My Mute Bride

Justin flicked her on the forehead. “Your sweet-talking isn’t going to work. I’ll send you off to some summer camp in the mountains if you don’t obey me.”

“You’d miss me too much to do that,” Charlotte muttered as she pouted and held onto her forehead.

“Let’s see if I’d miss you.” Justin wore an emotionless expression as he spoke. Charlotte could sense that something was up-she knew that Justin was about to tickle her. “Mommy! Save me, Mommy! Hurry!” Charlotte shouted as she wriggled away from Justin.

“No one’s going to save you!” Justin had already got Charlotte at her ticklish spot before Rachel could even get closer to Charlotte. The young girl laughed so hard that she could barely breathe. “Hahahaha… I was…. Hahahaha… I was wrong, Daddy… Hahahaha! Mommy… Hahahaha!” The young

girl giggled.

Even Rachel couldn’t help but laugh as she watched the father and daughter fooling around. The night breeze made Rachel’s hair messy, so she tucked some hair behind her ear, revealing her defined jawline. Justin’s hands stopped mid-air, and he no longer tickled Charlotte when he saw Rachel’s warm and gentle smile.

Rachel had been laughing, but she froze the moment she met gazes with Justin. The sun was setting, and the breeze was cooling. Charlotte’s giggles filled the air as Justin and Rachel looked at one another. The atmosphere around them seemed too warm and loving to be real-their actions felt natural enough to seem like a daily thing, yet it felt rather unfamiliar for them to have such a relationship.

The maid’s voice came from inside the kitchen then. “Mr. Burton, Miss Hudson, dinner’s ready! You guys can eat now.” Only then did the couple snap back to reality. They hastily looked away from one another. Justin lowered Charlotte onto the ground, and the young girl stomped her feet as she walked toward Rachel while panting. “Daddy’s a big monster!” Charlotte cried as she held onto Rachel’s hand.

“Fine; I’m a big monster. You shouldn’t come home with this big monster from now on,” Justin muttered as he walked into the house. Rachel glanced at his back figure before she held onto

Charlotte’s hand. “Come on, little monster.”

Charlotte blinked puzzledly. “How am I the little monster?”

The woman blinked back at the young girl. “Shouldn’t the big monster’s daughter be a little monster?”

Charlotte chuckled for a while. “You should be a big monster too then, Mommy. In that case, we’re a family of monsters!”

when he heard what Charlotte said, and he gave Rachel a thoughtful gaze for a moment. Rachel couldn’t handle the

wasn’t anything fancy-they had a few homemade dishes. Charlotte couldn’t seem to sit still at the dinner table.

“I’m not,” Justin uttered.

“Why?”

who’s supposed to prepare a gift for your aunt, not me,”

this sort of person. I can’t imagine how he

nearly choked on his water.

go after her?” Why would

happened between you two, then?” Charlotte opened her arms as she asked. “Could Mommy have been the one who went after you? She’d never have left if she was

past with Rachel, so he couldn’t even dispute Charlotte’s claims. He had never wondered about his past, but he was starting to get rather curious

prepare for their cookie-baking session after dinner. Justin was busy working in his study, but he couldn’t seem to process any of the documents he was reading. Eventually, he fished out his phone and dialed a number. “How did I

are you wondering about this all of a sudden?” the person asked in

details about the things that happened between us,” he

her if you really want to know?” Frankie was one of the few people Justin

one who chased after the other

in his voice. After a while, Frankie finally gave a rather uncertain response. “There wasn’t exactly one party who went after the other… I guess it was

happened after that?”

went after her,” Frankie

Justin leaped out of his chair. “Did you remember this

spoke. “Of course not. It has only been five years.” Apart from Rachel and Justin themselves, Frankie

his end of the line. He then slumped