Chapter 25 Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Chad's companions had departed, leaving only him and Marlie. Upon arriving home, Chad gracefully opened the car door for Marlie.
As the best actress she was, Marlie displayed her acting skills, pretending to be feeble while the humble servants escorted her inside, with Chad following closely behind.
Marlie was brought into the hall, where the two cunning women, mother and daughter, along with Angelina, stood.
Angelina had been summoned to the house, as she was a lawyer and might be needed if Marlie decided to take legal action against them. The expressions on their faces revealed their lingering fear of causing serious harm to Marlie.
Silvia, eager to know about Marlie's condition, began to ask, not out of genuine concern, but to assess the severity of her own guilt.
However, Chad intervened, not wanting a confrontation to ensue.
"It's best if you stay away from her from now onwards." Chad firmly stated to his mother, while the servant took Marlie upstairs.
Chad's words came as a surprise to everyone, including Marlie. She had assumed Chad was weak and easily manipulated by his mother and sister. But he proved her wrong for the first time as he now held the highest authority within the family.
Audrey was furious at Chad for shouting at their mother over Marlie. She wanted to voice her opinion yet Chad cut her off before she could finish.
"I don't want any of you getting near Charlie, especially you, Audrey!" Chad warned them sternly.
Before he could finish instructing the servant to take Marlie to her room, Marlie interrupted him, requesting to be taken to his room instead.
"I miss sleeping on our bed, Chad," she remarked.
Truthfully, Marlie's words and demeanor were aggravating.
They were specifically targeted at Angelina, causing her to take a step back.
"Sure... Why not?" Chad agreed without any delay.
When Chad responded, agreeing that Marlie would go to his room, Angelina had to hold onto the couch for support.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at Chad, her heart silently pleading for him to take back his words, but he didn't even spare her a glance.
Audrey seemed ready to explode with anger, while Silvia couldn't shake off the fear of what she had done to Marlie.
And Marlie? She inwardly relished everything, most importantly Angelina's reaction. What was she thinking? A mistress showing herself in the wife's house and taking over her position as if it were a normal thing to do? Dream in!
The servant placed Marlie in bed, carefully arranging a pillow beneath her head. She appeared delicate and pale, taking in the comfort of her surroundings.
Her eyes scanned the unfamiliar room, and she couldn't help but imagine her sister there, causing her to tear up.
"Please leave us," Chad's voice interrupted her thoughts, dismissing the servant from the room.
Marlie stared blankly as the servant disappeared,
startled by Chad undressing before her.
"W- what do you think you're doing?" she asked, taken aback.
"What else but undressing?" Chad replied, surprised by her question.
It wasn't the first time he had exposed himself in front of his wife, and it was his own room, so he didn't need permission.
"What!" Marlie exclaimed, shocked.
"Why would you shamefully get naked in front of me?!" She hadn't considered the consequences of ending up in that room; she only wanted to bother Angelina. It didn't cross her mind that Chad would undress in her presence. And did she say shamefully?
"Why are you acting like it's the first time you've seen me undressed?" Chad questioned, curious. Charlie had personally undressed and massaged him once before, so why was she overreacting?
"Besides, I didn't ask you to come back to this room!"
Chad tried going closer to Marlie.
"And do you think I don't know why you asked to be taken to this room?!" Chad smirked at Marlie. Yeah, right, she asked for it. So she should deal with it.
Chad unbuttoned his shirt without facing Marlie. She closed her eyes to avoid seeing Chad's body, the one thing she didn't want to witness.
Memories of the engagement day flooded her mind, causing her heart to pound heavily. And she clenched her fist to stop the emotion though it wasn't that helpful.
But this time, she was in a clear state of mind.
"Get out! Get out of this room!" Marlie yelled, pointing at the door.
Chad turned to look at her, confused and slightly flustered. Charlie had always been calm and somewhat fragile, as he remembered. Shouldn't he also remember not going near her?
Once, she caught a cold, and he had to tend to her throughout the night. But the Charlie (Marlie) before him seemed different, almost strange. Wasn't she also not feeling well?
"You know, your behavior now is quite different from back then," Chad commented, moving closer to the bed again.
"What are you trying to do?" Marlie questioned, almost begging him not to get closer to her. But Chad had no clue and leaned into the closet.
"It's like you are intentionally drawing me closer to you." He said with a raised brow.
"Don't come closer to me!" Marlie shivered as she whispered.
Chad took her chin into his hand and examined her face.
"What has she infected you with?" Marlie was stunned at such a question from Chad.
"You're almost like your sister," Chad said still holding her chin. "If it weren't for your face, one would think you're your sister." He said thoughtfully.
Marlie's eyes widen in shock. Has he found her out? This thought made her shiver more.
And the proximity between them brought a sense of unease to Marlie. She grasped the sheet tightly to conceal her emotions. Chad also felt flustered looking into her eyes.
Fortunately, he rose from the bed and departed, leaving Marlie to finally take in a breath of fresh air. However, this moment of respite didn't last long, as Chad's subsequent remark ignited fury within her.
"But that's impossible. You could never be her. The girl I knew didn't possess such composure. Because whenever she saw me, she unleashed her wrath, cursing me with phrases like... 'Damn you, Chad', 'Fuck you, Chad', 'God damn it, 'you devil', or addressing me mockingly as 'hey devil' or 'senior Chad'." Chad uttered these words, unaware of the anger brewing in Marlie.
"Did she get bitten by a mad dog when she was young? I've been wanting to ask you this for a very long time." Chad added casually, facing away from Marlie, oblivious to the storm of emotions she was experiencing.
"Because she was always behaving like one," Chad finished with a little sad smile on his face.
He remembered how cute Marlie looked when she got angry. He always loved that and therefore didn't spare any chance to see her angry.
"Don't you think so Charlie?" He asked suddenly after reminiscing about the last for a while.
He buried his emotions with a sad smile.
"Is she really gone for good?" He asked himself inwardly.