Chapter 53

Chapter 53
Charlotte shook her head. "I don't want to. Can I skip it?"
"You know you can't," Bella answered.
Charlotte groaned slightly. "I can't lift myself."
"I will help you," Melvin said. He held her hand and pulled her up carefully.
"I..."
"Come on, Liam is waiting."
"Fine," Charlotte said. "But I need to drink water first."
Bella took the bottle of water she brought from the table and handed it over to Charlotte. She drank from it and dropped it on the table.
"We can leave now."
Melvin smiled. "That's my baby. You're coming with us, Bella."
Bella stood up and followed them. They took a lot of pictures, some with the guests. When they were done, Melvin excused himself to speak to some of his business partners, while Charlotte and Bella returned to sit down.
Stella came to speak to Charlotte. She informed her about one of their business partners showing up at the party.
"Did you speak to him?" Charlotte asked.
"Yes, I did. He wanted to speak to you but saw that you were busy, so he left. He sent his regards, and also said he would be at the office on Wednesday to sign the contract."
Charlotte smiled. "That's good news. Thank you, Stella. Have you eaten? What about Gina?"
"Gina is helping Jade out with gifts. We both ate something."
Charlotte nodded. "Thank you for your hard work. I do appreciate it."
"My pleasure, ma'am. I'll go help Jade and Gina," Stella said.
Charlotte nodded. "Please do."
Stella left. Charlotte faced Bella. "I think you should eat something too, Bella. You've been busy since the party began."
"I will." Bella stood up. "But it's almost time to gift the children. I need to help Mia with that."
"Mia will take care of that. And I'm sure Jade, Gina, and Stella will help out. You should..."
Bella's phone began to ring. "Sorry," Bella mumbled. "I think I have a call."
Charlotte nodded. "Go ahead."
Bella stared at her phone for a while and then dropped it on the table.
"You're not picking it up?" Charlotte asked.
Bella shook her head. "It's Daniel."
"Your ex? Why is he calling?"
Bella sat down. "I don't know."
Charlotte rolled her eyes. She remembered when they met him at the hotel in Isla Verida, and his attitude towards them.
"Didn't you block him? How did he get you?"
"I did block him," Bella answered. "But he kept changing his numbers. I never thought he would keep my number and not delete it."
"What does he have to say?" Charlotte mumbled, but Bella heard her.
"It has to be his usual rants of wanting us to get back together. He..." Her phone rang again, and she frowned. "I'm blocking him."
"He's definitely going to call with a different number. You said he always does that."
Bella nodded. "And I'll keep blocking him."
"There used to be a time he called so frequently, and then he stopped," Charlotte said. "I did not expect him to start again."
"I wasn't expecting that either. I thought he changed, when he didn't even call me after he saw me in Isla Verida, not until yesterday. At first I thought it was someone I gave my number to recently, but then he introduced himself, and then went on to rant about missing me and wanting us to be together."
Charlotte scoffed. "He always does that. Isn't he tired of it? The best thing is to get a new number. It'll save you from this stress."
"I've thought about it, but..." Bella sighed. "What about those who know me with this number? Letting them know I changed my number is going to be a long process. Blocking him will be better."
Charlotte nodded. "I'm sure he will get tired of it soon, like he always does."
"I guess so too."
Bella went on to block him. She then stood up to go join Mia, but a new call came in.
"Could it be Daniel? Did he use another number?" Charlotte asked.
"No, It's Jordan," Bella answered. "I wonder why he's calling, though. He said he wasn't going to call me today, though, because he knew I was going to be busy."
"Maybe he has something important," Charlotte answered. "He has to."
Bella picked up the call and went on to speak to Jordan for about twenty minutes. While Bella was on the call, Charlotte left to stretch her legs. When she returned, Bella had ended her call.
"You're done?" Charlotte asked.
"Yes," Bella nodded.
"I hope everything is alright?" Charlotte asked.
"Yes," Bella answered. "He will be in town tomorrow, and wants us to talk." Charlotte nodded. "He also told me about a fashion competition coming up soon. I think that's one of the reasons he's coming."
"A competition?"
Bella nodded. "Yes. He didn't tell me the details, though. Maybe when we meet."
"Okay?" Charlotte said. "I'm so tired."
"Do you want to go to the room to rest?" Bella asked. "I think you need that. There isn't much left to do here. Mia and I will take care of it."
Charlotte shook her head. "I just want to go home."
Bella smiled. "I know you do. It will be over soon, and you can go home." She stood up. "I'm going to join Mia, but first, I'll get you something to eat."
Charlotte nodded. "Please tell Melvin to come over. I don't want to sit here alone."
"I will do that," Bella answered and left.
Charlotte stared at her phone and then at her legs; they were swollen. She wasn't even in heels.
Charlotte tapped on her legs gently, rubbing them at intervals. A few minutes later, Melvin showed up.
"How are you doing, my baby?" Charlotte ignored him. He sat down. "Are you okay?"
"My legs hurt," Charlotte answered. "Can you massage them?"
Melvin smiled. "Sure." He lifted her right leg and placed it on his lap. He pressed it gently. "You did a great job today," he said. "The party is almost over."
Charlotte sighed. "I wish I could go home, though."
"We're leaving soon," Melvin said. "I also have something to say." Charlotte furrowed her brows, and he nodded. "There is going to be a competition."
"A fashion competition?" Charlotte asked.
"You know about it? It hasn't been announced yet. In fact, no one knows about it except for those directly involved in the preparation. I only got to know because Catherine's brother was sent an invitation to be a judge. Ryan told me about it. I'm telling you before I know you don't like competitions."
Charlotte furrowed her brows. If it hasn't been announced yet, how did Jordan find out about it? Is he a judge too?
"Well," Charlotte mumbled. "I don't know about it. I only guessed it." Melvin stared at her, and she nodded. "It seems I guessed right."
"You did," Melvin said, dropping her right leg gently. He lifted the left leg and began to massage it gently. "Do you think Bella will be interested in the competition?"
Charlotte shrugged. "Maybe. She's been busy lately, though. Joining a competition might be hectic. But I'll be glad if she does."