Page 55 of Merciless

“Until Gareth?”

“Yes. Until Gareth.”

I tilted my head, gauging whether I should dig deeper. She didn’t seem perturbed. Instead, she was open to the line of questioning.

“Do I have to worry about your ex popping up around town? Because I plan on continuing these dates,” I said with a smug smile.

“Is that so?”

“Yep.” I fucking mean it, angel.

She flushed, averting her gaze from mine to get lost in the bottom of her glass. “He won’t be coming back. Gareth had completed his residency before we went overseas.”

“What happened over there? You left here an engaged woman and came back alone.”

“There were two main factors. The first was location. He wanted to move across the country, live in a big city. Staying here was never his intention, you see. He was just passing through.”

“Let me guess. You said no, since you didn’t want to leave your mother behind.”

“Not just because of her. Yes, she was the main deciding factor. But despite that, I do love this town. Whenever I dreamed of my future, it was always here.”

“You said there were two main reasons behind your separation. What was the second?”

She shrugged. “That comes down to something as simple as incompatibility. On paper, Gareth was the perfect man. Intelligent, attentive, ambitious. Yet, there was always something missing… An innate spark, maybe?” Her finger tapped against her chin in thought. “It’s hard to explain unless you’ve felt it yourself.”

I automatically nodded in agreement, then my mouth took over. “Like a signature imprint… As if there’s an internal magnet pulling you towards that person.”

Charlotte’s face lit up. “You’ve felt it too? That… pull?”

I held her gaze, giving her my truest self. “Yes. Once before.”

She blushed. “Same. Only once,” she murmured, almost hesitant.

As soon as she said it, that same gravitational force pulled taut between us, a connection awakening from a long slumber. My pulse spiked in response.

I gulped. “What happened to him? The man you felt this for.”

Thump. Thump. Thump.

“He broke my heart.”

“Maybe he didn’t know how to look after one? Maybe he’s trying his hardest to learn how to now so he never fails you again, never hurts you again.”

A heavy seriousness had befallen us. One that was pulsing with a signature energy.

“I can see that,” Charlotte said softly, her honest eyes boring into mine.

“Can you?” I asked, gently grasping her hand on top of the table. “Would you be willing to give that man a second chance? A clean slate? If he promised to cherish you like you should have always been treated?”

I couldn’t determine how our conversation had pivoted so suddenly, but I didn’t dare breathe until she answered. Then, my beautiful girl rewarded me with the most precious gift.

“Yes.”

I lowered my head and kissed the back of her hand, my lips sealing a promise into her skin.

I won’t let you down, Charlotte. You are my future, my everything.

Epilogue 1