Page 116 of A Forever Love

“From what I’ve gathered, Mr. Walker was very close to Charlie’s grandfather. Their shared name only fueled his confusion. He sees his old friend in Charlie, yet he believes Charlie is an imposter.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t see that.” My teeth grit in self-directed anger. I failed in recognizing the real threat, and now Mere is paying for my mistakes. “What’s next?”

“He needs to be here for a while until we can stabilize him. After that, you can transfer him to a local clinic and continue his treatment.”

Leaving the room, I feel like I’m in a haze. The doctor’s words blend with Tony’s reverent mentions of Charles Hawthorne, now echoing painfully in my ears. I overlooked all the signs.

I reach the other end of the hospital, outside the operating room where Mere was wheeled in a few hours ago. The sterile scent of the surroundings slowly begins to grate on my nerves.

My phone rings, displaying Uncle Connor’s name and picture flashing on the screen.

I recount my recent conversation with the doctor to him in a clipped tone, and then he finally says, “Just so you know, Clementine, Keith, Lukas, and Gavin have taken the private jet. They should be there in a few hours. What did the doctor say?”

“The bullet didn’t rupture any major arteries, but the wound isn’t clean,” I reply mechanically.

“And Charlie…he’s safe?”

“Yeah. He’s okay, at least physically. He must be in shock, but right now he’s in the hotel with Kristy and the staff. I’ll arrange for a counselor to talk to him before we leave.”

“This wasn’t your fault, Carter,” he says, and I flinch as if he’s physically thrown something at me.

“The fact that you felt the need to tell me that says something,” I grit out.

“It says that I know you and what you’re thinking. There were bodyguards in place, Carter.”

“Yes, and I didn’t do my job right in vetting those bodyguards.”

“Tony is the head of Hawthorne Security, highly vouched for by the family. There was no reason for you to suspect anything out of the ordinary for him.”

“We should have conducted more tests. Not just physical endurance but also mental and emotional assessments. I should have done something. Something more.” My fingers curl into tight fists. “I failed once again. I’m not even sure if I’m worthy of her, just like I wasn’t worthy of Mom’s love. Mom waited for me to accept the fact that she chose me over the man who cheated on her, but I was so hung up on her past, never allowing her to move on. Did you know Mere left St. Peppers because of me? She was depressed and missed everything here because I’d been an asshole.”

“Carter, you need to calm the heck down. And I know why Mere left. I had Simon shadowing her from a distance on prom night. I didn’t want her to run into any problems because of peer pressure or because some jerk in her school was too drunk to control his hands.”

Why the fuck did I not think of doing that? My head hits the wall behind me, and my eyes fall shut.

Here I am, missing out on the basic human emotion of love, yet yearning to break records in business. There isn’t a man more vain in the whole freaking world than me.

“This isn’t the moment to drown yourself in guilt, Carter. It’s time to man up and fix whatever you think you haven’t done right in the past.”

The call ends and I think about what he just said. But the question is, how many times will I say sorry and how many times will she forgive me?

“Here.” I open my eyes to find Brandon standing before me, holding two cups of coffee. He followed me to the hospital after Mere was taken in. When I don’t take the proffered cup, he drawls, “I don’t hate you enough to poison your drink, King.”

“That’s one way to tell a man how you feel about him.”

“We both know we’re never going to be best buddies, so why pretend otherwise?”

“And what’s the reason for that?”

He meets my gaze, firm and unyielding. “We both love the same girl.”

Any other day, I’d have fought him for even trying to claim my girl right in front of me, but today I don’t have the strength. But I guess my silence is too much for him, as he says, “But she loves only one of us, at least in the way we want her to.”

An unfamiliar emotion of admiration toward him slithers in my chest. “I appreciate all that you did for Mere when she was away.”

He nods, taking a sip of his coffee, and I follow suit. For the first time, I don’t feel the urge to throttle him. Instead, I’m curious about what he’s doing here.

“Merida knows,” I say, and he grasps my meaning immediately, as if he’s been waiting for my words.

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