The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 1717

With the wedding just around the corner, the Gates house was buzzing with activity. Everywhere you looked, someone was shopping or hauling in more things.

“Lottie, can you come home tonight?” Nora's voice floated through the phone, soft and warm, but Charlotte could hear the hint of exhaustion behind her mother's gentle laugh. “No one listens to me anymore. I swear.”

“Hm?” Charlotte sat in her classroom, lollipop in her mouth, spinning her pen between her fingers. She answered in that half-distracted way she always did after a long day. “What do you mean, no one listens?”

“Your grandpa, your uncle and aunt, your three brothers…” Nora let out a dramatic sigh. “They’re all running wild, bringing home way too much stuff and shoving it into your pile of wedding gifts.”

“I can't stop them at all. If this keeps up, I think the entire family is going to end up moving in with you when you join the Blairs.”

It was so over the top, Charlotte couldn’t help laughing. For a second, she wondered who was actually getting married here.

Her mother’s “complaint” was so exaggerated that Charlotte almost choked on her own spit. After a minute, she finally caught her breath and let a lazy grin tug at her lips. “I’ll come home tonight, take a look at the chaos.”

“I’ll make your favorite dishes and wait for you,” Nora said, already sounding happier at the thought.

It had been too long since they’d really talked. Charlotte missed her mom too.

After class ended, Charlotte made her way to the school gate like she promised.

Somehow, Anthony managed to outdo himself this time. His sports car was parked right under a streetlight across from the entrance. No hiding from the crowd, not even a little bit. Every head was turning, some people were openly staring.

Charlotte clicked her tongue and crossed the street, her long legs eating up the distance. She looked up at Anthony, her eyes impossibly clear, reflecting the city lights.

“What, are you just going to stand there and stare at me?”

He watched her with a crooked grin, then slid an arm around her waist. “Just checking something…”

Charlotte arched an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth lifting in a slow, teasing smile. “Trying to see where to hang a tag on you. Somewhere obvious, of course.”

He grinned wider. “A tag?”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify