a warrior Charlotte, and you deserve to know that.”
I’d never considered myself a warrior. I’ve fought many battles alone, but only because I had no choice. And now, I’m married, yet the person I should be standing with, in the frontline, is sleeping in our guest room. Countless nights over the past few months I’ve laid in this bed alone.
The only difference now—I’m controlling the situation.
It’s all on me.
A blessing and a curse.
I’ve managed to sleep a few hours despite my predicament. Before picking up Amelia, I decide to shower, change, and get some work done. With my breakfast and coffee sitting beside me in my home office, I’m interrupted as Lex knocks on the door. My gaze lifts, to see him dressed in a pair of jeans, a white tee, and sneakers. How this man goes from tuxedo to sneakers and still looks like Adonis is beyond me.
“Working?” he asks, keeping his distance.
“Yeah,” I huff, slipping my glasses off. “These numbers are… frustrating, to say the least.”
“Do you mind if I take a look?”
I push the papers toward him, wrapping my hands around the hot mug of coffee and taking a much-needed sip. Perhaps I’ve been overanalyzing, or my brain is tired from crunching numbers. Either way, I feel like I’m getting nowhere.
“Suggestion?”
“Go for it.”
“If Marjorie can move the budget toward this column, you’ll see a rise in losses. However, if you look over here, the return on investment will increase.”
I carefully look over the numbers and his direction. Lex is right. Marjorie and her team need to find a way to sustain the everyday running of the shelter and still pay rent despite the increase because of greedy investors. The plan is to raise enough money to be able to purchase the land, plus renovate the building to make it more accommodating and functional.
“That makes sense. A lot of sense…” I trail off. “I’m going to work on this now before I pick up Amelia.”
“I was thinking of picking her up. You know… spend some time with her, plus give you some hours to work?”
I raise my eyes to meet his, offering him a smile. “I’d appreciate that. Thank you.”
***
I present the numbers to Marjorie and her team. She nods her head, agreeing all the while appearing somewhat relieved. The shelter runs on sponsored funding, with many of their staff volunteers. Any penny saved will make a difference to the future of the shelter.
“You’re an angel sent from above, Charlie.”
My lips curve upward, welcoming the compliment, yet I am quick to remember it had been Lex’s intelligence, not all mine.
“Actually, you can thank my husband. He’s the brains behind numbers.”
“As I’ve said before, you’ve got yourself a good man. He loves you very much.”
Unsure of what to say, I express a “Thank you” for her kind words.
“You know, he reminds me of my Clifford before he passed,” she says, reminiscing fondly. “Marriage is never easy… you’ve got to work hard all the time. We make mistakes, sometimes we hurt, but with the right love, it will burn into your soul forever.”
Unable to hold back a smile, I thank her again before saying goodbye and walking out of the office. As I step past the small communal room, there’s a teenage boy sitting at an old piano. Marjorie’s son donated the piano to the shelter when they discovered many women could play. It wasn’t fancy, nor grand, but it looks good enough for this boy to run his fingers along the keys and play the tune.
A girl who appears to be the same age sits beside him. They both laugh, a joke between them I can’t quite hear, from where I am standing. At the same time, their faces brighten, grinning like two teenagers on the verge of falling in love. The boy nudges her shoulder with his own, playfully, before he rests his fingers on the keys again and begins playing a tune.
Each note becomes familiar, and like a blast from the past, it’s the same song Lex played the day we sat at the piano together for the first time. I’m drawn back to Charlie from high school—young, naïve, and unfamiliar with the power of love. I’d fallen in love with Alexander Matthews, all of him, despite his marital circumstances. I had been foolish enough at that time to think we would never break, yet my innocence led me to believe our love would last forever.
And this will never change.
There is no choice but to start the