Chapter 491 They Were Not In Love
Cherise sat at the table, her lips pressed tightly together while her hands clenched under the table.
In the brief ten minutes they had been seated, Charisa had mentioned death for the third time. Cherise’s intuition strongly suggested that Charisa didn’t say these words lightly.
Cherise’s lips quivered, and she instinctively reached for Charisa’s hand, but the woman evaded her touch with calm composure. “I’m not comfortable with physical contact.”
She glanced indifferently at Cherise, then rose from her seat and walked out. “I’ll go check on what they’re cooking.
With those words, she left Cherise in the wake of her cold and distant departure.
Cherise’s hand froze mid-air, leaving her with a profound sense of loneliness.
Biting her lip, she turned to Zachary. “She…”
Zachary’s frown deepened, his gaze unusually serious. “What are you trying to say?”
“Her health…” Cherise murmured, her fist tightening.
“She is fine. Zachary’s brows furrowed slightly as he looked at her. “Don’t read too much into it. Aunt Charisa has been a bit more sentimental than usual lately.”
“And she genuinely dislikes physical contact. My uncle pa*sed away over a decade ago, and she has been living alone all these years. No children, no friends. She only lets Kareen and me get a bit closer. So, try to understand her. It’s not that she rejects your touch. She’s just not used to being touched by anyone,” Zachary explained, attempting to soothe Cherise’s unease about Charisa’s behavior.
Cherise bit her lip, a tinge of bitterness settling within her.
She had felt a deep connection with Charisa, thinking she genuinely cared. However, Charisa seemed so accustomed to solitude that it didn’t allow any space for emotional expressions.
Cherise sniffled. “So, about her… and your uncle, were they in love?”
Considering Charisa’s solitary life for over a decade, she a*sumed that her not remarrying was due to a deep affection for Zachary’s uncle.
She knew very little about Charisa. Beyond knowing that she was her biological mother and the head of the Miles Family, she had no knowledge about anything else.
When she had previously asked why her mother left her father, Grandpa had been vague. All he had said was that Charisa felt unprotected by her father, so she left.
It was not unreasonable for her to a*sume that one of the reasons Charisa had gotten together
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with the man from the Miles Family was for his ability to provide her with the sense of safety that shr longed for
But what Cherise didn’t expect was Zachary’s response, almost as if she was asking about flying
pigs
“Was Aunt Charisa in love with my uncle? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. “When Charisa first joined the Miles Family, Zachary was barely ten. His mother had pa*sed away, his father was a heavy drinker, and the household relied solely on the servants to look after him and
Kareen
Once, while playing in the backyard, he wandered into Charisa’s basement. It was a memory deeply etched in Zachary’s mind. The dark and damp basement devoid of sunlight only had a faint glow from a single lightbulb. Behind an immense iron door was a disheveled woman. seemingly in agony and covered in blood.
Seven-year-old Zachary yelled in terror, “Ghost!”
But Charisa lifted her head. Her eyes were bright and clear as she smiled at him. “Don’t be scared, little bunny. There are no ghosts here.”
“Be brave, don’t be afraid.” The woman’s gentle voice almost brought Zachary to tears.
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