Broken Bond: Claimed by My Ex-Husband's Alpha Billionaire Uncle-Chapter 22: Women Who Share Pain

Charlotte didn’t know what Carmen would say once they met. Their last meeting had been chaotic and filled with harsh words, accusations, and misunderstandings.

It was a moment Charlotte had tried hard to forget, but the sting of Carmen’s judgment lingered like an old wound in her heart.

"Do you think Carmen will hate me?" she asked Damon.

Damon, reading documents on his tablet, replied, "Who cares what her opinion is? She is not the leader of this pack."

Charlotte smiled slightly at Damon’s bluntness, but his words didn’t completely calm her nerves. "She may not be the leader of this pack, but she is our closest family member. That’s why her opinion matters to me."

Besides, Carmen was Damon’s stepmother, so it would be bad for Charlotte if Carmen didn’t approve of their relationship.

Charlotte sighed inwardly. Having only one mother-in-law was hard enough, but now she had two.

Damon finally put down his tablet and turned to her. "Charlotte, people who care about you will take the time to understand you. If Carmen refuses to understand your situation, that’s her problem, not yours."

Charlotte sighed and leaned back on the sofa. "You make it sound so simple."

"It is simple, sweetheart." Damon reminded her in a gentle tone. "You can’t waste your life chasing the approval of someone who only sees the worst in you."

His words meant a lot, but Charlotte’s mind chose to play his ’sweetheart’ over and over again in her mind.

Her cheeks turned a soft pink as her heart fluttered at the way he said it so effortlessly as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Charlotte shook her head quickly, trying to put the thought out of her mind. She must have fluttered easily because of their bond. No wonder many werewolves tried so hard to chase their true mates so hard.

"What are you thinking now?" asked Damon when he noticed that Charlotte had stopped talking. "Do you have a fever? Your face looks so red."

When Damon reached out to touch her forehead, Charlotte immediately backed away. "No, I’m fine! I’m perfectly fine. It’s just the air, the air is a bit hot tonight."

The air, in fact, felt cold tonight, but Damon had no chance to ask further because they finally heard the sound of a car pulling up to the manor.

It had to be Carmen and Mona.

"Let’s ... let’s go greet them at the door," Charlotte said hesitantly.

Actually, Damon still thought that Carmen’s approval was not important for his relationship with Charlotte. But as long as it made his mate happy, he would do his best to support her.

"Carmen, you must remember our discussion last night." Charlotte could faintly hear Mona’s voice from a distance. Next to her, Carmen sighed harshly and said, "Can you be quiet for a moment, Mona? Of course I remember, I don’t have dementia yet."

Mona was about to reply to her words but stopped midway when she saw Charlotte and Damon at the door.

The corner of her mouth lifted and she waved at them. "Damon, my dearest son. It’s so rare to see you greet your mother like this."

Mona’s smile widened as she turned to Charlotte. "I only left you for a few weeks, but your mate has had a great influence on you."

Charlotte smiled shyly. "I didn’t do anything to him."

Mona chuckled softly, her eyes gleaming with warmth. "Oh dear, you’ve done more than you realize. My Louis says his brother smiles more often these days."

"Mother, please." Damon sighed helplessly. "You know how Louis likes to exaggerate things."

"No, I don’t think he talks nonsense this time." Mona leaned in and whispered, "You have been smitten, haven’t you?"

Damon lowered his voice so no one could hear their conversation. "Mother, don’t start."

As Mona teased her son so badly, Carmen and Charlotte silently exchanged glances. Charlotte didn’t know what was going on in her head, but she could see that Carmen seemed to want to talk about something important.

"Charlotte," she called her name. "I see you’re still here."

Charlotte smiled politely and put her hands behind her back. "Yes, I’m still here," she said hesitantly, unsure of what Carmen would say next.

Carmen crossed her arms and took a step closer. She had the face of a kind lady, but her sharp gaze made Charlotte stop breathing for a second. "We didn’t get to finish our conversation last time."

Charlotte tensed, her mind flashing back to their last heated encounter. Carmen had stormed out of the room before the meeting had even begun. For some reason, Charlotte assumed that Carmen still held a grudge against her.

"I know my relationship with Damon looks like a big scandal, but I---"

"No," Carmen interrupted. "This isn’t about that." Her tone softened, and for a moment she looked almost ... apologetic. freeweɓnøvel.com

"I was wrong, Charlotte," Carmen admitted after a short pause. "I judged you too quickly and too harshly. I even blame you for not fighting back when my scumbag grandson abused you. That wasn’t fair, Charlotte."

"That wasn’t fair because I vented my failure in fighting my abuser to you. I feel angry ... because I was in your shoes and I failed to run away while you had a chance to build a whole new life."

At that time, Carmen did not have the courage to run away because she was afraid that her daughters’ lives would be miserable because of her stupid decision. So she decided to endure all the hardships of her marriage.

Even when her husband brought another woman into their home, she decided to swallow a bitter pill and accept his new wife.

However, her husband didn’t treat his new wife with kindness either, and Mona’s life ended up being just as miserable as Carmen’s.

They were both victims of their bastard husband, which was why they refused to hate each other and chose to hate their husband to the core instead.

If Charlotte wanted to find women who could understand her pain, then Mona and Carmen would be her answer.

"I’m sorry, Charlotte." Carmen took a deep breath before she said, "I can’t erase the pain in your heart, but I will make sure my grandson pays the price for hurting his wife."