Charlotte was expecting the slap this time when it came. It stung so much like she had been beaten in the war that had just taken place. She could already feel it swelling and touched it gently with shaky hands, wincing as it hurt even more.
"Why? Why do you hate me so much that you would choose to treat me this way all these years when I have done nothing to you?" she whispered to him, her voice breaking from the sudden tears she couldn't hold back any longer. "Why would you marry me to a man who hurt me? I told you what William Dodd did so many years ago, yet you didn't care; instead, you chose to give me away to this same man."
Charlotte was tired. She did not care anymore. She had been through a lot and nothing changed no matter what she said. She looked at her uncle when he said nothing, surprised by his sudden silence. Had he realized the error of his ways? Could she get through to him? Charlotte knew not to hope. She knew she would only disappoint herself if she did. She doubted that after all that had happened and all that she had said to him, he was finally feeling a remorseful snout for what he had done to the extent that he would change. She did not know how long they spent in silence as she waited him out, choosing not to hope. Hope in such a man would only leave her feeling worse.
"Who said I didn't believe what you said?"
"You did?" Charlotte let out in surprise.
"I never said I didn't believe you. Of course, I do."
All these years, when she told him about William Dodd, she had thought that he did not want to listen to her because he didn't believe her honesty. It had not occurred to her at any point that he believed her because he had given no indication that he did. Charlotte could not take her eyes away from him.
"Why would you agree to give me in marriage to him when he asked for my hand then?"
"William Dodd never asked for your hand." Charlotte felt confusion overwhelm her. If he did not ask, then what was she doing here? Her uncle had clearly told her she was marrying William Dodd, so he had to have asked for her hand. How else would it have happened?
"If he did not ask for my hand in marriage, then what are we doing here?"
"Well, he is here because I offeredyouto him in marriage."
"What?" she asked, shocked. Nothing could have prepared her for what he had just said.
"He never asked for you, Charlotte. You wereoffered."
She was dumbfounded, not being able to see the reason why her uncle despised her so badly. What exactly was the reason for his hatred?
"When you knew what he did to me?" Charlotte was reeling. There were so many emotions going through her mind, she could not put her finger on the one that overtook her. "What have I ever done to you to deserve such a fate?"
Her uncle walked up to her, and Charlotte studied him, noticing that he had a faraway look in his eyes. Although he was staring directly at her, it felt like he was lost in his memories of another lifetime. As she flinched away from him, she watched his face harden, and he walked away almost as if he had not expected to lose himself in thought.
"Even without the awful long hair, you still look so much like yourmother." Charlotte was confused about why he had spat out the word as if he loathed her. As if she was the reason for all the misery in his life, and she couldn't stop herself from blurting her next words.
"Why do you despise my mother so much? You have never liked her. Why is it you have always spoken ill of her?" What did she ever do to you?" As the silence grew longer, Charlotte was just about to repeat her question when he blurted out something that shocked her to her core.
"I killed your mother."
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Her uncle's confession played over and over in her mind as she stared in shock. Charlotte felt like her entire world was crumbling around her. Surely, she could not have heard him right. What did he mean by saying that he killed her mother?
For years, although she had told no one what she thought, she had always had the conviction that something else had happened on the day her mother passed. But this…?
When the unwanted memories crawled through her thoughts, she didn't have the power to stop them, and for a second, she went years back.
Charlotte had been downstairs laughing with her father while her mother had remained in her room alone to read like she usually did. She remembered the feeling of unease that had settled in her, causing her to look toward the stairs every few minutes. As if expecting her mother to walk down.
Charlotte had been at the bottom of the staircase when she heard a door open and close. She remembered how excited she had been, thinking that her mother was finally done reading and she could now join them for some family time.
Yet, she never came. Charlotte went upstairs to see what was taking so long, but when she opened the door to her chambers, she saw an empty room with the rocking chair next to the window, going back and forth gently. She had been standing there, wondering where her mother could have possibly gone, when she suddenly heard a scream.
Charlotte had been unprepared for what she saw. Looking out the window, she felt her mind go blank when she saw her mother splattered on the ground. It was a memory that would never leave her mind.
"Mama!" Charlotte let out a scream of anguish as her grief caught on with her. Her mother was gone. She brought her upper body out of the window, reaching out for her mother as she screamed repeatedly for her to wake up. If she could just get to her… What if she wasn't gone? Maybe she had just had a terrible fall and if she could reach out to her just in time, then her mother would be all right. If she could only reach her.
Her tears blinded her eyes as she stretched out the window even more. Charlotte refused to accept what she knew to be true. She couldn't. She wouldn't. Her mother would not just leave her like that. There were still so many things they had to do together. Her mouth opened in a silent scream when she tripped because of standing on her toes, and she fell through the same windowher mother had just fallen out of. She felt hands grab her and drag her back into the room just as she closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate.
"Charlotte, stop it! What do you think you are doing?"
