The Betrayed Heiress Is Now the CEO’s Obsession novel Chapter 431

Charlotte nodded. “Sounds good.”

Manon’s husband sat behind the stove, tending the fire.

Meanwhile, Petra was off to the side, playing with Manon’s two-year–old son, Kal.

After rinsing the vegetables, Charlotte turned around and saw the two of them having a surprisingly good time. She raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Petra, I never would’ve guessed you liked kids.”

Petra usually had a poker face and carried herself with a sharp, no nonsense attitude. Nothing about her screamed “kid- friendly.”

She held up an Ultraman toy, waving it at the toddler without much expression. “The little guy’s kind of entertaining,” she said flatly.

Charlotte blinked.

Manon and her husband froze.

The room fell into silence.

It was the kind of silence that felt both awkward and strangely funny.

After a moment, Charlotte gave an embarrassed laugh and quickly tried to smooth things over. “Sorry about that. My friend isn’t the most tactful person. She didn’t mean it the way it sounded. She was trying to say Kai’s adorable.”

Manon’s mouth twitched. “Your friend is… something else.”

Charlotte offered a sheepish smile. “She’s just not used to being around little kids. This is new for her.”

Later, once the food was ready, everyone gathered around a round table for dinner.

Just as they were about to start eating, Manon’s phone rang.

She glanced at the screen, then looked over at Charlotte. “It’s a number from Jersey City. Maybe someone’s trying to reach you?”

Charlotte shrugged. “Could be. Go ahead and answer it.”

Manon picked up the call. “Hello? Who’s this?”

After a brief exchange, she looked at Charlotte. “Yeah, she’s here with me.” Then she handed over the phone. “It’s for you. Says he’s a friend.”

Charlotte took the phone. “Hello?”

As soon as she spoke, the person on the other end seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. A moment later, a deep, familiar voice came through the line.

“Lottie, are you okay? I’ve been trying to reach you.”

Before she could respond, Sean continued, his words spilling out in a rush. “I’ve called you more than a hundred times today. None of them went through. You didn’t answer a single message. I was going crazy.

“I contacted Mia, Lena, everyone I could think of, but no one knew where you were. I even went to your firm, and they said you had gone to Harbor City to visit someone named Manon.

“Then I saw the flood reports on the news, and I got even more worried. Why wasn’t your phone working? Did something happen to you?”

13

Charlotte blinked, momentarily stunned. She pressed her lips together before answering in a quiet voice. “I’m fine. My phone fell in the water and stopped working.”

There was a pause. When Sean finally spoke again, his voice was low and tense. “You couldn’t have borrowed someone’s phone to send me a message? I’ve been out of my mind with worry.”

Charlotte’s first instinct was to push back. “My phone only stopped working last night. It hasn’t even been a full twenty–four hours. How was I supposed to know you’d be trying so hard to reach me? And anyway…”

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