Chapter 34: Chapter 34

Morgan remembered once overhearing some rude elderly investor remark that marriage was a daily struggle. However, he could never have imagined that his fight would be against his own body's reactions.

It had been exactly two days since he and Charlie had officially been married and living under the same roof, but somehow it felt like every moment of walking into his apartment was equally heaven and hell. Taking a deep breath before turning the front door handle, feeling a little lighter having finally taken their marriage certificate to Samantha's lawyers that day, Morgan walked into the house, to be greeted immediately by the sound of breaking glass. .

“ Sawyer! “ he heard Charlie exclaim, apparently from somewhere near the living room “Again? I just cleaned the shards from the other vase! Seriously, what do you have against glass ornaments? I've never seen you drop the plastic ones..."

“ Busy morning? “ he smiled when he finally found them, by the fireplace, with Sawyer licking a paw on the coffee table and Charlie crouched on the floor, surrounded by the shattered remains of one of the vases that used to grace the mantelpiece above the fireplace.

“ This cat takes pleasure in destroying everything that is visibly expensive." Charlie narrowed her eyes at the cat, who just stared at her indifferently “Lucky you for being so cute!"

"It's okay, it wasn't that important…" Morgan tried to ease the situation, noticing that the shelf was now completely empty, she couldn't help but miss…

“The good news is I saved this one." Charlie smiled, pulling from the sofa cushions a simple framed picture of dark glass, which showed the image of Morgan, at the age of seven and with a missing front tooth in her smile, with her parents by her side, in front of her. a park. While Robert was beside his wife and away from his son, with the same indecipherable impression he kept intact his entire life, Isabella was hugging her son by the shoulders, kneeling in the grass, giving a sparkling smile in the direction of the camera "Sawyer tried, but I managed to catch it before it hit the ground." Charlie said, full of relief “ We couldn't miss this gem, it's my favorite photo."

" Serious?" he laughed, embarrassed “ It's no big deal..."

" Nothing else? Take back what you said!" She snorted, puffing out her cheeks as she hugged the frame to her chest, as if she was afraid he would hear and be offended. “This picture is one of the most beautiful and precious things in the world. And I don't allow anyone to say otherwise, not even you!"

“And what is so precious about it?" He raised an eyebrow, even though he was quite amused by her adorable reaction and just wanted to tease her a little.

" Is playing? Look at you! “ she pointed to her child version, with a delighted gleam in her eyes “ It's the most adorable thing I've ever seen in my entire life! Why did your little freckles disappear? “ she pouted, looking closely at the child in the photo “ You would be so adorable if you still had them today... And look at your mother. She seems like the best person to ever walk the face of the earth."

“Well, she was." he smiled sadly, as the bittersweet memories of that time made his chest tighten slightly.

“Your dad looks like a strict math teacher, but at least he looked good in the picture too." She commented absently, though he could tell by the worried glint in her eye that she was trying to distract him from his melancholy.

“You got it right again." his laughter, this time, was genuine "He was never a teacher, as far as I know, but strict was certainly a word that defined him well. He hated mistakes, especially in the office. I once had to stop him from firing an entire statistical research team just because the manager made a printing error on the report."

“Wow, that sounds like the Ebenezer Scrooge way of living life." Charlie hissed, amazed " I mean, you already told me about how grumpy he was, but..."

“Yes, I understand perfectly." Morgan nodded, knowing she was far too kind to use the word cruel to refer to his father, even though it suited him so well, especially after he'd become a widower. “He wasn't an easy man. He wasn't a bad person, but... Let's just say that his presence in environments used to cause a certain amount of discomfort." he shrugged, not wanting to dishonor his father's memory by revealing how people used to tremble with fear when he got close “As I said, he not only didn't like it, he didn't admit mistakes. And everyone who worked for him knew it."

“He didn't like mistakes and he didn't like smiling, apparently. “Charlie scowled at the image of Robert, as if she were about to lecture him.

“ Well, I can't deny it. " Morgan opened another sad smile, diverting attention to his mother's smile, frozen in time inside that glass frame " The only smile he really cherished was my mother's... But, well, the important thing is that the photo is safe from the little enemy of decorations. “ He raised an eyebrow at Sawyer, who yawned peacefully “Now, you want to know how it went with Samantha's lawyers?"

“ Honestly, if I could choose, I would never hear about her or see her again in my life." Charlie snorted, plopping down on the sofa. “Besides, I know it went well. Who are you kidding, you were handling this yourself." she pointed out mockingly “And you never get into a fight you can't win."

“It was something I learned from my father. It was one of the commandments he followed." he teased, shrugging, avoiding telling her she was wrong. Two days ago, when she'd become her husband before the law, he'd thrown himself into a war with his heart that he was pretty sure he'd lose.

“ Well, if you want to boast after another victory, I'm here to listen." She patted the seat next to her, inviting him.

“ I don't know anything about boasting, but I'm happy to say that everything went as I planned." he shrugged, making sure to keep a safe distance from her, when he also sat down on the sofa “ They had no way of denying the validity of the marriage certificate and, now that Samantha will be formally notified of this, the process can begin running and it is likely that the will will be executed within a week at most. As for the contestation of the will, my lawyers have just filed the case and a hearing is likely to be scheduled in a month or two."

" That is great! Chuck's Bride Won't Get What She Wanted!" she celebrated, with a vengeful smile “Now that's what I call a good day!"

“It's been a long time since I last heard you call her that." Morgan laughed.

“I became more careful about speaking the nicknames I gave her out loud, after the witch caught me calling her that one day and forbade all servants to give me food for three days." Charlie snorted, like it was nothing.

" I should have made them pay more for that... " Morgan growled in a low voice, remembering how he had threatened to rescind a good part of the profits that Anthony received according to the contract of the two, if Samantha dared to do Charlie starve again.

“You don't have to make that mean face. I didn't even go more than 8 hours without eating back then because of you. “ she nudged him gently “ Do you remember? I came here practically every day after school a few months after we met. My schoolmates thought I had a sugar daddy."

“Perhaps I really shouldn't have brought you here so regularly back then. “ he muttered, not finding any humor in his joke “ I don't like to think about the kind of comments people must have made about you, because of that..."

“Well, in the end we ended up getting married, so I think all these people think they were right, nowadays. “She smiled, and if Morgan hadn't known it was just the figment of her passionate mind, he could have sworn it was a seductive smile. “Oh, I almost forgot! I have a surprise for you...!

Looking barely holding back with excitement, she leapt off the couch and hurried to the kitchen, returning from there in almost an instant, with a beautifully decorated key lime pie on a platter that Morgan recognized as his.

“ My favorite pie? You did it?" He asked, so startled that he had no doubt her eyes could pop out of their sockets at any moment, they were so wide.

" Yes!" She nodded, proud of herself, before her expression turned slightly guilty “I mean, she came from your favorite restaurant, but that's who I ordered from, after you left for work this morning. So, theoretically, it only exists because of me."

“It's a good argument." he chuckled, almost giving in to the instinct to kiss her forehead in thanks, but stopping himself at the last second. “Thanks, Charlie. It was the best surprise I could have received. I think the last time I had a piece of that pie was on your 19th birthday."

“I knew a little candy in your life would do you good. “ she placed the pie on the coffee table, causing Sawyer to get out of there and land on the floor, curiously sniffing the green frosting “ Now, watch that fuzzy miscreant so he doesn't stick his hands in our dessert, while I get us some plates."