Chapter 249

Chapter 249

"I don't trust any man, and that includes you. Go back to your room and sleep. Military training has worn me out these past few days, and I need a good night's rest. Otherwise, I'm not spending the day with you tomorrow — I'll leave first thing in the morning."

That finally got Edward to back off.

"Fine, I guess I can't win with my darling."

Then he added, "Can I at least get a goodnight kiss?"

I had no choice but to stand on my tiptoes and peck him on the lips. "Is that good enough?"

"Not even close."

The next second, Edward pulled me in by the waist and kissed me properly. Our lips moved together, and the only thing I could sense was him — his presence slowly washing over all my senses.

He held the kiss for a long while before finally letting me go.

I gave him a light punch on the chest, annoyed. "You always do this."

"A kiss between two engaged people is perfectly normal."

"Get out of here. I'm going to sleep."

With that, I pushed open the door and shut him out.

That night, for some reason, I slept incredibly well — no dreams, nothing. When I woke up the next morning, my body felt completely relaxed and refreshed.

I checked the time. Eight-thirty.

Not too early, not too late.

I stretched and got out of bed.

After washing up, I headed downstairs — and that's when I noticed we had guests.

Edward, Lawrence, and Isabella were sitting in the living room with an elderly man and a young woman.

When Edward saw me, he stood up, walked over, and took my hand. "You're up," he said warmly.

"Yeah. I didn't know we had guests — let me go upstairs and change."

"No need. This is your home. Don't worry about it. Come sit down." He led me over by the hand.

I noticed the young woman's eyes were fixed on me, with a hint of displeasure and hostility in her gaze.

My gut told me right away — this girl had feelings for Edward.

Looks like I'd become a thorn in her side.

She wasn't bad-looking, and she had a nice figure, but her cute, sweet type wasn't Edward's style at all.

"Let me introduce everyone — this is Charlotte, Edward's fiancée, and my future granddaughter-in-law." Isabella said with a warm smile.

Then she continued, "And this is Thea Ellis, and this is Chris Ellis, Chairman of Ellis Group and Thea's grandfather."

"Nice to meet you both. I'm Charlotte," I said politely.

Chris looked at me with surprise. "So you're Edward's fiancée. I've heard about you — quite an impressive young woman. Really something."

I smiled lightly. "You're too kind."

Thea, meanwhile, kept watching me with open hostility. Then she said, in a cool, pointed tone, "Funny — I thought Edward's fiancée was someone else. Wasn't it Cleo?"

The moment Cleo's name came up, everyone in the room — except Thea and me — looked uncomfortable.

Chris shot Thea a sharp look, then quickly turned to apologize. "This child has always been blunt — no filter, no tact. She doesn't really understand adult matters. I'm sorry if she said anything out of line."

I smiled slightly. "It's fine. I don't mind."

Edward kept his hand around mine. "Edward and Cleo were engaged at one point, but it was arranged by the older generation — we never actually spent time together or got to know each other. I fell for Charlotte the moment I saw her. She's the one I want to spend my life with."

Thea's expression darkened. She was clearly furious, but she held it in, her face flushing red.

Chris looked a little awkward but still offered his congratulations. "Of course — you two look perfect together. My sincerest wishes to you both. Isabella, you're truly blessed."

At that, Isabella's expression finally softened.

Just then, my phone rang. It was DN.

"You all keep talking — I need to take this." I said, excusing myself.

I stepped outside into the courtyard and answered.

"Hello?"

"Boss, big news. You were right — Andy is Cleo's biological mother. I confirmed it."

Even though I'd already suspected it, hearing it confirmed still caught me off guard.

"So I was right. Then why did my parents' investigation show that Cleo's mother had passed away?"

"I looked into that too. The woman who died was the stepmother — the one Cleo's biological father married after Andy left. Andy gave birth to Cleo, but her husband was abusive, so she ran. The father then remarried, but the stepmother died of illness a few years later. Back then, records weren't as easy to trace, so the truth got buried. It took me a lot of digging to piece it together."

I pressed my lips together. "So the car accident wasn't just staged — someone deliberately switched three children between three different families. Is that what we're looking at?"

"That's what it looks like right now. But here's the thing — all three of you are around the same age. That's a key detail. It's pretty clear you were all born at the same hospital. Someone intentionally swapped the babies across three families, probably to muddy the trail if anyone started investigating." DN laid out the logic.

It made sense to me.

I'd thought it was strange from the moment Andy showed up at the Sinclair family home asking for a job. She seemed like she had an agenda. And within just a few days of being there, she'd already gotten close to Cleo — helping her do terrible things, no questions asked.

On top of that, I'd noticed how similar their features were around the eyes. That's what made me suspicious enough to have DN look into it.

And it turned out exactly as I'd thought.

"Good work. Keep digging into that accident."

"Don't worry. Honestly, this is getting exciting." DN's voice was buzzing with energy.

I raised an eyebrow. "I know what you mean."

I hung up and went back inside.

The moment I sat down, Thea said with a pointed edge to her voice, "Charlotte, even if you are Edward's fiancée, you two aren't married yet. And here you are, living in his family's home, meeting guests in your pajamas. Isn't that a bit much?"

I settled back into my seat and looked at her calmly. "You came to visit. Did you expect me to get dressed up for that?"

The room went quiet. Chris and Thea both looked uncomfortable, and so did Isabella and Lawrence.

Chris quickly jumped in. "That's not what Thea meant — please don't take it the wrong way. She was raised to value proper manners, so she tends to be particular about these things."

Lawrence wasn't having it. "Are you saying Charlotte has no manners?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant at all." Chris only made it worse the more he tried to explain.

The expressions on Isabella, Lawrence, and Edward's faces had gone cold — like ice had settled over the room.

Thea, completely unbothered by the tension she'd created, reached over and picked up an elegant gift box, holding it out to Isabella with a self-satisfied air.

"Isabella, I had this painting made especially for you. Please, take a look."