Titan 117
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Yolanda spent the next few days at the villa here.
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Charles finalized the government project, always leaving early and coming home late. It wasn’t until the last night that he finally had her get in the car with him.
Yolanda had already checked in with Ian and knew he’d headed back with the crew a day ahead of schedule.
Plus, Ian was still sulking about it. Even though he didn’t say a word, Yolanda could tell from his whole vibe.
‘He acts all normal, but I can totally feel he’s got a grudge, Yolanda thought to herself.
With Ian’s birthday pretty much here, Yolanda totally planned to pick up a present for him and cheer him up once they were back in Beloris.
Yolanda leaned against Charles’s shoulder, half-dozing with her eyes closed.
Her face was delicately oval, her skin so pale it pretty much glowed. Curled up against his shoulder, she looked just like a little bird, super adorable and fragile.
Jack caught a glimpse in the rearview mirror-he swore something was definitely different about the way Charles was acting around Yolanda.
He kept quiet, hands steady on the wheel.
When they arrived at Moonbay Estate, Yolanda was just about to open her eyes when Charles scooped her up, carrying her in his arms before she knew it.
He laid her down on the bed, and the next thing she knew, his lips were on hers, waking her up with a kiss.
Yolanda couldn’t help but feel that Charles was way more into it tonight than usual.
She pushed him away and tugged the blanket over herself. “I’m tired, and my arm hurts.”
“Relax, sweetheart. I won’t touch your arm,” Charles murmured.
But he leaned in again, and Yolanda instantly buried herself even deeper under the blanket.
Charles tried to coax her out, but she was clammed up tight like a locked shell.
Beads of sweat rolled down his face as he held himself back. In the end, he snatched up his pajamas and quietly left the room, frustration simmering beneath his calm.
Yolanda waited until she heard the door click shut before she shot up in bed.
‘This is weird,’ she thought to herself. ‘Charles used to act all distant, barely ever touching me, but now he’s suddenly so into me-like, what changed?’
‘Seriously, what’s going on here?’
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After chasing after him for all these years-and considering everything that’s happened lately—it just didn’t make sense. No way would Charles, that charming but unreliable heartbreaker, suddenly have real feelings for her… right?
Unable to make sense of it, and wiped out from a whole day on the road, she quickly drifted off to sleep.
In the middle of the night, she was woken up yet again by Charles’s kiss-he felt as if he was burning up with desire right next to her.
Groggy and half-awake, she curled up instinctively, trying to wriggle away from his lips.
But she just couldn’t take his intensity anymore. She opened her eyes, and tears started rolling down her cheeks.
Charles stiffened, grabbing her chin, surprise flashing across his face. “Why are you crying?”
“The thing between you and Vivian… it’s real, isn’t it?” Yolanda asked, her voice trembling.
He stayed silent, just brushed her tears away with his finger, a complicated look in his eyes.
Yolanda turned her head, her voice wavering, barely making a sound.
Charles didn’t admit or deny anything, but deep down, he was honestly getting fed up with Vivian.
He hated when Vivian started drama and made his life harder.
Yolanda burrowed deeper into the blanket, not saying another word.
Charles didn’t say anything else, just pressed a gentle kiss to her hair.
The next morning, after getting ready, Yolanda headed downstairs alone for breakfast.
All the staff in the villa were loyal to Charles. Even though she’d laid down the law before, now they just made sure not to rat out her whereabouts to him-everything else was still all about his preferences. Seeing a table full of Charles’s favorite dishes, Yolanda lost her appetite. She grabbed a couple slices of bread to fill up and didn’t bother sparring with the staff anymore.
For the next couple of days, Yolanda wasn’t planning to go to Starlight Entertainment. She needed to act like she was still shaken up from the attack.
When Charles got home that evening, he handed off his suit jacket to one of the staff and overheard someone say, “Mrs. Sinclair seemed a little out of it today. She didn’t go out even once.”
Charles stopped mid-movement, glancing over at Yolanda.
She sat quietly on the couch, curled up with a throw pillow in her arms, her eyes glazed over as she stared at
the screen.
Charles gently loosened his tie, stepped over, and asked, “What’s up?”
Yolanda bowed her head, her vulnerable nape showing. “Nothing,” she said softly.
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Charles, who’d never shown this kind of patience before, crouched down beside her, reached out and softly pinched her cheek-almost awkward in his gentleness, like he was trying to comfort but not knowing how.
“Nothing? It’s written all over your face,” he murmured.
Yolanda dropped her chin onto the pillow and let her lashes fall softly.
From where Charles knelt, he could see her petite lips, her straight, upturned nose, and those delicate lashes quivering against her cheeks.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he asked, “Are you still scared about what happened that night?”
Yolanda stiffened, staying silent.
“I’ve handled everything. What are you still worried about? You can tell your husband,” Charles said gently.
“I’m scared of Cedric,” she whispered.
She shot him a quick glance, then dropped her lashes again. “I’m scared of Grady too. When he handed me that room key, the way he looked at me still gives me chills.”
All Yolanda needed to do now was to let her fear show; as long as she remained Mrs. Sinclair, any man who showed interest in her would be seen by Charles as a threat to his authority.
Sure enough, the smile in his eyes slowly faded.
Yolanda knew Charles had this set system for weighing things. Like, between her and Renee, he’d always choose Renee.
And between her and the company, it was always the company over her.
But when it came to the little things that didn’t really matter, Charles never minded looking out for her in those minor ways.
So before that smile vanished fully, she leaned in and let her head rest on his shoulder. “Vivian’s words really stuck with me. I even had a nightmare about it last night.”
Charles’s irritation toward Vivian hit a whole new level.
In Charles’s mind, Yolanda was the most well-behaved, easygoing woman in all of Beloris. If she wasn’t, he wouldn’t have agreed to marry her in the first place.
For her to say something like that meant Vivian must’ve talked crap to her before. Yolanda didn’t let on because she trusted him.
Charles narrowed his eyes, thinking, ‘Maybe she did, but I was too oblivious back then to notice.
Like when she made the staff toss her clothes out, or switched to sleeping in a separate bed.
Now, as all those little things finally clicked into place, he understood she’d been quietly resisting him this
whole time.
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He always thought women throwing tantrums were just annoying, but someone who swallowed their pain, kept it bottled up, and still came to him so fragile, seeking his protection… Even he couldn’t help but feel a
rare trace of softness in his heart.
He lifted his hand and gently patted her back. “I’ll handle it. Jack will get you a black card-go spoil yourself a bit tomorrow, alright?”
Her lashes trembled, and she just mumbled an “Okay” from beneath her breath.
Charles chuckled and patted her on the head. “Gotta get back to work.”
****
The next morning, when Yolanda opened her door, she found Jack standing respectfully outside, holding out the black card.
“Mrs. Sinclair, the CEO asked me to give you this,” Jack said.
No limit this time-she could spend however much she wanted.
Before, Charles only gave her 60 thousand a month. Most of it went straight to the orphanage, and she had to put some away for maintaining relationships, leaving her with barely a couple bucks at the end of each month. Sure, he’d been a bit more generous lately, but even then, there was always a cap.
Now, he was handing her the black card.
Yolanda took the card and murmured a quiet thanks.
She wasn’t about to turn down money just to prove some point.
In this business, without cash, you can’t get anywhere.
She threw on some simple jeans and a white silk blouse, pulled her hair up into a ponytail, and got ready to hit the mall. She needed to find a birthday present for Ian-his birthday was coming up in two days.
Just before heading out, Yolanda paused for a moment, then fired off a quick update on Twitter.
[Out shopping!]
Yolanda hardly ever posted on Twitter. When she first married Charles two years ago, a bunch of people had added her just to get close to him.
But once they realized she wasn’t exactly in his good graces, they stopped reaching out.
The few posts she did make were always about Charles’s birthday or their wedding anniversary,
But this year, she skipped the anniversary post.
Now, this shopping post got a ton of likes-mostly from people in Charles’s circle. Everyone was all smiles and support on the surface.
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But Yolanda wasn’t trying to put on a show for that crowd-her post was aimed straight at Vivian.
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Rumor had it, after Charles dropped the partnership, Vivian caught hell for days. You could bet she was fuming and just itching to find someone to blow off steam on.
To Vivian, Yolanda was nothing but her punching bag—an easy target, a nobody she could mess with whenever she felt like it.