Chapter 1297: Chapter 1297: Are You Leaving Me Too?
Inside the room.
Justin Battleson listens to the fading footsteps of Charlotte Thompson outside, gradually becoming distant and then disappearing.
His legs feel as if they’ve been filled with lead, so heavy that he can’t move them even half an inch off the ground.
The man who commands the entirety of Druarus’ business world now stands in the cold, solitary room like a child who has lost his toy, helpless and pitiable.
He doesn’t know how long it takes before he finally shifts his gaze woodenly to the desk beside him, where the books are in complete disarray.
If Charlotte Thompson had paid attention to this place from the beginning, she would have probably been very surprised.
Justin Battleson is not someone who carelessly scatters his belongings.
And so, Justin Battleson’s gaze slowly settles on those disorderly books.
At the very bottom, a corner of something suppressed emerges.
Justin Battleson strides over, pinches that corner, and pulls out a photograph from underneath the pile of books.
"You clearly said that aside from that, you never saw him again..."
Looking at the two people in the photo, Justin Battleson’s murmuring voice grows increasingly somber.
"But who is that dining with him in the picture?"
In the photo, Leon Battleson and Charlotte Thompson sit opposite each other, seemingly engaged in conversation, with calm smiles on their faces.
"All that I had was taken from me at that time, and now... are you going to leave me as well?"
...
Charlotte Thompson wanders aimlessly on the street.
The night wind is truly cold, cutting through the thin layer of clothes, burrowing desperately into the bones, soaking into the marrow, making the blood flowing through gradually turn icy.
In the brightly lit street, amidst the hustle and bustle of traffic, Charlotte Thompson alone moves against the tide of people hurrying to enjoy the nightlife.
Ever since she became Charlotte Thompson, she has never walked down the street as dispirited as she is now.
Charlotte stands at the street corner, looking up to find that brightest North Star in the night sky.
But tonight is overcast, the moon not revealing even a sliver of itself.
At this moment, her stomach embarrassingly growls, despite having had dinner already.
Charlotte Thompson pats her pocket, finding nothing but a phone with only two percent battery left.
Biting her lip, Charlotte Thompson dials Annie Anne’s number.
The call is quickly answered.
"What’s up, Charlotte, calling me so late?"
Annie Anne’s voice is hoarse, perhaps due to being woken from sleep by the ringing phone.
"Could I..."
Charlotte Thompson begins to ask if she can go over to Annie Anne’s place.
But then she thinks that Oliver Hudson is probably with Annie, so she swallows the words before they make it out.
Although Charlotte Thompson doesn’t finish her sentence, Annie Anne seems to guess what she wants to do and slowly says:
"Come over, Oliver Hudson isn’t home today."
"Thank..."
Upon hearing Annie Anne’s words, Charlotte Thompson’s eyes, misty with tears, become even drier, but before she can finish speaking, the phone automatically turns off due to low battery.
Charlotte Thompson goes straight to Annie Anne’s place.
Because Charlotte Thompson had given her a heads-up, Annie Anne waits for her arrival after their phone call ends.
But when Annie Anne sees the somewhat dejected and disheveled Charlotte Thompson, her expression is somewhat astonished.