do you think I didn't have a hard time admitting it to myself? For the past days and weeks, I kept on denying it, Charlie. I kept on lying to myself."

I let out a humorless chuckle. "People around me were telling me that I might be in love with my husband, but I kept on telling them that 'No, I can't be in love with Gideon. I can't be in love with the man who ruined my life. I can't be in love with a devil. That's what I used to call him before."

Another humorless chuckle escaped me as another tear fell from my eye. "But in the end, I realized I can't fake my own feelings. I'm in love with Gideon, and there's nothing the two of us can do about it anymore."