Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Charlotte's eyes shot open when she heard a familiar laugh. Her uncle. She awkwardly shuffled as much as her tied hands would allow her to and brought herself to a sitting position. She did not know whether to be relieved, horrified, or angry that her uncle was here.
On one side, seeing him was better than receiving William Dodd. But the fact he was here only proved to her how much of a nasty person he truly was.
She had never loathed him. She hadn't hated him when her father died, and she was left as an orphan at his mercy.
She hadn't hated him even when he had locked her up in that room where her mother had fallen out the window and died.
She hadn't hated him, although she never gave her the comfort she needed and only pushed her away.
Now, however, as she watched the smug look on his face, Charlotte felt a deep, seethed hatred settle inside her.
"You're here," Charlotte whispered, glaring at him vilely.
She wished she could say that it surprised her to find him here, but she would have been even more stunned if it had turned out that he was not involved at all.
"How can you call yourself my family? My parents would never have let any of this happen. "
Charlotte felt her head snap to the side.
Her cheek stung from the blow her uncle had just dealt her, leaving her reeling and her head throbbing.
It was another familiar thing about him.
This was not the first time he had hit her, but the shock from the suddenness of it after a while made it hurt some more.
She had the urge to bring her hand to her cheek and soothe the burning skin, but she refused to give her uncle the satisfaction.
She tried to escape his reach, but her restraints kept her from moving too much.
When she tried to get out of the way and escape his hands, he dragged her back by the rope, grinning when he heard her hissing with pain.
"Let go of me," she screamed, unable to take his harassment any longer, and she watched her uncle's eyes go wide with indignation. He was furious.
"You are so stubborn, Charlotte. A thorn in my side ever since the day that I came to be your guardian.
How dare you run away to God knows where and leave me with so much trouble?
Do you know how many problems you brought to me with that silly stunt you pulled?
" he asked her angrily, his spittle landing on her as he screamed in her face.
"Do you know how much misery I went through when I was dealing with William Dodd? "
Charlotte blocked her face to stop the slap she had expected when she saw him raise his arm, yet it never came.
She removed her hand from her face and looked at him.
He was staring at her again with that nasty smile he always sported whenever he tortured her.
He latched out with lightning speed and grabbed her by the hair, pulling on it.
Pain exploded in her head like she had never felt before, and a whimper escaped her lips.
"Shut up!" he screamed, his musty breath filling his nostrils.
"You made a fool of me. How could you have embarrassed me in such a manner?
I looked like a fool when I went to get you and you were not there.
Did you think you could run away and not be found?
" he pulled at her ear, with his other hand still wound tightly around her hair.
Twisting her ear, his fingers pinching into it.
He pushed away from her and walked the little distance to the window, muttering to himself.
"Do you know how lucky you are?" he asked her, facing out the window.
"I arranged a marriage for you with a man who is more powerful than anyone else you could have ever gotten for yourself and instead of being grateful for what you have received, you ran away like the ungrateful brat that you are.
I could have left you locked up in that room for the rest of your life, but I didn't do that.
You are lucky that William is a forgiving man.
He could have left you alone to fend for yourself, but instead searched for you and brought you back. "
Charlotte stared at him incredulously as he spoke.
She was glad he had his back turned to her because he probably would have hit her again if he had seen her face.
How could someone be so delusional as to think he was doing her a favor by marrying her off to the man who had tried to get his way with her many years ago?
"Not to mention, of all the stupid things you could have done, you went to our enemies for solace. Did you really think that they would help you? Knowing who you are? It is no wonder that you ended up all alone once they threw you out after finding out the truth," her uncle laughed.
Charlotte did not know what it was about that smug grin on his face.
Maybe it was because she had seen it on him every time he reminded her of her dead parents, slapped, smacked, or left her without food just to punish her for something she had or hadn't done.
Now, the only thing that mattered to Charlotte was wiping that stupid grin off his face.
She struggled to hold it in, hoping that he would veer off from the topic and she would not have to say anything.
"You suddenly have nothing to say for yourself? No one will ever love you. The sooner you admit that to yourself and accept it, the better it will be for you." Charlotte fumed as she listened to what he was saying.
"Being with them, who were supposed to be our enemies, was a hundred times better than growing up with you," she said defiantly, refusing to allow herself to be bullied into silence by the punishment that was sure to follow.
"In fact, being with them taught me more about family than being with you for years.
You are not my uncle but a man I was unfortunate to meet. "
Charlotte was expecting the slap this time when it came. It stung so much like she had been beaten in the war that had just taken place. She could already feel it swelling and touched it gently with shaky hands, wincing as it hurt even more.
"Why? Why do you hate me so much that you would choose to treat me this way all these years when I have done nothing to you?
" she whispered to him, her voice breaking from the sudden tears she couldn't hold back any longer.
"Why would you marry me to a man who hurt me?
I told you what William Dodd did so many years ago, yet you didn't care; instead, you chose to give me away to this same man. "
Charlotte was tired. She did not care anymore.
She had been through a lot and nothing changed no matter what she said.
She looked at her uncle when he said nothing, surprised by his sudden silence.
Had he realized the error of his ways? Could she get through to him?
Charlotte knew not to hope. She knew she would only disappoint herself if she did.
She doubted that after all that had happened and all that she had said to him, he was finally feeling a remorseful snout for what he had done to the extent that he would change.
She did not know how long they spent in silence as she waited him out, choosing not to hope.
Hope in such a man would only leave her feeling worse.
"Who said I didn't believe what you said?"
"You did?" Charlotte let out in surprise.
"I never said I didn't believe you. Of course, I do."
All these years, when she told him about William Dodd, she had thought that he did not want to listen to her because he didn't believe her honesty.
It had not occurred to her at any point that he believed her because he had given no indication that he did.
Charlotte could not take her eyes away from him.
"Why would you agree to give me in marriage to him when he asked for my hand then?"
"William Dodd never asked for your hand." Charlotte felt confusion overwhelm her. If he did not ask, then what was she doing here? Her uncle had clearly told her she was marrying William Dodd, so he had to have asked for her hand. How else would it have happened?
"If he did not ask for my hand in marriage, then what are we doing here?"
"Well, he is here because I offered you to him in marriage."
"What?" she asked, shocked. Nothing could have prepared her for what he had just said.
"He never asked for you, Charlotte. You were offered."
She was dumbfounded, not being able to see the reason why her uncle despised her so badly. What exactly was the reason for his hatred?
"When you knew what he did to me?" Charlotte was reeling. There were so many emotions going through her mind, she could not put her finger on the one that overtook her. "What have I ever done to you to deserve such a fate?"
Her uncle walked up to her, and Charlotte studied him, noticing that he had a faraway look in his eyes.
Although he was staring directly at her, it felt like he was lost in his memories of another lifetime.
As she flinched away from him, she watched his face harden, and he walked away almost as if he had not expected to lose himself in thought.
"Even without the awful long hair, you still look so much like your mother." Charlotte was confused about why he had spat out the word as if he loathed her. As if she was the reason for all the misery in his life, and she couldn't stop herself from blurting her next words.
"Why do you despise my mother so much? You have never liked her. Why is it you have always spoken ill of her?" What did she ever do to you?" As the silence grew longer, Charlotte was just about to repeat her question when he blurted out something that shocked her to her core.
"I killed your mother."