CHAPTER 447: CHAPTER 447: IF HE DOESN’T MARRY, SHE WON’T WED

"Ronan, I’m a bit tired, shall we go back?"

Ronan nodded, keeping Charlotte close to him. "How is it? Are you satisfied with this place?"

Charlotte smiled, her eyes full of anticipation as she looked at the romantic wedding venue. "Yes, I like it very much, thank you."

"Thank me for what? It’s not just your wedding, it’s our affair. Now that everything is almost ready, in two days you’ll be my rightful wife."

Charlotte smiled silently, unable to forget the text message she received in the car.

She was afraid Jasper would do something irrational to her again, yet she wanted to take a gamble.

She didn’t want to lose the happiness within her grasp; she wishfully thought she might be lucky this time.

On the way back, Ronan noticed she was distracted and lost in her thoughts.

Seeing her so worried, Ronan couldn’t help but be concerned.

"What’s wrong, Charlotte?" he broke the silence in the car, turning to ask her.

Charlotte withdrew her gaze from the window, snapped back, and glanced at him, saying softly: "I just feel like all this is unreal."

Ronan smiled at her, "I’m right here beside you; you can reach out and touch me, how could it feel unreal?"

Charlotte smiled, but there was a complex emotion in her smile.

"Don’t worry, everything will get better, and I’ll always be by your side."

Charlotte nodded. She had never thought of fighting for herself before, but now she wanted to give it a try.

Wouldn’t the demon eventually disappear?

Sooner or later, she would completely walk out of that abyss, right?

Back at home, while Ronan was preparing dinner in the kitchen, she received a call from Jasper.

She didn’t know what he wanted to say, nor did she want to know.

As usual, she hung up the phone and blocked the number.

Clutching the phone tightly, her heart refused to calm down.

Soon, another text came from an unfamiliar number: Don’t blame me for disciplining you for being so naughty.

Charlotte took a deep breath, trembling as she deleted the message, pressing the phone’s side button hard until it turned off.

Deep-seated memories she didn’t want to touch were awakened, corroding her heart, which had finally begun to heal.

"Charlotte? What are you thinking about? I’ve called you several times, but no reply."

Charlotte snapped back to reality, looking at Ronan, hearing him say, "The dress should be delivered soon. Listen for the doorbell and open the door, I’m going downstairs to the supermarket to buy some vinegar."

"...Oh, okay."

Hearing the door close, leaving her alone in the house.

Those bad emotions slowly spread, and looking at the wedding photos recently taken and hung on the wall, she longed for the future while being deeply afraid of losing it.

She took out the medicine in her bag again and swallowed it with the water in the cup.

"Charlotte, open the door."

Hearing Ronan’s voice outside, she got up and opened the door, seeing Ronan with his hands full of items. Charlotte reached out to help him.

Ronan said, "I just met the person delivering the dress at the elevator door."

"This wedding dress is so beautiful; wouldn’t it look great on someone else too?"

Hearing her inexplicable question, Ronan lightly tapped her head: "What nonsense are you talking about? It’s tailor-made for you! How could it be for someone else? And don’t bring up my old faults again, I’ll be mad."

Charlotte laughed and changed the subject: "You better go and cook."

"Hungry now?"

"Yes."

"I’ll wash some fruit for you first."

...

Jasper Sutton sat alone in a bar, one cigarette after another, one glass of alcohol after another.

He couldn’t erase the image of her in a wedding dress from his mind.

So beautiful.

But she wasn’t his.

The feelings he showed her were hate; he said she was the one who killed his mother.

Yet he knew very well she hadn’t done anything; she was also a victim of this rebuilt family.

Her mother was a mistress, intervened in his parents’ marriage, led to their divorce, and caused his mother to fall into depression and jump from a high-rise.

So when she first appeared in this family, shyly calling him "brother," he didn’t give her a good face.

The hatred seemed to have been buried in his heart from the start and was pinned on her.

Even knowing she was innocent, he still refused to let her go.

Because besides this resentment, it seemed he had no other reason to stay connected to her.

He never admitted that his feelings for her were affection, nor dared to admit it.

Because he knew what he had done to her, he could never get her forgiveness.

To her, he was more terrifying than ghosts and monsters.

And his possessiveness only grew.

He could endure not being with her, but he couldn’t bear her becoming someone else’s wife.

He felt that as long as she remained alone, she would still belong to him.

Even if it’s like this for a lifetime, as long as he doesn’t marry and she doesn’t either, it would be as if they had spent their whole lives together.

When he learned she had a boyfriend, he struggled inside.

Considered letting her be free.

But knowing her so-called happiness didn’t include him, he still felt unwilling.

And this unwillingness, upon seeing her in the wedding dress today, completely shattered his patience and rationality.

He wouldn’t let her get married, no matter what method he had to use.

Even if it meant hurting her again, he would stop her from becoming someone else’s wife.

...

"Charlotte."

In the morning, Ronan softly woke the still-sleeping Charlotte.

Charlotte slowly opened her eyes, her mind not yet recovered from the nightmare.

Ronan lowered his head and gently kissed her furrowed brow, "Had a nightmare?"

Charlotte closed her eyes, as if recalling the events of the dream, but didn’t tell him. She only looked at Ronan, still neatly dressed, and asked, "What time is it?"

Ronan answered softly, "Past eight. I need to go pick up the rings from the store, I’ll be back soon. Breakfast is on the table, you should eat before going back to sleep."

Charlotte nodded, "Okay."

Ronan gave a few more instructions before leaving.

The thought of the wedding tomorrow made him still excited inside.

He used to disdain those men who got married, thinking tying one’s life to a woman was too boring.

Now he understood that he thought this way only because he hadn’t met love yet.

After meeting that person, he felt that a lifetime to love someone was too short, fearing that time was insufficient.

As Ronan went downstairs, a black car was parked by the roadside, but he didn’t pay it much attention, driving his vehicle away directly.

The man in the car rolled down the window, looking up at the high-rise in front of him.

Lighting a cigarette, he leisurely inhaled and exhaled smoke until the cigarette was done.

The man opened the car door and walked towards the building.