Jim’s expression darkened as he clutched Charlotte’s bra in his hand.
As though trying to prove himself wrong, he rummaged through the dirty laundry once more, but he did
not manage to find anything else unusual.
He furrowed his brows and let out a bitter chuckle.
Surely he must have imagined things?
Charlotte was loyal to him, and since young, the two of them had promised each other that they would be
together forever.
Even after she was chased out of Merchant City, she had sought him out the moment she returned.
How could he even doubt her?
As soon as he thought of this, Jim let out an exhale, turned to find his laundry basket, and managed to
find the coat he had been wearing that morning.
Inside the pocket was the piece of paper that Bonnie had given him that morning, but…
Jim also found another piece of paper in the pocket on the other side.
He had no idea where this paper came from and guessed that someone had probably slipped it into his
pocket without him knowing.
Jim frowned as he smoothed out the crumpled note
There were only four words written on it.
[Charlotte belongs to me.)
These simple words made Jim’s expression darken.
Charlotte’s torn underwear and this newfound note seemed to point him in a direction he dreaded to
even think of…
Jim furrowed his brows, crumpled the note, and tossed it into the trash can, as though it would cease to
exist as long as he rid his mind of it.
He would choose to trust Charlotte at all costs unless he found concrete evidence proving himself wrong!
After all…his time with Charlotte during their childhood was one of his most treasured
memories growing up.
When Jim first showed up at the orphanage, he had been looked down on by the caretakers and even
the owner of the orphanage himself.
On top of that, he was a weak, albeit good-looking child, and because of this, the other kids would
harass and bully him.
He could have defended himself if he wanted to, but he took pity on these children, since thev were
abandoned by their families, and did not fight back.
Every time they bullied him, he would swallow his rage and give in to them.
Not long after, however, he met Charlotte.
At that time, she was known as Number-9.
Number-9 was a quiet, obedient, but fearless child. Even though she was not a bully, the rest o f the
children still knew to stay out of her way.
Once, she caught sight of the other children bullying Jim, the newcomer, and had stood up for him.
Not only had she tried to shield him with her tiny body, but she even claimed that she would protect him.
However, she was a little girl, and thus was no match for the rest of the children.
The children were outraged by her righteous ways and thus started attacking her as well.
Even though she could not defend herself against them, she still shielded Jim behind her back with her
arms extended out to both sides.
Jim came out of this episode without even a single scratch on his body, but Number-9 suffered plenty of
injuries.
At that moment, Jim finally understood that sometimes, silence was not the answer.
His kindness had been used against him and turned into a reason for the children to bully both him and
Number-9.
Therefore, Jim stood up for himself and defeated all the children, becoming her hero.
Soon after that, the two of them became the most unlikely little couple anyone would ever imagine, one
that everyone started referring to as ‘the red and white duo’.
Number-9 represented the courageous, passionate red, whereas Jim was the calm, solemn white.
The two of them happily spent a few months at the orphanage until the Landry family eventually
managed to find him and take him home.
As soon as Jim recalled his past, he became even more determined to trust Charlotte, no matter what.
He still remembered the way she looked when she leaped in to protect him.
How could such a strong, brave woman like her possibly betray him?
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