She Hired Him as Her Fake Husband… He Never Expected to Fall in Love
Chapter 6
Charlotte tried to convince herself that nothing had changed.
She failed.
She started noticing Ethan everywhere.
In the kitchen.
In the office.
At dinner.
At family meetings.
She noticed when he smiled.
When he was tired.
When he became protective.
And worse, she noticed when he wasn’t around.
One evening, Ethan didn’t come home.
Charlotte checked her phone.
Nothing.
She called.
No answer.
She told herself she wasn’t worried.
Then midnight came.
Still nothing.
At 1:17 a.m., the front door opened.
Ethan walked in with blood on his sleeve.
Charlotte jumped up.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Ethan.”
“Someone tried to attack me.”
Her face went pale.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
She grabbed the first-aid kit.
“Sit.”
“I can handle it.”
“Sit.”
He obeyed.
She carefully cleaned the cut.
“You could have been killed.”
He looked at her.
“I know.”
Her hands trembled.
“Don’t do that again.”
“Do what?”
“Disappear.”
He smiled faintly.
“You were worried.”
“Yes.”
She stopped.
She had answered too quickly.
Ethan looked at her.
“So you care.”
Charlotte looked away.
“Of course I care.”
“As my employer?”
She didn’t answer.
He waited.
Finally, she whispered,
“No.”
The room became silent.
Ethan gently touched her hand.
Charlotte looked up.
“I care about you.”
He smiled.
“I care about you too.”
They almost kissed.
Then Charlotte stepped back.
“This isn’t supposed to happen.”
“I know.”
“We agreed.”
“I know.”
“This is fake.”
Ethan shook his head.
“Not anymore.”
She stared at him.
For the first time, she couldn’t argue.
The next morning, Charlotte made a decision.
She would end the arrangement.
She would pay Ethan the full amount.
Then they would go back to being strangers.
But when she walked into the office, she found a letter on her desk.
A board notice.
Daniel had requested an emergency vote to remove her as CEO.
The fake marriage had become the only thing keeping her grandmother’s trust intact.
If Charlotte left Ethan now, she would lose the company.
If she stayed, she might lose her heart.
