The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 1081

“In the office?”

Charlotte pressed her left hand to the wall and gripped the collar of Anthony’s lab coat with her right, leaning her weight into him.

“I…”

She stared him down, her breath warm on his face. Her smile looked sweet at first, but there was something cold about it that sent a chill right through him.

Anthony’s brow tightened. Before he could say anything, Charlotte spoke up again. “You’re searching for my mother while you’re basically living in the lab…”

“Anthony.” She said his name quietly, her fingers brushing over his cheek as their eyes met. “You’re not getting any younger. Staying up all night isn’t good for you.”

Anthony took her hand, his touch gentle. He leaned in a little, bumping his nose against hers, his voice low and rough. “You should know better than anyone how strong I am.”

Charlotte couldn’t think of a comeback.

“It’s… alright, I guess,” she said, not really meaning it. She slipped her hand away and headed for the microscope.

One look told her everything.

Another failed experiment.

Alright? That’s it?

Anthony felt both tired and a little defeated.

He took off his lab coat, went through the full routine of disinfecting, then came up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her, his lips close to her ear as he spoke. “Why are you home early?”

“It’s done,” Charlotte said simply.

She didn’t explain, and Anthony didn’t push. Instead, he pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth. “You must be tired. Want to rest?”

Charlotte nodded. “Yeah.”

She turned off the microscope and faced him, her fingertips tracing the lines of exhaustion on his face. “Let’s go.”

Charlotte glanced at him, gently lifted his hand from her waist, and got out of bed as quietly as she could.

He didn’t wake up, even as she closed the door behind her.

For someone as alert as Anthony, he must have been completely spent to not even notice her leaving.

…

Charlotte threw on a jacket and sat on the couch in the living room.

Hans stood across from her, a thick stack of files laid out on the coffee table. Each one listed places where Nora might be hiding.

“Charlotte, we’ve checked almost every place on that list, but there’s still no sign of Franco or Nora,” Hans said.

Nora was just too smart. She covered her tracks everywhere. They couldn’t find her, and no one in Franco’s circle was answering their calls.