Emotional (5)

Charlotte woke up late in the afternoon. She could see Alexander busy dealing with company affairs, and the piled-up paperwork in front of him showed how much work he left unattended. She silently watched the man's back with an unmatched intensity, as if it could burn his clothes to ashes.

'Look at that body. It can put someone in the emergency room for sure! And look at those muscles underneath his figure. One can tell that he possesses a mermaid line comparable to those manga male gods!' Charlotte couldn't help but admire her new husband.

"Wife, don't stare at me that way, or I might do something we'll both regret later." Alexander's hoarse voice echoed in the room, and Charlotte couldn't help but bury herself under the sheets as soon as his words sank in.

She held her breath underneath, but the trembling of her hands couldn't hide the fear that was flowing in her veins when she heard the hoarseness of her husband's deep masculine voice. She couldn't stop herself from remembering those nights when David molested and forced sex on her.

'Calm down, Charlotte! If Alexander notices that you're different from his wife, he will suspect you. Please, calm down.' Charlotte closed her eyes and chanted sutras to help calm her tensed nerves.

Bothered by Charlotte's silence, Alexander stopped working and checked his wife. He expected her to be shy, but upon closer inspection, he noticed that his wife hiding under the covers was shaking badly like a frightened cat. He hurriedly moved toward his wife and carefully sat beside her. "Wife, what's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?"

"Nothing. I'm fine," Charlotte whispered as if trying to mask the unstable emotions that kept leaking from her voice.

Alexander stayed silent beside her, but he did not touch her, nor did he attempt to pull the blanket. Charlotte's reaction was like a trigger warning that alarmed him. He didn't know what happened, but he wanted to observe Charlotte for a while. He guessed that it had something to do with what he said earlier.

Unknowingly, it was the hoarseness of his voice that reminded Charlotte of a traumatic experience.

"Wife, if you need anything, just tell me." His tone switched to a gentle and pleasing one.

'Did he notice?' Charlotte's thoughts were running at full speed, and she couldn't help but overthink. The fear inside of her subsided little by little. Her heart slowly calmed down, and the shaking of her fingers was eventually gone. "I'm fine, husband."

Alexander also noticed that Charlotte's shaking stopped, so he concluded that Charlotte might have a problem with rough, hoarse, or loud voice pitch. 'I should warn everyone in the household to lower their voice when speaking around Charlotte. I am not sure where her soul went through during those years she had gone missing. But I'll help her adjust and be open to new possibilities.'

When Charlotte removed the blanket, she saw Alexander back to work. But this time, she avoided staring at his back for fear that she might make a mistake again and reveal her identity. 'Will he be working nonstop? Won't he feel tired by staying in one position? It's incredible! Though I am seeing a version of me as a workaholic in him.'

"Wife, are you bored? You can turn on the television, and there's a remote control on the bedside table. You can also read books or use an iPad. But, I would recommend minimal use of gadgets since you're still recovering."

'How could he tell that I was bored? Does he have eyes at the back of his head? Or is he a roundworm in my stomach?' As if afraid of disturbing Alexander's work, Charlotte decided to use the iPad closest to her reach. 

"I'll borrow your iPad to pass the time, husband."

"Go ahead. The password is your birthday."

'My birthday? But why would he do that?' Charlotte decided to open the tablet using her birthday as the password. She suddenly realized that her birthday was on the same day as Charlotte Magnus. 'Is this a coincidence that we were born on the same day?'

When Charlotte saw the wallpaper on the home screen, she was stunned to see an image of a teenager with the brightest smile holding a trophy. 'Is this Charlotte when she was younger? But how could she look so familiar to me? I think I've seen her somewhere before!'

Charlotte read the banner behind the teenager's image. 'I attended the same conference before! The same year when I went to the Imperial Capital alone!'

Before Charlotte could process her next move, her fingers were already typing on their own, as if they had an independent mind.

The name of the competition that year was neatly typed on the search bar, and several articles were shown. 'This skill of researching is something I can't perform without a guide! Holy shit! Why do I feel that my hands can think independently from my brain? They manipulated the keyboard with ease!'

It occurred to her that even if she was only a supporting character in the novel, every wearer must have a golden finger. 'Is it possible for me to become a hacker and earn money? Or maybe I am thinking too much?' She chuckled and checked the article.

'Wow! Charlotte won the championship in a scientific experiment about cell regeneration for cancer patients. But isn't she just a simple character who finished her studies at a film university? There should be more secrets kept by Alexander when he showed me such a simple file before.'

Charlotte's fingers moved again, and this time, she saw more about Charlotte Magnus's childhood excellence.

However, as she scrolled further, she saw a piece of related news that involved Charlotte's parents and the accident that took their lives.

Her heart was beating rapidly inside her chest, but she was not clear about the reason for these emotions to occur. A sudden pain erupted in her head, and the iPad rolled to the floor as her hold loosened. The beeping of the monitoring machine alarmed Alexander.

"Wife! What's wrong?"

Alexander pressed the intercom and called for a team of expert doctors. He immediately held Charlotte in his arms as he rubbed her hands. Alexander was well-versed with acupoints, and he knew which points to press to relieve the body's stress.

"Wife, tell me which part is hurting."

"My head feels like countless needles prick it. So painful!"