Chapter 439 Can We Still Go Back to Things Were?
Andrew just stared at her, his eyes locked on her tears. He thought about all the years they'd been tangled up together and how much younger she was than him. He knew her inside out.
She loved him, but she also hated him. It was a mess of feelings that tore her up inside.
Andrew gently brushed her cheek, his voice soft like a lover's whisper, "Chloe, don't cry."
He wasn't gonna push her.
His hand dropped, and he shut his eyes, feeling like crap. He wasn't faking it; he really had a fever. That tough guy act earlier? Total front.
Even if she was down now, he didn't have the energy.
Chloe helped him to the couch. She headed to the kitchen to get him some water. The fridge was still packed with her favorite snacks.
She avoided his gaze, quietly pouring a glass of water. "Drink this. Nathan's bringing the doc soon."
Andrew took the glass, but his fingers lingered on hers. "When he gets here, are you leaving?"
Chloe nodded, "I gotta go home."
She placed the glass in his hand. His fingers twitched, like he wanted to hold on, but he let go.
Andrew drank half the water, then closed his eyes, looking beat.
Chloe had asked about his health. He was mostly better but needed to take it easy—no smoking, no drinking, no catching colds or fevers.
She noticed his half-wet coat and softly said, "Andrew, take off your coat."
He opened his eyes slowly.
Chloe helped him with his coat. She searched his pockets for the medicine but found some candies instead—her favorite brand.
She looked at them silently for a bit.
Andrew, out of it from the fever, gently held her hand, his blue eyes looking fragile. "Chloe, can we go back to how things were?"
After he said that, he didn't have the energy to hear her answer. His mind was fuzzy, but he clung to her hand like letting go would make the warmth vanish.
The light was dim and yellow. That crystal lamp? She had picked it out from Manilove; where it was priced at 2 million bucks. Just cause she liked it, thought it was shiny and fancy, and looked good at home.
Things had changed.
Chloe went quiet.
After a while, Nathan showed up with the doctor. Chloe opened the door. It was a bit awkward, but Nathan spoke first, "Thanks to you! He needs to focus on getting better, but he's not looking after his body the way he should."
Chloe forced a smile.
The doc took his temp and checked him over. "It's not serious. A couple of shots should bring the fever down, but he needs to be more careful."
Nathan helped move him back to the bedroom. The doc gave him the shots.
After the doc left, Nathan found Chloe standing by the bedroom's floor-to-ceiling window. The night outside was deep, and the rain had mostly stopped.
Chloe's silhouette looked lonely.
She was naturally simple, but being with Andrew had forced her to grow up.
Nathan walked over gently. He hesitated, then said, "Chloe, I'm not speaking for him; I just want you to know the truth. if it weren't for you, Gavin, and Natalie, Andrew wouldn't have made it."
"In Vienner, there were times he was really on the edge. I think a lot of people would've chosen death over the pain of treatment."
Chloe tilted her head a bit.
After a long pause, she whispered, "I know all this!"
She looked down, trying to keep it together, and said quietly, "He felt guilty, so even when he got sick, he didn't want to burden me. He faced it alone, ready for the worst. But Nathan, if he didn’t come back, I would regret it forever — regret fighting with him and splitting up; I would blame myself. Did he ever think about that?"
Nathan couldn't argue with that.
Chloe gave a faint smile. "That day he said he'd come with me to the prenatal checkup, I was so happy becaues he could compensate for the time he wasn't there with me during Gavin's birth. I went to find him, but he only left me a letter, telling me not to wait for him. From that day, I really didn't plan to wait. I'm glad he's alive, but some things can't go back."
It's not that she didn't love him anymore; she just couldn't find a reason to stay together.
Nathan got it.
He didn't say much, just stayed by her side.
Chloe turned around and smiled a bit, "Thanks for taking care of him, so Gavin and Natalie still have a dad."
When she left, she felt heartless.
But she couldn't reconcile with him. Her heart, broken so many times, was shattered beyond repair.
'Let's just be family, not couples!' she thought.
Nathan saw her downstairs.
When he opened the car door for her, he hesitated a bit before saying, "My wife and I adopted Molly!"
Chloe sat in the car, stunned for a moment.
Nathan patted her shoulder lightly, "Drive safe."
Chloe forced a smile. She slowly rolled up the window, lightly pressed the gas, and drove off.
The rain had stopped.
The gray road was full of puddles, reflecting the city's neon lights, making it look surreal in the deep night.
She turned on the music.
A soft love song played, but Chloe's face was full of tears as she listened.
Back at Hawkins Mansion, the family was still waiting for her to eat. The kids were hungry, and Charlotte had baked some cookies for them.
Gavin was still sitting at the door.
Chloe carried a box of formula inside.
Frederick came over, took the box from her hands, and said casually, "It's really weird. After you and Andrew left, I found three cans of formula in the cabinet. The expiration date's still good! I guess Andrew's getting old and his eyesight's not what it used to be!"
Charlotte coughed lightly.
Chloe was a bit stunned, then she saw it too.
She cursed silently.
Patrick came over to call everyone, "Alright, let's eat. Everyone's starving!"
Chloe was about to leave when someone grabbed her hand.
She looked down and saw it was Gavin. Gavin asked awkwardly, "Where's Andrew?"
Chloe gently touched his face, "He's not feeling well, so he went home."
Gavin's little face tensed up, "He said he'd eat with me, but he lied again!"
Gavin ran off.
Frederick appeared silently, chuckling, "Gavin's quite the little tsundere. Who do you think he got that from? I don't think it's from that cheeky old man Andrew."
Chloe felt pretty awkward.
Charlotte scolded Frederick, "Stop teasing Chloe!"
Frederick hugged her waist, whispering in her ear, "I only tease you! I love seeing you beg me with that soft voice!"
At dinner, Charlotte sat next to Chloe, making sure to look out for her.
There were things Chloe couldn't talk to Frederick or even her parents about, but she could spill everything to Charlotte.
Charlotte comforted her for a long time. Then she came downstairs.
Frederick looked at his wife.
Charlotte's expression was gentle; years of motherhood had softened her.
Frederick walked up, draped a coat over her, and gently asked, "Did you cry?"
Charlotte shaked her head slightly.
It wasn't until they were in the car that she turned her head and said, "Andrew has a fever. Chloe may have come back, but I can tell she still can't let go."
Frederick smiled, "Andrew really goes all out when he's chasing Chloe."
Even with his health, he's willing to push himself.
Charlotte sighed softly.
Frederick held the steering wheel, his handsome face deep in thought for a moment, then said, "Let's go check on Andrew!"
Charlotte shook her head, "It's too late! He's probably asleep by now."
Frederick looked at her, "How about we go for a drink?"
Charlotte: "Aren't you driving?"
Frederick laughed, "It's rare that the kids aren't around. Let's relax a bit!"
These past two years, not only Chloe and Andrew, but they also had a tough time.
He understood Chloe's feelings very well. He was most afraid that Andrew might accidentally die.
If that happened, Chloe would be heartbroken for the rest of her life.
Fortunately, Andrew came back alive!
Frederick gently rubbed his neck and said softly, "I really do want to relax a bit."
Charlotte agreed.
She thought they would go to a bar or some place, listen to some music, and have a glass of wine.
But Frederick took her to the apartment they used to live in together. It had been unoccupied for a long time and felt a bit cold inside.
Charlotte was quite speechless.
Frederick pinned her against the door and kissed her.
She leaned against the door, gently stroking his handsome face, and softly asked, "Didn't you want to have a drink?"
Frederick didn't say anything.
His long fingers ran through her golden hair, massaging gently, with a hint of intimacy.
Charlotte wrapped her arms around his neck.
Blushing slightly, she asked him, "How do you want to celebrate?"
Frederick chuckled softly.
He gently peeled off her coat, then lifted her up, kissing her as he walked towards the bedroom. The lights along the way turned on, and the heating was also turned on.
Frederick knelt beside her, kissing her while taking off his thin wool coat.
Charlotte's face turned even redder.
Her hand fell on his muscular arm, gently stroking back and forth.
Frederick pressed against her lips, panting slightly, "Help me unbutton my shirt."
Charlotte slightly arched her body, one hand pressing on his belt buckle, pulling out the hem of his shirt from inside, the light blue fabric sliding out. She unbuttoned it one by one.
Frederick kissed along her lips, down to the back of her ear.
He pressed hotly against her, "You've become naughty!"
Charlotte let out a soft cry.
She hugged his shoulders, taking a while to catch her breath. She gently lay on his shoulder, softly saying, "You don't like it?"
"Of course I like it! I like seeing you take the initiative."
Frederick was extremely aroused.
They had been married for a long time, but had never lost their passion.
He kept staring at her.
He loved seeing her lose herself for him. That feeling was something only he could give her.
Charlotte was his, and his alone.
Frederick never thought he'd be the kind of guy to love just one woman for a lifetime. But that was what marriage should be, right?
Afterwards, Frederick took a shower with Charlotte, and they both lay down in the soft bed, so comfortable they didn't want to move.
But he wanted to talk to her some more.
He liked Charlotte. Not just enjoying her care, doing things that couples do, he also liked talking to her.
He held her, gently asking how she felt.
Charlotte, nestled in his arms, her sharp chin resting on his arm, looked up and kissed his chin, "Do you want to do a review of this kind of thing?"
Frederick laughed, pinching her chin and leaning in to kiss her.
He wanted to go again.
Charlotte let him kiss for a while, then stopped him.
"You have a meeting early tomorrow!"
Frederick let her go. Charlotte snuggled up to him, softly saying, "Actually, I noticed you really like this place! Is it a man's thing?"
This was where they shared their first intimate moment.
Frederick looked at her with his blue eyes, quite righteously saying, "I don't know about other men, but I do! But if it were with another woman, I probably wouldn't. It's just with you; this must be possessiveness!"
Charlotte patted his face, sighing, "You're already 37 years old!"
Frederick chuckled softly.
Charlotte blushed. She didn't dare provoke him anymore. She wrapped her arms around his neck, softly saying, "Let's sleep! You go to the office in the morning, and I'll go check on Andrew."
Frederick reached out and turned off the light.
In the darkness, Charlotte softly said, "I really hope Chloe can be as happy as we are."
Frederick stared at the ceiling.
After a while, he replied, "If she could let go, she would have found someone else by now!"
That's how love was. You would have settled for anyone before you met your dream guy. Now that you had, anyone else feels like just making do.
Charlotte leaned close to his ear and softly asked, "Are you making do?"
Frederick gently wrapped his arm around her waist. He wanted to say something cheeky, but in the end, he said very tenderly, "Charlotte, you're the mother of my four kids, my wife, and I cherish what we have now."
After reconciling, he rarely made promises to her. But he was very considerate, never doing anything to make her sad. This was the best compensation. They loved each other.
The next day, Charlotte woke up.
Frederick had already made her favorite breakfast.
He bent down to kiss her, complaining softly, "While running, I found that the old rose garden is gone, so no flowers this morning."
Charlotte kissed him back.
She smiled lightly, "You can still run?"
Frederick couldn't help but tease Andrew again, "Do you think I'm Andrew? Old and in poor health."
Charlotte lightly patted his handsome face, "You have quite the sharp tongue!"
Frederick chuckled, "What, didn't make you feel good?"
Charlotte didn't want to hear his teasing. She lifted the covers and got up. While brushing her teeth, she talked to him, "By the way, the Hughes Family banquet is next week. Are you going?"
Frederick frowned slightly.
He remembered that Landon would also be there, and couldn't help but get angry, "Is Landon going to follow you again?"
Charlotte came over and patted his face, "That's why I'm asking if you're going!"
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