CHAPTER 31- Another Assumption
The day bled away like a wound, swift and unnoticed until the sting of reality set in. The city buzzed around us, a cacophony of neon lights and restless souls, but for once, I let myself be swallowed by the mundane. Bubu, Charlotte, and I moved through the chaos like ghosts, tethered only by the fragile thread of a child's laughter.
We started at an ice cream parlor, one of those overly sweet, pastel-colored traps designed to lure in families and tourists. Bubu, ever the hurricane in human form, managed to turn his pristine outfit into a canvas of melted chocolate and strawberry swirls. Charlotte shot me a look—half exasperation, half judgment—as if I were the one who had handed him the triple-scoop monstrosity.
"Just how wasteful can you be?" she muttered, her voice sharp enough to cut through the sugar-coated air.
I rolled my eyes, the tension between us thickening like the syrup dripping from Bubu's cone. "My money, I'll spend it however I want," I shot back, my tone dripping with defiance. She scoffed, a sound that carried years of unspoken grievances, and turned away.
The shopping mall was next, a glittering monument to excess. Bubu, now a sticky mess, demanded new clothes, and Charlotte, ever the enabler, insisted we indulge him. Twenty bags later, the staff at Valentino Mansion would have their hands full. The clerk's polite smile felt like a mask, one of many we all wore in this world of shadows and secrets.
"Dad, I WANNA GO TO THE AMUSEMENT PARK NOW!" Bubu's voice cut through the sterile air of the mall, his tiny hand clutching Charlotte's like a lifeline. I ruffled his hair, the gesture more for my own reassurance than his.
"Today is Bubu's day," I said, though the words felt heavy on my tongue.
The amusement park was a kaleidoscope of noise and color, a temporary escape from the weight of our lives. For a moment, watching Bubu's face light up as he rode the carousel, I almost forgot the storm brewing on the horizon. Almost.
By evening, we found ourselves on a bench, the sky painted in hues of orange and purple. Bubu slept soundly in Charlotte's arms, his innocence a stark contrast to the tension crackling between us. I licked at my strawberry ice cream, the sweetness doing little to mask the bitterness in my chest.
"You look troubled, Aeron," Charlotte finally broke the silence, her voice low but piercing.
I glanced at her, then at Bubu, my heart aching at the sight of his peaceful face. He was my light, my salvation in a world that had tried so hard to break me.
"The woman I'm getting married to is a spy for Ghost Fleet," I confessed, the words tasting like ash.
Charlotte's eyes widened, a flicker of shock breaking through her usual composure. "You must be nuts to marry her, knowing that," she hissed, her voice a mix of anger and disbelief.
"There's a chance she's Erika," I added, the name hanging between us like a ghost.
Charlotte's breath hitched, her confusion palpable. "If Erika were alive, she wouldn't hide from you, let alone join Ghost Fleet," she argued, her logic cutting through my haze of doubt.
But logic had no place in this twisted game. I sighed, leaning back against the bench, the weight of my choices pressing down on me. "I'm not sure yet," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper.
Charlotte fell silent, her gaze fixed on Bubu. For both of us, he was the anchor in this storm, the one thing worth fighting for. But even he couldn't shield us from the dangers lurking in the shadows.
"Aeron, do you think we're doing this right?" she asked, her voice trembling with unspoken fears.
"I wish I had the answer," I replied, my smile tinged with sadness.
The air grew heavier, the unspoken tension between us thickening. Charlotte's next words cut through the silence like a knife.
"What if she is Erika? What will you do?"
I looked down at the pendant around my neck, a relic of a past I couldn't escape. The pain, the betrayal, the loneliness—it all surged within me, threatening to drown me.
"If your fiancée is a member of Ghost Fleet, Alexander's plan is clear," Charlotte continued, her voice cold and calculating. "He'll use her to kill you, take over Valentino, and then target your father and Bubu. You're playing right into his hands."
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. My mind raced, piecing together the fragments of Alexander's plan. He wouldn't risk another gang war, not after the devastation of the last one. No, he'd play the long game, using my own weaknesses against me.
Ivelle. The woman who might be Erika. The woman who could destroy everything I've built.
"Did you even think this through?" Charlotte's voice was laced with frustration, her eyes blazing with anger.
"I thought of one possibility," I admitted, my voice strained. "Alexander's been aggressive, but I didn't see this."
"Aeron, you're an open book to him," she snapped. "He knows why you turned against him. He knows about Erika, about her family. He's using that against you."
Her words were a harsh reminder of my own vulnerability. Around Ivelle, my judgment clouded, my focus shattered. I was too busy searching for traces of Erika in her to see the danger staring me in the face.
"If Ivelle is Erika," Charlotte continued, her voice steady but laced with venom, "then Ghost Fleet has manipulated her to hate you. You have two options: win her heart or kill her."
The words hit me like a bullet, my chest tightening with a mix of rage and despair. "Choose your words carefully, Charlotte," I warned, my voice low and dangerous.
She didn't flinch. "You have a son and a father, Aeron. If you keep this up, you'll lose them both. And remember our contract," she added, her gaze hardening. "If I find your presence in Bubu's life threatening, I'll take him away, and you'll never see him again."
"Charlotte—" I started, my voice rising, but she cut me off.
"Don't raise your voice at me, Aeron Valentino!" she snapped, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
The fear in her voice mirrored my own. I was terrified of losing Bubu, and she was terrified of losing him because of me.
"Win her heart or kill her," she said finally, her voice breaking. "That's your only way out."
The words hung in the air, a grim ultimatum in a world where love and death were often one and the same. As the sun dipped below the horizon, I felt the weight of my choices pressing down on me, the line between salvation and destruction thinner than ever.