Chapter 30: do you really hate me?

As the heavens unleashed a torrential downpour, the temperature plummeted without warning. Clad in a diaphanous dress now drenched by the rain, Charlotte felt the cold seeping into her bones, the fabric clinging to her skin like a second, icy shell. Her gaze was fixed on the window, yearning for Liam to materialize there, a beacon in the storm. Suddenly, the blare of a horn broke through the patter of raindrops, and before Charlotte could move, a sleek black car raced by, splashing her with its wake of murky water. From within the descending window, Chloe's bandaged face was a canvas of scorn, her mocking smile a fleeting ghost as the car glided by. In that instant, the chill and the filth became inconsequential to Charlotte, as a singular thought pierced her heart: It all made sense now; Liam had barred her entry because he had made plans with someone else. A tremor of emotion nearly sent her stumbling to the ground. She watched, numb, as the car disappeared into the estate, a