The Godfather's Love (Erika and Charles) novel Chapter 5

The fire crackled in the hearth.

At last, he shook his head, a conflicted look crossing his face.

“I’m sorry, Erika.”

He avoided my gaze.

“I promised her… promised I’d spend tonight with her. The fight… next time, okay? Next time, I swear I’ll show you.”

He glanced at the flashy women’s watch on his wrist—Evelyn’s? Or a gift from her? His voice rushed, impatient.

“I have to go. She’s… she’s waiting.”

“The food’s in the kitchen. The soup should be ready. Eat early. Don’t wait up.”

He bent down, attempting to place a farewell kiss on my forehead.

I turned my head away.

His motion froze midair. He looked at me with a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.

In the end, he said nothing. Just turned, grabbed his coat from the sofa, and walked out in a hurry.

The sound of the engine faded, and the manor returned to silence.

I stood there, staring at the bouquet of red roses left by the fireplace.

So beautiful. So passionate. Like a grand, cruel joke.

I don’t know how long I stood like that before finally climbing the stairs. I didn’t go to the kitchen. I didn’t touch the pot of soup he had so carefully prepared.

Instead, I opened a dusty box hidden deep in the back of the walk-in closet.

Inside, folded neatly, was a ballet outfit—once worn on stage as I danced Giselle, under Charles’s adoring gaze.

I changed into the costume.

Some parts didn’t fit quite right anymore.

The woman in the mirror looked tired. Her cheeks were hollow.

She was no longer the radiant Churchill heiress who had once captivated Charles with a single performance.

Still, I tied my hair up with care.

Then, alone, I descended into the basement of the manor—into the old training room.

I took out my phone and connected it to the Bluetooth speaker.

The music began. The same Giselle piece from years ago.

My eyes brimmed with tears.

I took a deep breath.

And I began to dance.

Spinning, leaping, kicking, reaching.

Every movement carried the full force of seven years of bitterness, fury, unwillingness, and love—thrown into the air with every step.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify