I HASTILY wiped the tears from my face and stood up. "H-how long have you been here?"
Did Charlie hear anything?
"Didn't I say I wanted to be alone?" My voice rose a bit.
No. He didn't hear it. He could not know.
"I know you wanted me to wait there but it's been an hour, Bianca. I thought you got lost or something…"
He took a deep breath and took something from his pocket. A handkerchief. He handed it to me. "Here. Wipe your tears."
His voice was gentle. His eyes sad. I suddenly felt sorry for snapping at him.
"I'm sorry… I forgot about the time." I said as I took his handkerchief. This time, I properly dried my face.
"You have nothing to be sorry about." His hands were in his pocket as he glanced at the tomb in front of us.
No. I have many things to apologize for, Charlie.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you." His eyes went back to me. "I'll go back to the car. I'll wait for you there."
"No. I'm done here. Let's go."
"Are you sure? I don't mind waiting."
I gave him a small smile. "Let's go." I knelt down and caressed the tomb one more time.
'I'll go now, baby. But I'll be back here, okay? I'm going to visit you always.'
"Can I ask you something? About the accident?"
Charlie and I were already back on the road when he broke the silence.
"What is it?"
He turned to me, his eyes on my face.
"The day of your accident, you were supposed to go somewhere. Your luggage was found in your car. Where are you going that day, Bianca?"
I blinked. I didn't expect this was what he'd ask. "I'm going on a vacation."
"Where?"
"In Texas."
His brows furrowed a bit. "You're going to Helen?"
I stilled. Of course, he remembered Helen.
"Yeah."
"And Gideon… did he know about it?"
"O-of course, he's my husband." I turned to him, my forehead in crease. "Why are you asking me this, Charlie?"
"I'm sorry." I heard him take a deep breath. "In the hospital, I asked you about your marriage with Gideon. But you didn't answer me."
I stilled. Why… why was he trying to open this topic again?
"I already told you what happened, didn't I?" I faced him. "We met in a bar. S-something happened between us."
"So… you really cheated on me."
I looked away. "I'm sorry, Charlie."
His hand gripped hard on the steering wheel.
"You know… I was so mad at you when I learned that you cheated on me with Gideon. Of all people? Gideon?"
I bit my lower lip. I could feel the hurt of betrayal in his voice. It was like a knife cutting through me.
"But then I realized that you couldn't do that to me. I know you love me, Bianca. I know you. I know you wouldn't do that to me."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Then maybe you don't really know me, Charlie." I managed to give him a sad smile. "Stop saying as if you know everything about me. We've only been together for three months."
"And that was enough to know that your feelings for me are real. You love me, Bianca." His voice sounded so sure.
"But I married Gideon," I said, my tears already threatening to fall.
"Didn't it occur to you that I was able to do that… because I didn't love you enough?"
My chest felt heavy. I felt like I couldn't breathe.
"And Gideon… do you really love him?"
My lips parted. "Y-yes." I managed to say. "O-of course. I wouldn't marry him if I don't."
He turned to me. His face was grim. But his eyes… his eyes were telling me he was hurt.
"What about Gideon?"
"What about my husband?"
"Does he really love you?"
"How could you ask me that, Charlie?" I masked my real emotion with sarcasm. "He's my husband."
He stopped the car on the side of the road.
"You know what Gideon told me the moment I came back? How's the feeling that I took away the woman you love, my dear brother?" There was a bitter smile on his face when he turned to me.
I ignored him. "W-why did you stop, Charlie?" I asked instead, my whole system starting to go haywire.
I looked away and closed my eyes. I shouldn't have let Charlie take me home. This was really a bad idea.
"You see… Gideon hates me, Bianca," Charlie said.
I didn't react. My eyes remained on the other side of the road.
"I didn't know if he told you any of this. But Gideon and I… we never had a good relationship from the start. He said he secretly hates me for coming into their life. But despite that, he still tried to get along with me in front of his parents."
Of course, I already knew that Gideon hated Charlie. But Gideon never told me the reason why.
"I went to the same high school as him," Charlie continued. I remained silent. "I became friends with Diana. She's Gideon's first love and girlfriend at that time."
I opened my eyes and slowly looked at Charlie. His eyes were already on the road in front of us. Like he was reminiscing about an important memory.
"Diana was a kind and sweet girl," he continued. "She made Gideon and I settle our differences. So… yeah. Because of Diana, Gideon started treating me nicely."
There was a sad smile on his face. "Ten years ago, we were eighteen then. It was summer vacation. Dad left LA with Gideon. He wanted Gideon to spend his vacation working at our company's office in New York. Gideon had asked me to take care of Diana while he's away. But I failed to do that."
My lips parted. "W-what happened?"
"Diana's family has a lake house in Tahoe. She invited me to spend my summer there. An accident happened while we were on the lake."
I didn't realize I was holding my breath.
"Diana and I… we both drowned in the lake. But I was the only one saved. Diana… she went missing. Her body wasn't recovered. A month later, the authorities were able to find some of her things. But they were all damaged and wrecked. Six months later, she was officially declared dead."
Oh, God. A gasp escaped my lips before I covered them with my palm.
"I'm s-sorry." I croaked.
"Gideon was devastated with Diana's death. He blamed me for it." He paused for a moment. "Well, I also blamed myself for what happened. Diana was like a sister to me. And I failed to protect her."
I blinked. "But you said it was an accident, Charlie… It wasn't your fault."
Charlie turned to me. There was a sad smile on his face. "Gideon never forgave me for what happened. He told me he never wanted to see me again. He said that if I didn't leave the house, he was the one who'd go and our parents would never be able to see him again." He swallowed. "That year… I told Amelia that I wanted to move to New York. Before I left, Gideon told me that one day… he would get his revenge on me."
Charlie held my hand… and I let him. "Do you understand now, Bianca? Even before you met Gideon, he already knew that you're my fiancée. Gideon didn't love you, Bianca. He purposely married you to get his revenge on me. I didn't know how he did it, but he succeeded on it, anyway."
I slowly shook my head. "What if you're wrong?" I said, my voice already wavering. And I hated it. I hated how he affects me. I hated how he was right.
"You don't love him." He declared. His brown eyes were on me, piercing my soul.
"You can't fool me, Bianca. You didn't love Gideon." His face hardened. "I knew you only visited him once in the ICU. You didn't even show any emotion when I told you he's in a critical condition. That shouldn't be the reaction of a loving wife who found out her husband was on the verge of death. So no. You didn't love Gideon, Bianca. You never did, right?" He stared at me, his eyes red with unshed tears.
"Fine. You're right," I admitted, tears escaping my eyes. "I didn't love Gideon. We weren't in love with each other. I didn't cheat on you, Charlie!"