Kismet | ENGLOT

Chapter 39

Engfa's POV:

Chompu's gaze darted between us, her wide eyes brimming with something I couldn't bear to name. The room seemed to shrink, the air suffocating as silence filled every corner. Her expression was frozen, yet her trembling lips and the sheen of unshed tears betrayed the heartbreak I had inflicted. The depth of her pain was palpable, and it struck me like a knife to the chest.

My breath hitched. My entire body tensed as the gravity of the moment crushed me. The intimacy of Charlotte standing so close, the emotions that had unraveled between us moments ago—it was all there, exposed, undeniable. Chompu didn't have to say a word. Her eyes, brimming with betrayal, screamed louder than anything she could have uttered.

I couldn't speak. My throat felt tight, my tongue heavy. My heart, which had been soaring with the sheer presence of Charlotte just seconds before, now twisted painfully, consumed by guilt. I wanted to explain, to reach out and tell Chompu this wasn't what it looked like—except it was. It was everything it looked like and more. And no matter how much I wanted to deny it, there was no hiding the truth that hung thick in the air.

Charlotte shifted beside me, her movement catching my eye. I turned my head, and what I saw shattered me all over again. Her face, once calm and steady despite her emotions, was now crumbling. The weight of the situation was etched into every line, every trembling feature. Her gaze dropped to the floor, unable to meet either mine or Chompu's. Her lips parted as if to speak, but no words came out.

"I—I should go," Charlotte finally stammered, her voice barely audible, fragile like glass on the verge of shattering.

"No," I whispered instinctively, but it was too quiet, too weak to stop her. My hand twitched, aching to reach out, but guilt rooted me to the spot.

Charlotte took a step back, and the sight of her retreating felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest. Her shoulders slumped, her frame radiating defeat, as if the weight of everything we'd been through and the pain we were now causing was too much to bear. She looked like she was crumbling, and it gutted me to see her this way.

And yet, I couldn't move. I couldn't reach out for her. Not with Chompu standing there, her presence a painful reminder of the life I'd tried to rebuild. I glanced at Chompu, and her face—the heartbreak written so clearly there—tore through me like lightning. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve me standing frozen between the woman I had tried to love and the one I could never stop loving.

Charlotte hesitated at the door, her hand lingering on the handle. She glanced back at me, her eyes meeting mine for the briefest of moments. In them, I saw everything—her longing, her sorrow, her unspoken apology. It was the same look she had given me years ago, the same look that had haunted me when I thought she was gone forever.

But now, she was the one leaving again.

And I couldn't stop her.

"Charlotte, wait," I called out, my voice breaking under the weight of everything crashing down on me. My feet felt glued to the floor, the ache in my chest growing unbearable as I watched her, the love of my life, slipping away again. I wanted to run to her, to stop her, but my body betrayed me. I was frozen, torn between the past and the present, between the pain I caused and the love I couldn't let go of.

Behind me, Chompu's voice broke the silence, soft but trembling, each word laced with heartbreak. "Engfa," she said, her tone raw, fragile. "What... what is this?"

Her words hit me like a blow, the reality of the moment crashing down around me. I turned to face her, my eyes meeting hers, and the guilt surged through me like a tidal wave. Her face, full of confusion and betrayal, twisted the knife that was already lodged deep in my heart.