He and she couldn''t be together. That ship had sailed. Any entanglement now would just be a mess andpletely off-limits! Back in the day, the idea of bing Rosa''s granddaughter was unthinkable. Charles didn''t love her, but she couldn''t help but dream. She dreamed that someday, he''d realize her worth and marry her. They''d be a real family, and Charles would treat her and Charlie right.


    "Charles, I couldn''t ask for more!" Evelyn said, making sure each wordnded with rity.


    "Evelyn!" Charles'' eyes widened in disbelief. His gaze turned dark, and he gritted out her name through clenched teeth.


    Evelyn was drawing a line in the sand, and Rosa wasn''t opposing his thing with Dahlia anymore. It was what he used to want most, but hearing Evelyn spell it out like that set off a storm of anger inside him.


    He tried to tamp it down. He couldn''t wrap his head around the idea that Evelyn didn''t love him anymore. Charles stared deeply into Evelyn''s eyes, remembering how she looked at him today when he mentioned adding Sandy to the family tree. Charles wasn''t one to exin his actions, but he took the plunge and told Evelyn about the ns he''d set in motion long ago.


    "Eve, quit the drama. It''s not just Sandy going on the family tree. Charlie''s going on, too."


    Charles knew this was Evelyn''s biggest wish. She adored Charlie and wanted her to be recognized and cherished by him and the Jenkins family. However, a misunderstanding five years back had led him to overlook Charlie too much. This was his way of making amends. Once Charlie came back, he''d repay her double for all the lost years.


    Charles'' tone sounded more like a handout, and Evelyn snapped, shouting, "She doesn''t want any of it!"


    What exactly did Charles think of Charlie? For her birthday, she had her heart set on a Princess Elsa dress, which he promised to get. Yet, he let Sandy wear it first before giving it to Charlie. Evelyn couldn''t even be sure if the clothes and toys he asionally bought for their daughter over the years weren''t Sandy''s cast-offs.


    Now, their addition to the Jenkins family tree felt like it was mainly for Sandy, and Charlie was just tagging along. Charles still presented it like some sort of grand gesture!


    "Charlie doesn''t want it? If she


    doesn''t want to be on the Jenkins


    family tree, then whose family will she be part of? The Robinsons?"


    Charles refused to believe Evelyn had moved on! She loved him too much. How could she just fall for someone else?


    But Evelyn''s words still ticked him off.


    "Being on any family tree would be better than the Jenkins''! Because you''re not fit to be Charlie''s dad! "Charles, my biggest regret is not pushing you away that night five years ago when I was out of my mind!


    "If I could do it all over, I''d never fall for you, and I wouldn''t give myself the chance to have Charlie!"


    It wasn''t that she didn''t love Charlie or want her as her daughter. Charles just wasn''t cut out to be Charlie''s dad.


    "What did you just say?" Charles'' voice turned icy. Evelyn''s words had fully lit his fuse.


    The car was dark, but Charles had sharp vision; he saw the ice-cold resolve in Evelyn''s eyes as she said those words. She was dead serious. She truly regretted it.


    "Regret? Evelyn, did I say you could?"


    His anger drowned out all reason, and he suddenly grabbed Evelyn''s chin, bending down to kiss her with fierce intensity.


    Evelyn''s eyes widened in shock. The


    moment Charles'' lips came down,


    she instinctively turned her head,


    trying to escape the onught of his


    kiss.