Chapter 472: Chapter 472: This Doesn’t Count as Marriage
The growing crowd of spectators around them made Charlotte Thompson feel increasingly uncomfortable. Her hands, hanging down by her sides, clenched and then relaxed. Furrowing her brow, she turned around and began to walk away.
Her pace was hurried, her retreating figure clearly flustered. The long hair cascading down her back fluttered slightly with her movements.
Her head slightly tilted, her eyes brimming with suppressed anxiety.
The reporters were taken aback, merely watching her departure, only thinking to raise their cameras and snap a photo after a long pause.
Justin Battleson turned his head slightly, staring at the defiant retreating figure of the woman, feeling momentarily stunned.
He sped up to catch up with her, almost breaking into a trot.
Not far away, Charlotte also heard the rushed footsteps behind her. She stopped impatiently, turned around, her beautiful features tainted with a hint of irritation.
Justin was not prepared for her to stop. He had to halt abruptly, stopping almost five steps away from her.
He looked into the indifferent eyes of the woman in front of him, opening his mouth as if to speak, but then hesitated.
The two lingered in silent confrontation, and after a moment, Charlotte let out a cold laugh.
"Justin Battleson, you haven’t changed at all. You’re still as presumptuous as ever," she said.
Almost immediately after her words, Justin pulled a bitter smile, whispering, "Finally, you admit that you are Sophie Allen."
"Why do you keep dwelling on this?" Charlotte chuckled sarcastically, her voice ethereal as early morning mist on a winter day.
"You clearly know, whether I’m Charlotte Thompson or Sophie Allen, whether it’s now or in the future, I won’t have anything to do with you." She said.
Her right hand, hanging by her side, tightened slightly, her voice cold and sharp, "So why, in front of all those journalists, did you have to bring up the past that not many people know about? You think you are getting closure, but you don’t realize how much trouble your words could cause me."
Opposite her, Justin was tongue-tied, a rare hint of helplessness flickered in his eyes.
Causing her trouble...
Does she really hate their past that much?
Charlotte looked up and suddenly broke into laughter.
"Justin Battleson, I thought you knew. Our so-called marriage was nothing but a trade-off. To both of us, it meant nothing," she said.
"For me, it was not even a marriage."
"No feelings involved, no intimacy, at most it was a mere formality. I believe I left as cleanly as I could, without causing much disruption to your life. So why do you keep coming back to disturb mine?"
Justin Battleson stiffened all of a sudden, pulling a strained smile.
He stared deeply at the woman standing in front of him, her words like thorns pricking his heart, and then he spoke, struggling with each word.
"You think, my appearance, has disturbed your life?"
Charlotte looked at him indifferently, her gaze unyielding.
The light in his eyes dimmed gradually. He chuckled bitterly, "Then in your heart, what am I to you?"
"Just a passing visitor." Charlotte laughed lightly, "Justin Battleson, we should’ve parted on good terms."
The afternoon sunlight was warm, but Justin’s heart felt as if it had plunged into an ice pit.
The woman in front of him had suddenly become a total stranger.
She was no longer the sweet girl from five years ago, wearing a long white dress and a light blue bag, looking up at him with warm smiles.
Just as she had said, Sophie Allen was long gone.
He should’ve understood that earlier.
Things had changed.