Chapter 3
On the other side, looking at the box in his hand, Alexander's face darkened: "Charlotte, can you just calm down and stop blaming everything on Sabrina?"
Facing Alexander, whose face was full of impatience, Charlotte calmly raised her phone: "I almost forgot—you've been so busy running around tonight, you probably haven't had time to see this yet, have you?"
Alexander cast a dismissive look at her screen, then his expression suddenly froze.
Sabrina's most recent post was displayed on the screen.
The photo showed a limited-edition designer bag worth at least a hundred thousand yuan, and next to it were matching earrings from the same brand, prominently tagged as a gift."
The caption was even more meaningful: [The price of shopping with him! But this gift makes me look old, not really my style.]
Staring at the screen, a flicker of unease appeared in Alexander’s eyes.
Charlotte caught it and smiled faintly with meaning: "What a coincidence—the gift you so carefully picked for me is the same as the freebie she's complaining about."
At the sound of Charlotte’s mocking tone, Alexander instantly snapped back to reality.
But instead of showing any guilt, he scowled in irritation: "Sabrina is your sister! She saw I hadn't prepared a birthday gift for you, so she kindly asked me to bring this back for you. She meant well—is that wrong too?"
"Charlotte, can you stop being so petty?"
Charlotte's eyes were cold, completely ignoring his accusations: "You go shopping with her once and buy Sabrina designer bags worth hundreds of thousands. But me—I gave up my career for you, spent six years having your child, day and night revolving around you all... and I only deserve a freebie? How ridiculous."
Alexander impatiently tugged at his collar: "Sabrina is a young designer who graduated from a prestigious overseas university. Of course, she deserves the best."
"As for you, you just stay at home all day. Even if you bought expensive things, they’d just gather dust at home. What's the point?"
Charlotte laughed coldly: "Oh, I get it now. So I don't deserve it."
Though she had already become detached and seen through Alexander's heartlessness, Charlotte still felt a faint sting deep inside.
More than six years—she had given everything, and yet all she received in return was: "You don't deserve it."
Unexpectedly, not only did Alexander show no remorse at hearing this, but he became even more displeased: "Charlotte, why are you making such a scene? Don't forget, I'm taking care of Sabrina to help repair your relationship. Don't be ungrateful."
A look of disbelief flashed in Charlotte's eyes.
She rose slowly from the bed, staring at Alexander without blinking: "The way you put it, I should thank you? But Alexander, have you really forgotten how my mother died?"
Something seemed to click for Alexander.
After a brief moment of hesitation, he finally tossed the box onto the table with annoyance: "Fine, I'm too tired to argue with you."
"Take it or don't."
The next moment, he turned around without looking back and kicked the door shut: "Tonight, I'm sleeping in the study."
The box wasn't placed steadily. It wobbled twice, then rolled off the edge of the table shattering on the floor, breaking into pieces.
Silently watching the mess on the floor, Charlotte didn't feel a thing, and couldn't even be bothered to clean it up.
So be it. She was done with all of it.
Inside the study.
After washing up, Alexander’s anger was still smoldering.
What was wrong with her?
Charlotte, who used to be so gentle and considerate, always putting him first—why did she feel like a total stranger?
Before, even if he gave her a small gift worth just a few dozen yuan, she would be thrilled. Why was she acting like this?? Was she still angry about that small incident at dinner?
Alexander rubbed his temples in frustration.
It's meant to be an apology, right?
Did she really need to be so petty and relentless about it?
Luckily, Sabrina was much easier to deal with. No matter how unreasonable Charlotte was, Sabrina never argued with her and always spoke up for her in front of him.
If he had stood his ground back then and waited for Sabrina to return from abroad, would life be different now?
Forget it. Since he had already married Charlotte and had a child with her, he shouldn't have such thoughts.
As for Charlotte, he'd just leave her alone for a couple of days like before. Once she calmed down, she'd be obedient and compliant again, just like always.
Sunday morning arrived.
As Alexander headed downstairs, he was surprised not to see Charlotte, nor the nutritious soup that was always on the dining table.
Usually, Charlotte would already be waiting by the table, smiling as she watched them come down for breakfast.
"Lisa, where is Mrs. Forbes?"
Lisa, who was serving breakfast, quickly replied: "Mr. Forbes, Mrs. Forbes went out early this morning."
Alexander's brow twitched, and a surge of irritation flared up.
Was she still making a scene?
It seemed he had been far too soft on her.
In that case, this time he needed to set her straight, so she'd know not to throw tantrums so casually in the future.
Right then, Owen came downstairs, rubbing his eyes and complaining, "Dad, where's Mom? Why didn't she wake me up today?"
Alexander motioned for Owen to come over, "Your mom went out. Come eat breakfast."
Lisa had already served breakfast: "Please enjoy your meal."
Usually, Charlotte would personally prepare breakfast, tailored to their health and preferences.
In her absence, Lisa had prepared breakfast, which couldn't compare to Charlotte's carefully cooked meals tailored to their preferences.
So after just two bites, Owen complained: "Dad, I don't want to eat anymore."
Noticing Owen’s long face, Alexander also found it hard to swallow and simply put down his knife and fork: "If you don't want to eat, forget it. I'll take you out for lunch later."
Owen's face lit up: "Oh, great!"
Then he looked toward the door, made sure Charlotte wasn't there, and looked up mischievously: "Dad, can we invite Sabrina? I really want to play with Sabrina."
Hearing Owen's undisguised affection for Sabrina, A slight smirk played on Alexander’s lips: "Sure, I'll call Sabrina in a bit."
Watching Owen run back upstairs happily to change clothes, Alexander’s gaze sharpened.
'Charlotte, don't think this family can't do without you. Without you here, Owen and I will only be happier. You’ll regret this,' he thought.
A bit later, ready to go, Alexander was just about to dial Sabrina when his phone suddenly received a payment notification.
Three hundred and eighty-eight thousand?
Once the number sank in, Alexander frowned slightly.
This was the supplementary card he had given Charlotte when they got married, but in over six years, his usually thrifty wife had never spent more than three thousand yuan in a single transaction.
Three hundred eighty-eight thousand was nothing in Alexander's eyes—after all, the bag he gave Sabrina last night cost more than that, not to mention the tens of millions he'd spent on Sabrina over the past six months.
But if the person spending three hundred eighty-eight thousand in one go was Charlotte, that was too unusual.
She had always lived a simple life and lived quite frugally.
His phone buzzed with more alerts in succession...