Broken Bond: Claimed by My Ex-Husband's Alpha Billionaire Uncle-Chapter 81: Childhood Pain

Charlotte had never held a grudge against her parents. They had always provided her with every luxury and never asked for anything in return.

"But if I’m being honest ..." She hesitated, lowering her gaze. "I don’t think I ever really felt their presence when I was a kid."

Her voice was quieter now, almost like she was confessing something she wasn’t sure she was allowed to say. "They were there, in the house ... but their minds? Their attention? It was always somewhere else."

They were always busy, always wrapped up in something important. Work, meetings, responsibilities, there was always something that took precedence.

And because of that, the small moments, the everyday things, the times she just needed them to be there ... those never seemed to happen.

But that was normal, wasn’t it? Parents worked hard. They had a family to support. Charlotte understood that. Therefore she never complained.

She just endured it.

"Why did you feel like you had to endure it?" Emi asked gently.

Charlotte thought about it for a long moment. "Because talking about it felt ... pointless. Like, what would be the use? It wouldn’t change anything. And besides ..." She swallowed. "It would only burden them."

Emi tilted her head slightly, looking at her eyes. "And what about you, Charlotte?" she asked softly. "Aren’t your feelings just as important?"

Charlotte parted her lips, then closed them again. No one had ever asked her that before.

Were her feelings important?

She had never really thought about it. It had always been about what made sense, what was logical, what was necessary. And in her mind, burdening her parents with her emotions had never been necessary.

But now, sitting here, with Emi’s patient gaze fixed on her, she felt something heavy in her chest.

"I ... don’t know," she admitted.

Emi didn’t push her for more. She simply nodded, as if acknowledging that Charlotte’s uncertainty was valid.

"My parents started paying more attention to me when I got to high school," Charlotte finally said, almost like she was saying it to herself. "They tried. They really did."

She let out a breathy laugh, though there was no humor in it. "But by then, I think it was already too late."

Don’t get it wrong, Charlotte still believed Derek and Hattie were the best parents she could have asked for. But that didn’t mean they were perfect.

People always said that childhood was the foundation for everything, that the way parents connected with their children in those early years would shape how they saw the world, how they understood love, and even how they viewed themselves.

Unfortunately, Hattie and Derek failed to build a strong foundation for their daughter.

The disconnect had already been there for too long. She had already learned how to be on her own, how to stop expecting too much. So when they finally turned their eyes to her, she didn’t know how to reach back.

And that was why, when Julian came into her life and gave her even the smallest amount of attention, she had clung to it so tightly.

"To me, Julian felt like ... the best thing that ever happened," she murmured. "He made me feel seen. And after spending so long feeling invisible ..." She shook her head. "I guess I convinced myself that he was everything I needed."

She let out a slow breath, her fingers curling slightly in her lap. "But I was wrong, of course," Charlotte murmured. Then, with a bitter chuckle, she added, "How foolish of me ... not being able to tell the difference between love and an act?"

Emi didn’t respond right away. She just sat with Charlotte, giving her space to breathe, to think, and to feel.

Charlotte clenched her fists in her lap. "I really thought it was love," she murmured, "Because for the first time, someone actually saw me. Julian paid attention to me in a way no one else ever did. He remembered the little things ... how I took my coffee, which book I couldn’t put down, the songs I hummed without realizing."

She let out a bitter laugh. "And I thought that meant something. That he truly loved me."

Emi said softly, "Charlotte, just because it wasn’t real for him doesn’t mean it wasn’t real for you."

Charlotte swallowed hard, her gaze dropping to the floor. A tiny crack in the tiles caught her eye, and she focused on it as if looking anywhere else would make this hurt even more.

"But it was still a lie," she whispered. "And I was stupid enough to believe it."

Emi leaned forward slightly. "Do you really think that? That believing in love makes you look like a fool?"

Charlotte opened her mouth, but no words came out.

She had spent so long blaming herself, calling herself naive, weak, pathetic. But she had never stopped to consider that maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t foolish to want to be loved.

"I don’t know," she said numerous times. "I really don’t know."

Emi smiled at her. The warmth in her eyes made it clear that there was no judgement in that room. She truly wanted to understand Charlotte’s struggle.

"That’s okay," she said gently. "You don’t have to have all the answers right now."

Charlotte let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders felt more relaxed than before. The weight in her chest hadn’t disappeared, but at least it didn’t suffocate her anymore.

Emi glanced at the clock before setting her notebook aside. "I think we’ve done enough for today. You did really well, Charlotte."

Charlotte blinked, caught off guard. "Did I?"

Emi nodded. "Opening up, even just a little, isn’t easy. But you did it." She leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other. "We’ll continue next week, same time. And if you ever need to talk before then, you can always call me."

Charlotte nodded slowly. "Okay." She lifted her head, looking back at Emi. "Thank you for listening, Emi."

Emi smiled warmly. "Anytime."

As Charlotte stepped out of the office, she spotted Damon waiting for her in the lobby.

He was leaning against the wall, scrolling through his phone, but the second he saw her, he immediately put away his phone and approached her. "How did it go?" he asked.

Charlotte hesitated, unsure how to put it into words. It wasn’t like she suddenly felt better. But at the same time, she didn’t feel worse either.

She simply said, "It was ... okay." Then, she smiled faintly. "Emi is very understanding. She asked me to come back next week."

She glanced at Damon. "Do you want to take me here again next week?"

Damon’s gaze softened as he looked at her. "Of course," he said without hesitation. "I’ll take you wherever you need to go."

They walked out of the clinic together, Damon holding her hand firmly, as if to reassure her that he was with her, that he supported her completely.

As they reached the car, he opened the door for her like he always did. But this time, before getting in, Charlotte hesitated.

"Damon?" she asked softly, glancing up at him.

He turned to her, tilting his head slightly. "Yeah?" His voice was gentle.

For a moment, she hesitated again. Then, before she could talk herself out of it, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed a light kiss against his cheek.

"I’m glad you’re here with me," she murmured, then immediately got into the car.

Damon froze for half a second, completely caught off guard. He hadn’t expected Charlotte to kiss him, especially not in public, right there in the open parking lot.

His eyes flickered to the right, then the left, scanning the area. When he realized there was no one else around, he let out a sigh of relief.

Then, without wasting another second, he leaned down, closing the distance between them.

He kissed her.

Not once.

Not twice.

The last kiss was deeper than before

When he finally pulled away, his voice was low and warm. "I’m also glad to have you here."

Charlotte’s breath caught in her throat, her pulse racing. She wasn’t sure if it was from the kiss or the way Damon was looking at her.

For a moment, she just sat there, wide-eyed, her cheeks burning.

Damon chuckled softly, his thumb brushing over her jawline. "What? Caught you off guard?"

She blinked, then scoffed, lightly shoving his chest. "You—you can’t just do that."

His lips curled into a smirk. "Do what?"

"Kiss me like that. In public."

He raised a brow. "Says the one who kissed me first."

Charlotte opened her mouth to argue, but he had a point. And he knew it.

Her lips pressed into a thin line as she turned toward the car. "Let’s just go home."

Damon slid into the car, but instead of starting the engine right away, he reached for Charlotte, pulling her into his embrace. His hand moved slowly along her back, tracing soothing circles as he held her close.

"You did great today," Damon murmured, his lips brushing the top of her head. "Thank you for your hard work."