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Whatever her reasons were at that time, Charlotte was now old enough to realize that there could never be a good enough excuse for her to hold the words back, and it might be why Landon had always seemed so unreasonably jealous of Lukas. At that time, she had actually thought his jealousy "adorable", but now—-
The feel of Sano's hands holding her shoulders interrupted her thought, and a moment later she felt him gently turning her around to face him.
"I love you, Charlotte."
The words caught her off guard once again, and all she could do was stare at him.
A crooked smile twisted over his lips, but Charlotte couldn't help noticing how the smile failed to reach his eyes.
"I know you have a hard time saying it back, but right now..." Sano's voice turned taut. "I need to hear you say them, Charles."
"I..."
Oh God.
She wanted to say the words, she really did, but she was scared of what else she would say after it. She knew it made no sense, but those words felt as if they were her last defense, the one last thing that made her strong and keep the truth of Cass' visions to herself—-
"You just need to say them once."
Charlotte looked at him helplessly. "Sano—-"
"Or can't you say it," he bit out, "because it's no longer true?"
What?
Charlotte was stunned when Sano suddenly walked away. "Sano—-"
"Do you remember my friend Oscar?"
Charlotte's confusion grew. "I...yes." Oscar was Land's friend at work, and her husband had often told her there was no secret in this world that Oscar wouldn't be able to eventually uncover. As long as that secret had a paper trail—-
Oh no.
There could only be one reason for Sano to bring up Oscar's name at this moment, and when she saw his gaze turn bleak—-
No, no, no.
"It's true then."
Charlotte's heart broke at the hollowness of Sano's tone.
"I kept hoping that this could be the one time that Oscar had fucked up, and the contract he had found was fake."
"Sano—-"
"But it isn't, is it? You signed that contract with Lukas," Sano said tonelessly, "and that's why you now find it impossible to tell me you love me."
