After hanging up, Charlotte carefully reyed the night’s events in her mind.

Why had Wendy snuck into her room while she was in the shower? It definitely wasn’t just to look around like she bhad /bimed.

She was up to something.

Charlotte walked around the room, scanning every detall, but aside from the shattered ceramic figurine, everything else seemed untouched. Nothing appeared out of ce.

Thenb, /bher gazended on the ss of milk sitting on her nightstand.

bShe /bhad a habit. She always drank a cup of warm milk before bed.

Before heading to shower, she had asked Mrs. Zimmer to heat it up and bring it to her, nning to drink it afterward.

The ceramic figurine had also been on the nightstand before it was smashed.

If bWendy /bhad broken it, then she had clearly lingered near the nightstand for a while.

There was a very real chance Wendy had tampered with that ss of milk.

Three hourster, Sean finally arrived in Harbor City.

By the time Charlotte got his call, he was already on his way to her ce at Harmony Hill Vi.

She was outside, tossing bags of unwanted stuff into the trash.

“Sean, I’m not staying here tonight” She bnced her phone between her ear band /bshoulder as she made her bway /bback to the house,

There was still more to throw out, and Mrs. Zimmer had already gone to bed. Rather than bother her, Charlotte decided to take care of it berself

Sean didn’t ask any questions, just responded with ba /bsimpleb, /b“Alright.”

“Did byou /bbook ba /bhotel yet?” she asked.

He named a high–end hotel downtown.

b“/bPerfect. I’ll book a room there too. Let’s just meet at the hotel. You don’t have toe all the way here.”

She had already packed up everything she needed and nned to leave the house for good tonight.

I was time to say bgoodbye /bto Zac once band /bfor all.

Charlotte loaded her suitcase into the trunk, then pulled out her phone to book a room. That was when she found out that the hotel was fully

booked

She bdid /bba /bquick search band /brealized that a major exam was being held at a nearby school the next day. Nearly every hotel in the area was fully booked

After searching for a while, she found onest avable room at a rundown motel Charlotte scrolled through the reviews and frowned at the photos andints.

Onement stood out:

b“/bbThe /bwalls are paper–thin. I could hear the couple next door going at it all night–felt like a live broadcast happening right in front of me. Let’s just bsay/bb, /bI didn’t get a wink of sleep”

Charlotte understood exactly what that meant.

She had a trial at 3pm. the next day, and the drive there would take about three hours. Factoring in time to get ready, eat, and get on the road, she would have to be up by 10 am at thetest.

It bwas /balready past 11 pm. After meeting Sean, she wouldn’t have much time to rest. If she ended up in a ce with noise disturbances all night, she would be a mess by morning-

After thinking it over, she sent Sean a message.

+35 Bonus

“That hotel’s fully booked, and I can’t find a room anywhere nearby. Can you help me bbook /bone, Sean?”

While the regr rooms in high–end hotels were often reserved quickly, luxury sultes were usually kept avable for VIP guests. And as the heir of the Jasper family and CEO of Jasper Corporation, getting a room would be effortless for him.

His reply came quickly.

“I have a penthouse suite. It’s a duplex with two bedrooms–one upstairs, one downstairs. If you don’t mind, you can stay here for the night.”

Charlotte hesitated.

She and Sean hadn’t seen each other in over three years. Wouldn’t it be weird to stay in the same suite the first time they met again?

mup on the offer, where else could she go at this hour?

But if she didn’t take him up on

A duplex sulte wasn’t that bad. The two bedrooms were on separate floors, so it wasn’t like they would be in each other’s way.

After a few minutes of debating, she agreed.

Just as she was about to step on the gas and leave, a message popped up from Zac.

D