Single Mom's Sweet Husband by Charlotte

"Alright, Lottie, please don't be angry," cajoled Anne coyly as she tugged at Charlotte's arm.

Still, Charlotte remained livid. She glared at Braden, who was sitting opposite her, and completely ignored poor Anne.

At this moment, however, Braden was acting much more gentlemanly than his usual self. He sat rigidly with a straight back and allowed Charlotte's gaze to sweep over him.

A good while later, Braden sprung up abruptly.

His sudden actions greatly startled Charlotte and she backed up instinctively.

"Charlotte Emerson! Here, I, Braden Collins, cordially apologize to you for my past actions. I should not have made assumptions about you and looked down on you." 6-foot tall Braden resembled a sturdy wall as he stood in front of Charlotte unwaveringly. "I swear that I will definitely treat Anne well. I will devote myself and be a loyal man for her." To substantiate his intention, he even raised his right hand to make an oath. There was intense solemnity on his face in place of the usual mischief.

Charlotte couldn't help but do a double-take. Was this still the Braden Collins she knew? Anne quietly gave Charlotte's arm a little prod, which brought her back to her senses. She nodded briefly at Braden with embarrassment.

"Con, let's raise our glasses to celebrate Lottie proving her innocence. The truth is finally out!" In an attempt to soften the tension in the air, Anne hoisted her glass midair.

However, Charlotte had more or less lost her yen for a celebration. As soon as she downed her glass, she hastily fumbled for an excuse to leave.

She simply couldn't fathom the reason Anne, being as picky as she was, would fall in love with Braden.

Indeed, one could not deny that Braden Collins looked like a million dollars. On top of his striking 6-foot figure, he had thick eyebrows and large eyes that accented his cheekbones. Moreover, he was also from an influential family. He was easily regarded as the cream of the crop.

But how was it possible for him as a playboy to mend his ways overnight? Yet, seeing Anne enjoy herself at the start of the relationship, she couldn't bring herself to be a party-pooper.

For now, she could only deal with matters as they appeared.

Soon, she arrived home.

When she pushed open the door, Sheryl was sitting on the floor with her LEGO bricks. Once she saw Charlotte, she clambered to her feet and scuttled over joyfully.

However, she quickly noticed that her mother had gloom written all over her face.

"Mommy, are you sad?" asked Sheryl as she blinked her large, beady eyes.

Charlotte wearily changed out of her flats as she said without looking up, "Mommy's just feeling a little tired." Charlotte plopped down onto the sofa while her mind cycled around Anne. The more she mulled over it, the more the ball of fury in her seemed to grow. And there were two reasons for it.

First of all, she couldn't believe that Anne didn't tell her first-hand about getting a boyfriend although she was supposed to be her closest bosom friend.

Secondly, her boyfriend was none other than Braden Collins, the biggest playboy of River City.

While Charlotte lost herself in her thoughts, Sheryl climbed onto the sofa and jostled herself behind Charlotte. She then began massaging her mother's shoulders gently.

"Mommy, are you still tired?" asked Sheryl naively.

Her daughter's considerate actions immediately quashed Charlotte's anger by half. "Thank you, sweetie. Mommy's feeling much better." "Mommy, if there's anything that makes you sad, you can tell Sheryl about it." Sheryl's words took Charlotte by surprise, but she was touched nonetheless. "Sheryl, who taught you this?" "That's a secret," hushed Sheryl, unwilling to let her in.

Seeing this, Charlotte didn't try to force the question onto her. At that moment, Anne's matter had exhausted pretty much her entire thinking capacity and she couldn't be bothered about anything else. "Sheryl, can I ask your opinion on something?" Brooding over this, Charlotte couldn't hold it in anymore. There was no one else she could confide in, so she could only ask her daughter.

It didn't matter to her if her four-year-old girl would understand the situation.

Sheryl nodded furiously and answered with a stern expression, "Mommy, just ask." "Aunt Jane's got herself a boyfriend. Would you feel happy for her?" Sheryl replied without thinking, "Of course!" "Even if that man isn't a good person? Would you still feel happy that way?" Sheryl stepped out from behind Charlotte and wriggled into her arms. She looked up at Charlotte and said, "Mommy, Aunt Jane is already a big girl! Also, what's important is that she's happy." Charlotte was once again at a loss for words. Did she really need her daughter to explain to her such a shallow and straightforward principle? At the bar, she had clearly seen the happiness overflowing from Anne's eyes as she looked at Braden.

It finally dawned on Charlotte. She broke out into a wide grin and planted a loud smacker on Sheryl's cheek.

"Who taught you such things?" asked Charlotte as she gave Sheryl's little nose a pinch.

There was no way Sheryl was mature enough to have worked this out herself! "Haha," she let out an adorably sinister giggle, "I saw it on TV!"

Hearing this, Charlotte was rendered speechless. She noted to herself that she must limit Sheryl's media consumption thereafter. Once she bathed Sheryl, Charlotte clicked open a notification on her phone. It was a message from Anne.

'Lottie, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you immediately. I just wasn't prepared to.' From the message itself, Charlotte could imagine the cautious look on Anne's face as she typed it in.

She must've been too hard on her.

Charlotte smiled inadvertently and replied with a GIF of a virtual hug.

This was followed by a reply that said, 'No matter your choice, I will forever support you from behind.' Once she hit send, the smile on her face only grew.

As her closest confidant, what reason did she have to not approve of her relationship? The following day soon approached.

Charlotte got up at the break of dawn so that she could have e breakfast with Sheryl. Then, she sent the child to the kindergarten.

Just as she walked up to the gate with Sheryl's hand in, din hers, A hers, Missm Melanie stepped over from Sheryl's classroom. "Hello, Ms. Emerson," she greeted.

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