CHAPTER 177: HEART-SHAPED PENDANT

Charlotte’s steps quickened as she made her way back to her chambers, her pulse beating wildly in her throat. The image of the golden heart-shaped pendant, glimmering in Vanessa’s jewelry box, burned in her mind. It couldn’t have been a coincidence. It simply couldn’t.

As soon as she entered her room, she shut the door behind her, pressing her back against the wood as she caught her breath. Her eyes darted across the room, her desk, the partially opened wardrobe, the drawers left slightly ajar. She had to find it. She had to be sure she hadn’t imagined it.

She rushed to her wardrobe first, flinging it open and tossing aside folded dresses and shoes in search of the envelope. When it wasn’t there, she spun toward her drawers, yanking them out with little care, clothes spilling onto the floor in her frantic search.

"Where is it? Where is it?" she muttered, dropping to her knees as she reached beneath the wardrobe, her hands searching desperately through the small and dusty space.

Her fingers brushed against something crisp.

A surge of relief rushed through her. "Yes," she whispered, pulling out the envelope she had been searching for, her heart pounding against her ribs as she tore it open.

A soft gasp escaped her lips as the pendant tumbled into her palm, the same golden necklace with the heart-shaped pendant. The exact same one she had just seen moments ago in Vanessa’s room.

Her breath caught in her throat. She turned the pendant over in her hand, her fingers tracing its fine edges, the smoothness of the metal. It was too perfectly matched to be a mere coincidence.

Why did Vanessa have the exact same necklace? What were the odds of purchasing an identical pendant, with the same symbol etched on it? What did it mean?

The questions suffocated her, crowding her thoughts.

Charlotte could remember vividly how she came to possess the necklace. It had been with her for as long as she could remember. Her father had tossed it away into the garden that night, she hadn’t understood why then. The next morning, when she had been playing outside, she’d stumbled upon it, half buried in the soil.

She had picked it up and kept it ever since.

No one knew she had it. No one. Sometimes, she wondered if it had been wrong to keep something her father had so deliberately discarded. But it had felt important to her in a way she couldn’t explain.

Now, Vanessa had the same one.

A tight knot formed in her stomach. She carefully placed the necklace back in the envelope, pressing it closed as she let out a shaky sigh. She would have to ask Vanessa about it, indirectly. The woman could never know that she had gone through her jewelry box.

Her mind spun as she sat back on her heels, trying to piece it together. A sudden knock at the door startled her upright.

She scrambled to close the envelope, quickly pushing it back beneath the wardrobe where she had picked it from. Her heart still hammering as she rushed to the door and swung it open, breathless only to find Viktor standing there, his lips pressed into a thin line, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Viktor," she breathed, her mind still racing.

He offered a small smile, eyes narrowing as he studied her. "You look like you’ve seen a ghost."

"I... no, I just... What is it?" she asked, forcing herself to steady her voice.

His gaze softened. "Would you like to go for a walk? Some fresh air might help with your headache."

There was a pause. Charlotte hesitated for a few seconds.

"Yes," she said quietly, stepping out and pulling the door closed behind her. "One moment, I need to grab my scarf." She hurried back into the room, snatched a scarf from the heap of disregarded clothes on the floor, and made her way past the mirror, only to double back, fixing her hair and moisturizing her lips quickly. Then she returned to the door. "I’m back," she said with a smile, which Viktor returned.

They walked side by side through the garden paths, the soft crunch of gravel beneath their boots the only sound between them for a while. The silence was comfortable until Charlotte finally spoke.

"Viktor," she began, her voice breaking the silence. "What... what happened last night at the ball?"

He slowed his pace slightly, his gaze flicking to her, then back to the path ahead.

Charlotte swallowed. "I remember dancing, drinking and celebrating. I remember you pulling me out of the ballroom and escorting me to my chambers. But... everything after that is a blur. And this morning, I woke up... wet. My dress was soaked through. I don’t understand how that happened."

She looked at him, confusion and curiosity clouding her eyes. "Will you tell me what I don’t remember?"

Viktor’s jaw tensed briefly, his brows drawing together. He stopped walking and turned to face her fully.

"You drank too much," he said softly. "After I pulled you out of the ballroom, you were... a little unsteady. I thought fresh air might help before taking you to your chambers. You weren’t too pleased with that."

Charlotte’s cheeks flushed faintly. "I don’t remember that."

"We walked over to the back of the ballroom," he continued, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "There was a lake nearby. You couldn’t stand straight and ended up slipping and falling into it."

Her eyes widened in horror. "I did not."

"You did," he confirmed, amusement flickering in his voice. "I offered to help you multiple times, but you insisted on staying in the water. Said you wanted to sleep there. Eventually, I pulled you out. You were shivering and drenched, so I gave you my coat and took you back to your chambers."

Charlotte groaned, covering her face with both hands, mortified. "Oh gods. Please tell me no one else saw."

Viktor chuckled softly. "I don’t think so. As far as I can tell, it was just me."

"That’s not much better!" she cried, peeking at him between her fingers. "I made a complete fool of myself."

"You did make a fool of yourself but not completely," Viktor teased, causing Charlotte to glare at him.

She sighed heavily, lowering her hands but refusing to meet his gaze. "I can’t believe I did that. It’s utterly humiliating."

"Then don’t drink so much next time," Viktor said, walking ahead of her.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes and gave the back of his leg a quick kick. Viktor stumbled slightly, surprise flashing across his face as he turned to look at her. "What was that for?" he asked, rubbing his calf.

"You’re enjoying this too much."

"I should have let you embarrass yourself more," he scoffed, resuming his walk.

"How annoying," she muttered, rolling her eyes before jogging a little to catch up with him.