Chapter 28
Dinner was anything but pleasant.
No one at the table enjoyed the meal.
Charlotte had nothing to say to them, so she finished eating quickly and headed straight to her room
Back in her room, she noticed the gift box on her desk and remembered that she still hadn’t given Sean the watch.
She picked up her phone and dialed his number.
“Hey, Sean. Remember the gift I mentioned? I forgot to give it to you earlier. Are you home now?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Great. I’ll bring it over now.”
Π
.35 Bonus
Meanwhile, Zac and Wendy walked through the front door of Harmony Hill Villa
Mrs. Zimmer glanced behind them and asked. “Mr. Gibson, isn’t Miss Riley with you?”
Zac frowned. “She’s not home?”
Mrs. Zimmer looked confused. “Miss Riley hasn’t been home for days. I thought she was
with you.”
Something in Zac’s chest tightened. A bad feeling crept in. Without another word, he strode up the stairs to Charlotte’s room.
The vanity was completely empty no makeup, no skincare, nothing.
The little decorative items she used to keep on her shelves had all disappeared.
He yanked open the closet. Not a single piece of clothing remained
Everything. Every trace of her. Gone.
The room looked exactly like it did before she moved in.
His breathing turned heavy. He stormed to the railing and barked downstairs, “When did she move her things out?”
Mrs. Zimmer flinched at his tone, her voice small. “I–I don’t know, Mr. Gibson. When I went to clean her room the next day, it was already empty. I thought you knew…”
Zac clenched his fists, frustration boiling in his chest.
He pulled out his phone and called her.
A busy signal
He tried again. This time, it went straight to voicemail.
She blocked his number.
His jaw tightened. He immediately dialed Quinn, one of the few people Charlotte was close to In Harbor City.
The moment she picked up, she sounded surprised. “Charlotte? She hasn’t contacted me. I have no idea where she is ”
“Find out,” Zac ordered.
Quino frowned but pulled up lier messaging app and sent Charlotte a text.
The moment she hit send, an error message popped up.
She stared at the screen.
Blocked
Confused, she muttered, “That’s weird
“Well?” Zar’s voice was Impatient.
Quinn sighed. “She blocked me too.”
Zac’s expression darkened.
Across the room, Wendy listened to the conversation, quickly putting the pieces together.
Charlotte was gone.
Her things were gone.
And judging by Zac’s reaction, he hadn’t seen this coming.
Suppressing her excitement, she feigned innocence. “Zac, does this mean you and Charlotte broke up?”
Her words hit him like a slap.
Breakup?
That wasn’t what he wanted.
That night, when he told her he never wanted to see her again, it was just anger talking. Even when Charlotte blocked him, he hadn’t thought of it as a real breakup.
He thought it was just her throwing a tantrum, waiting for him to come and smooth things over.
But now, standing in an empty room, seeing that she had taken everything that belonged to her, a flicker of doubt crept in.
Was this really just a tantrum?
Zac’s expression darkened.
Beside him, Wendy clung to his arm, her voice sweet and coaxing Zac, since you two are over, just let it go. No need to dwell on the past. How about we take a little vacation and clear our heads?”
Zac snapped out of his daze, his initial panic hardening into imitation.
Fine. If Charlotte wanted to act out, he would play along
How long could she last? A week? Two?
She would come crawling back, and when she did, he would make her realize just how little her little stunt had mattered to him.
He smirked and shrugged, “Sounds good. You pick the place.”
2
