Love And
CHAPTER 286

Chapter 286

“It’s all in the past,” Charlie murmured. Debra hesitated for a moment, then walked over and embraced him. Charlie, feeling sullen, nestled in her arms. He said nothing and did not attempt to resist.

After a long silence, Debra asked softly, “Can I go see that girl?”

Charlie felt amused and said with a bitter smile, “Mom, let it be she’ll have her own life, and I’ll have mine. We’ll both be fine. There’s no need to disturb her life.”

Debra’s heart ached even more when she heard his words. “I’m not trying to disturb her life. I just want to discreetly take a look at her. After all, she’s the girl you truly loved. I’d like to know what she looks like in person. Is that okay?” said Debra. She then quickly clarified and added, “Chuck, don’t worry. I won’t go and disturb her life. If she’s doing well now and you want to stay out of her way, I won’t let her know we’re there. We’ll just observe her from a distance like a passerby and see how she’s doing now. Is that okay?”

Charlie’s silence deepened Debra’s heartache. She remembered Charlie’s lively personality and had always thought he had a devil–may–care attitude, believing that everything was always fine for him. Debra never imagined he had been hiding such a deep wound for so many years. If Abigail and Aaron hadn’t accidentally found the photos, they might never have known about the emotional scar Charlie carried. “She wouldn’t want us to see her,” Charlie said in a low voice after a long pause.

Debra’s heart ached further. The proud Charlie seemed so vulnerable when it came to that girl, and he even feared that she didn’t want him to see her. “We’ll just take a look quietly. If she’s doing well, we won’t disturb her. But if…” As Debra spoke, she patted Charlie’s back gently and added, “Chuck, I might be a bit selfish, but I want to take a chance that she might still not be married.” Charlie was at a loss for words. Debra continued, “What if she’s married but not doing well?”

Charlie, exasperated, replied, “Mom, don’t jinx her!”

Debra looked at him helplessly. Feeling both amused and heartbroken, she quickly nodded. “All right, I won’t jinx her.” Despite this, Debra couldn’t help but hope that if the girl was still unmarried, they might be able to play matchmaker and help them reconnect. Noticing that Charlie hadn’t outright rejected the idea of discreetly checking on the girl’s current situation, she sensed there was still room for negotiation. After a brief pause, Debra asked more about the girl. Charlie remained silent for a long time before finally sharing what he knew. However, the information was already 12 years old, and he wasn’t sure if it would still be useful. Debra was delighted to receive the information. “That’s all right. With the Carter family’s connections, we should be able to replace her.”

The girl’s name was Claire Sullivan, and she was a university classmate of Charlie’s, majoring in economics. Charlie had originally planned to introduce her to his family after graduation. Unexpectedly, in their final year of university, Claire abruptly broke up with him just before graduation. Charlie had asked her many times for an explanation, desperate to understand what had gone wrong, but Claire remained tight–lipped and refused to provide any reasons for her decision. After graduation, Charlie heard from classmates that Claire had gone abroad to Yowhayton. With so little information, Charlie felt lost. He wondered, ‘Will it really be possible to replace any news about Claire?‘ Debra reassured him, saying, “You don’t have to worry about this. I’ll have someone look for her.” Charlie remained silent. Debra looked at him for a moment, then bent down to give him a comforting hug.

After leaving the room, she immediately contacted Patrick, Adrian, and Bryce, mobilizing the whole family to use their networks to help replace Claire. Stacey also asked Debra for Claire’s information and quickly sent it to Hayden, asking him to assist in the search. Unexpectedly, as soon as Stacey sent the information, Hayden responded with a question. He texted: [Is her name Claire Sullivan?]

Without much thought, Stacey immediately replied: [Yeah.]

Hayden sent an image and asked: [Do they look alike?]

Stacey was stunned when she saw the photo. Instinctively, she compared Claire’s photo with the one Hayden had sent. They

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looked remarkably similar as if they were the same person but dressed differently. Charlie’s photo of Claire made her appear younger, like a university student. However, in the photo sent by Hayden, the girl appeared much more mature and dignified, suggesting her identity was far from simple. In fact, this was not just Stacey’s imagination. With the Hoggard family’s connections, the people Hayden knew were far from ordinary. Realizing this, Stacey suddenly felt that things might be more complicated than they appeared. She quickly asked: [Who… is she?]

After ten minutes of silence, Hayden finally replied: [Her name is Kelly Jones. She’s the daughter of the chairman of Jones Group in Yowhayton and the current sole heir.]

Having been married to Hayden for the past few years, Stacey had gained some knowledge of royal families and top conglomerates worldwide. Jones Group was one of the most renowned conglomerates in Yowhayton. It was said that while Yowhayton appeared to be governed by their president, in reality, the president was merely a puppet controlled by the three major conglomerates, which controlled all the significant affairs of the country. Thinking of this, Stacey couldn’t help shaking her head. She responded: [Maybe we’ve got the wrong person. They shouldn’t be the same person.]

Hayden texted: [They do look somewhat alike.]

Stacey was also in agreement. She examined the photos multiple times, replaceing the similarity increasingly convincing. She pondered, ‘If she’s the heir to a top conglomerate in Yowhayton, does that mean Charlie might not be able to match her status if he wants to be with her?‘ With that in mind, Stacey sent Hayden a new text: [I’ll go and ask.] She then took her phone and went to replace Patrick and Debra. Stacey thought, ‘Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding? Perhaps it’s merely a case of looking similar? The person Charlie knew was clearly a university classmate. How could she possibly be the heir of such a powerful family?‘ Debra had dispatched the task of replaceing Claire and was currently feeling anxious. She was uncertain of how Claire was doing now. Regardless, the family was overjoyed to learn that Charlie had once loved a girl.