After She She Stopped Loving Him

Chapter 38

Charles had never cared about what Yolanda truly felt, yet her hollow performance now ignited his curiosity.

She walked past him and started up the stairs. He waited for her on the landing, leaning back with an air of

detached coolness. “I took care of that celebrity issue,” he mentioned.

She continued down the hall without looking back. “Okay.”

Charles watched her go, a fresh cigarette perched between his fingers, unlit. After a brief pause, he followed her.

Yolanda grabbed her pajamas and headed for the shower. When she stepped out, she found him already in bed,

leaning against the headboard with his long legs stretched out. She froze, about to ask what he was doing here.

But then, his phone rang. This time, it wasn’t Sophie.

A moment later, Jack knocked on the door. “Mr. Sinclair, we've identified the mole who leaked the internal info.”

The leaked bid had cost Charles a major project he’d spent months preparing for. Now, they finally had a lead.

Yolanda moved toward the bed and reached for the covers, but his hand closed around her wrist. “Cwith

me. | want you there.”

She frowned, turned away, and began changing into her sleep clothes.

Charles watched, faintly amused, his hand resting lightly on her waist. “You've been acting different lately.

sweetheart.”

Around a man like Charles, even the smallest shift in behavior didn’t go unnoticed. She kept her eyes down,

changing slowly. “I'm just tired

She got into the car after him; Jack was behind the wheel. They pulled up to another of Charles's properties, one

Yolanda had never seen before.

The e moment she stepped inside, the metallic tang of blood hit her like a wall. She recoiled instinctively.

In the center of the living room, a man, beaten nearly unconscious, seemed to sense their arrival. He began

pleading frantically, voice ragged, “Mr. Sinclair, | shouldn't have done this. I'm begging you, letgo, just this

once. Have mercy!”

Charles walked calmly to the sofa in the middle of the room and sat down. His expensive leather shoes were

smudged with blood, but he paid them no mind.

The man crawled forward, forehead dripping crimson. “Mr. Sinclair, I'm so sorry. I'll return every cent to the

company. | was wrong. | was greedy.”

7:45 Thu, Sep 11

Chapter 38

He lunged for Charles's pant leg, but Charles shifted his leg and kicked him away dismissively.

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Yolanda stood behind Charles, watching his ice-cold expression. A chill ran through her. She'd known Charles for

years and had seen his anger before. In public, he played the charming, doting man, but when crossed, he

turned ruthless and cruel.

He took a tissue and slowly wiped a drop of blood from his trousers. Without looking up, he asked Jack, “Where's

his family?”

Jack replied. “At the airport. He transferred the money to them. Looks like he was trying to get them out of the

country.”

“Stop them.” Charles ordered.

The man on the floor froze, eyes wide with horror. “Mr. Sinclair, it was me. Punish me, not them. They're

innocent, I'm begging you... His voice broke into sobs as he trembled. “They didn’t know. They had no part in

this-

He thought of his tender wife, and his bright son who'd just been accepted to a university overseas. His bloodied

fingers curled into fists against the cold floor.

Then, with a sudden burst of despair, he lunged toward a nearby pillar and smashed his head against it. “Take

my life! Just spare them,” he gasped before his eyes went blank and he collapsed, lifeless.

The room fell into a heavy silence, broken only by Charles’s low, humorless chuckle.

Jack, quick to understand, already made a hushed, urgent call to intercept the man’s wife and son before they

could board their flight.

Yolanda’s stomach turned. She'd grown up in the Grant family, so she was no stranger to violence.

But the thick, coppery smell of blood hanging in the air was something else entirely. Sheltered by strict

upbringing and polished manners, the raw brutality of the moment left her shaken.

Charles glanced sideways, noting her pale complexion. He gestured casually. ‘Come. Sit.”

She took a step back. After everything had settled, she just wanted to go home. “When are we going back?”

He lit a cigarette, the flflickering in his dark eyes. “I thought you might plead for mercy o on his family’s

behalf.

Yolanda turned her face away, fist clenched at her side. “If the family profited from his betrayal, they're not

innocent.” And she didn’t want to interfere in his business.

Her chest felt tight, her back damp with cold sweat. This was the price of betraying Charles. Arrogant, ruthless,

and surrounded by yes-men who saw everyone else as beneath them, he lived by his own brutal.

code.

She drew a slow breath, forcing her emotions down.

Charles crushed his cigarette into an ashtray and leaned back. In one swift motion, he caught her wrist and

7:45 Thu, Sep 11

Chapter 38

pulled her forward. She stumbled, bending awkwardly over the back of the couch until their faces were just

inches apart.

His lips met hers. It was a hard, possessive kiss tinged with the scent of blood and tobacco. “Honey,” he

murmured, voice dangerously soft, “if this bothers you, you should've said something sooner.”

Yolanda stayed bent, feeling his breath coming sharp and cold against her car.

He released her wrist slowly and stood. “Jack, finish up here.”

Jack replied, “Yes, sir.”

Jack stayed behind to oversee the cleanup. Back in the car, Charles slumped into the passenger seat, tilting his

head back. His Adam's apple moved faintly as he closed his eyes. I'm exhausted. Drive.”

Yolanda slid behind the wheel, her palms slick with sweat.

Yolanda and Charles arrived back at Moonbay Estate a little after one in the morning.

Yolanda got out of the car, brushed past Charles without a word, and went straight to her room. She made it to

the sink just in time, retching before splashing cold water on her face.

A dry voice cfrom the doorway. Charles stood there, having shed his jacket, his shirt sleeves rolled up. One

eyebrow was arched. “Was it that bad?”

She hurriedly rinsed her mouth and shook her head, avoiding his eyes. “Just an upset stomach.”

She'd showered before they left, but now she felt contaminated, needing to scrub the phantom scent of blood

from her skin. She kept her gaze down and pushed the bathroom door shut without another word.

Charles didn’t move, a silent presence on the other side.

When she finally emerged, he was gone

Alone, she curled into a tight ball on the bed. She and lan had gone too far. If Charles ever found our, his

retaliation would be merciless. A man like him, prideful and powerful, would never tolerate such a blow to his

ego.

She tossed restlessly, her mind racing for a way out of this marriage.

Her phone buzzed. It was a message from her another number. Sophie: [Think you've won? How pathetic. I've

had fun with Charles more times than you, his real wife. Bet you didn’t know he gavethis.] Then a photo

followed

Yolanda’s breath caught. Since she was ten, she had given Charles a gift every year-meaningless luxuries he

likely never noticed.

But this one was different. This cross necklace was a cherished keepsake from Athena, the late wife of the

orphanage director, a woman who had been like a mother to her.

7:45 Thu, Sep 11

Chapter 38

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Two years ago, after Charles's car accident, she'd been terrified. Hoping it would protect him, she had reluctantly

parted with it, her most precious possession. And he had casually given it away to his mistress.

A sharp, visceral pain lanced through her chest. Her fingers tightened around the phone until her knuckles

turned white.

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