Page 51 of Merciless

Of course, I held on to that, gripped on with every last ounce of strength I had. However, I now realised that that was not fair to Charlotte or me.

I cleared my throat. “You’re right, Annette.”

“I usually am. But to what are you referring?”

“My expectations regarding Charlotte have been unrealistic, and I’d never want to make you or her feel uncomfortable. Maybe I should stop visiting you for a while.”

Annette scoffed. “Why would you do that, silly boy?”

“Because I have feelings for your daughter. And I shouldn’t be visiting her mum without her knowledge.”

She chuckled. “You think she doesn’t know?”

“She knows?”

“Of course she does.”

“And she’s okay with it?” I asked sceptically. “When I left her, I was… brutal. I thought she would hate me.”

“Charlotte knows you visit me, Colt. And encourages it because she knows you bring me joy. So nice try, but you’re stuck with me forever, bud.”

We had found a comfortable medium, and since we were being brutally honest, I decided to continue with the same dialogue.

“Would you be okay with me reaching out to Charlotte? No nefarious motives, I promise.” Kind of.

“What? You’re asking for my permission?” Annette asked, her tone filled with amusement.

“I guess I am.”

“You’re a big boy now, Colt. Some would even classify you as an adult, surprisingly—”

“Smart ass,” I whispered under my breath.

“But to answer your question, sure, if that’s what you want. Reach out to Charlotte when she gets back.”

“Back? From where?”

She paused before signalling for me to stop. I followed the command and shifted to catch her wary expression.

“I thought you’d know since she’s been caring for you,” she said. “Charlotte has taken a travelling gap year through Europe.”

“Who with?” I managed to croak, although my instincts already knew.

“Her fiancé.”

There it was again, fate forcing me in another direction that I never saw coming. I had missed my opportunity.

Despite what Annette said, I was in love with Charlotte. Had never stopped since that one night we spent together. I tried so hard to forget about her, moved on with my life and lied to myself, to no avail.

Charlotte was so ingrained in my DNA, stitched tight into my memory, that I had no chance of moving on. Not really.

My muscles tingled, preparing for pursuit, wanting to hunt her down, wherever she might be in the world. But she was with another man, and happy.

How could I ever rob her of that? I couldn’t.

Which meant the only option I had was to let her go.

I mumbled a quick goodbye, too distracted and focused on getting out of there. Suddenly, I wanted to be alone.