Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29718 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29718 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
"We will be reaching Ueno Station soon."
Hearing the English announcement from the train's PA system was like having a bucket of ice-cold water dumped over her head.
Oh my God, Charlotte!
Was she really going to believe Sano Takahashi just like that? Just because she missed her husband every night, and cried because of him every morning - just because she had felt lost and empty ever since he left—-
It shouldn't mean she should let grief twist her around its creepy finger just like that. She had to at least...aha!
An idea came to her as soon as she saw the train doors slide open, and Charlotte didn't even think twice about wrenching herself free of Sano's embrace and plunging herself into the frenzied scramble of passengers dashing out of the train.
She heard Sano grit out her name from somewhere behind, but Charlotte kept on running. There was only one thing she could think of to know for sure if all of this was real or an illusion, and that was to—-
Bang!
Charlotte heard a few people gasp as they caught her head-butting the blank wall of a narrow hallway next to a 7-Eleven, but all she cared about at that point was the fact that her scalp was currently throbbing.
It hurt, which should mean all that happened before this was real.
But because she wanted to be truly sure she wasn't imagining things—-
Charlotte took a deep breath.
One more time then.
She closed her eyes, but all she was able to do this time was drive her head straight into someone else's palm.
Sano!
Her eyes flew open, and the first thing she saw was Sano's exasperated gaze while his hand cradled her forehead.
"Still the same old Charles, I see."
Oh God.
Land used to say those very words as well, and in that exact same tone, too.
There were those times she'd refuse to say 'I love you, too' even when they were already married, and Land would only grin and say 'same old Charles'...just before asking her to give him a blowjob instead. And she would do so, of course, since there were few things she found sexier than the look on her husband's gorgeous face, every time she made him cum in her—-oh my God, why am I thinking about sex now of all times?
Charlotte gave herself a mental shake.
Get a grip, Charlotte Carmichaels—-
"People would usually be content to pinch their cheeks to see if they were dreaming or not, but as always, my Charles just has to—-"
"Go the extra mile." Charlotte whispered the same words at the same time Sano did, and she only did so because that phrase was also something Land often used, and so for this man to say and do all the things her husband used to say and do—-
Can I really let myself believe it's Land, God?
She lifted her gaze to his, but there was no answer forthcoming in the depths of Sano's blue eyes.
Please give me a sign, God.
Please help me.
"Do you believe me now?"
I don't care if people will end up thinking I've lost my mind. If You say this is real, then it's real, so please God—-
Sano touched her face. "Charles?"
It was not her first time to hear Sano call her that.
Wasn't her first time to feel Sano's hand on her cheek.
And yet somehow...something had changed.
While the sound of his voice and the touch of his hand used to do nothing for her at first, something had suddenly changed, with the way her heart was now racing so, so fast, racing just like it used to do whenever Land touched her or spoke to her—-
And it was this change, she knew...
This change—-
Oh God.
Charlotte's knees buckled wildly under her woolen skirt.
She had asked for a sign from God, and this was it.
Chapter Three
CHARLOTTE STRUGGLED to keep her face impassive as she saw Sano head back to their table with their drinks. When he had first introduced himself, she hadn't really cared to pay much attention to his looks. As far as she was concerned, no one would compare to her husband.
But because this time was different...
Hmm.
He didn't look like Land at all. Her husband was tall, dark, and ruggedly handsome while Sano, albeit also tall and deeply tanned, had features that were somewhat more...patrician. And right now, said features were currently attracting a lot of attention from the opposite sex.
Hmph!
Sano caught her staring, and his lips curved into a grin that had her scowling in return. He kept his gaze on her as he walked, but Charlotte wasn't letting him fool her just like that. He was acting like having all of the girls in the cafe ogling him meant nothing, but what if it was just an act?
She might have accepted that this was a sign from God, but what that sign exactly meant, she still needed to figure out—-what in the world?