Delete My Love for You novel Chapter 108

“Charlotte! Get back here—now!”

At the doorway, Charlotte froze mid-step.

Darren’s eyes narrowed, a cold, self-assured smile playing at the corners of his tightly pressed lips.

Just as he thought… She couldn’t keep up the act.

In less than three seconds, she’d turn around obediently, just like she always had before.

He counted silently, certain: Three… two… one…

But instead of turning back, Charlotte knelt down right in his line of sight.

Ryan’s shoelace had come undone. With her head bowed, she deftly and gently retied it, her movements so focused it was as if nothing else in the world existed.

Then, taking the boy’s hand in hers, she walked out the door without looking back, her figure vanishing into the light beyond.

Darren’s pupils constricted sharply.

“Dad! Why did you let her leave?” Noah shouted, his voice full of protest.

Leave?

There was no way she’d really leave.

With a sudden sweep of his arm, Darren sent his plate and silverware crashing to the floor, the sharp sound of breaking ceramic ringing out as he shot from his seat toward the private room’s entrance like an arrow loosed from a bow.

She must be waiting just outside in the hallway, expecting him to call her back—she always did.

But when his tall frame reached the corridor, she was gone. Not a trace of her anywhere in sight.

Unable to believe it, he grabbed a passing waiter, his voice edged with a panic he didn’t even recognize in himself. “The woman who just left with a child—where is she? Where did she go?!”

The waiter, pale and nervous, stammered, “Mr. Harrington, the lady left through the front doors with the boy—they’re gone…”

Darren’s hand fell limply to his side, drained of all strength.

Staring down the empty hallway, a cold, disbelieving laugh escaped his throat.

“Heh… Charlotte. You actually dared to leave Noah behind and walk away.”

…

Desperate not to be abandoned again, that little girl had scrubbed floors, washed laundry, did the dishes—anything to keep every corner spotless, using obedience and hard work to buy herself a tiny scrap of belonging.

Kids who have been left behind live in constant fear, grasping at anything that feels safe, willing to flatten themselves into the dust just for a reason to stay.

Just like she had, all those years ago, with Darren.

But now, Charlotte understood.

She knelt beside Ryan and gently took the washcloth from his hand, meeting his dark eyes with unwavering warmth.

“Ryan, you don’t have to earn anyone’s love. You are enough, just as you are. Unique and precious, and worthy of being loved.”

“As long as you’re kind and honest, I’ll always be here for you.”

Her words were soft but steady, melting the anxious need to please from Ryan’s eyes, replacing it with a dawning, innocent hope.

Just then, the doorbell rang—clear and unexpected.

Charlotte paused, a flicker of surprise crossing her face. Who could it be at this hour?