"Charlotte, hello." The princess' voice was comfortingly familiar.
"Hello, Cass. I'm sorry it took me some time to call back."
"It's always nice to hear from you again, but I do wish it wasn't under these circumstances. I never thought you'd ever show up in any of my visions."
"I'm the opposite." Charlotte's tone was rueful. "The first few months after Land...went away, I used to hope and pray that you'd have a vision for me."
"Better late than never as they say," Cass said softly, "but I'm not sure how you'll take this."
"Is it that bad?"
There was a long moment of silence, and as soon as Cass spoke her first eight words—-
Charlotte hung up.
And then she threw up.
Oh God, why?
She remained on the floor, next to the toilet bowl, and stared sightlessly at the marble tiles before her.
Why?
Another minute passed before she was able to find the energy to reach for Sano's phone, and her fingers shook uncontrollably as she sent the princess a text.
Charlotte: I'm sorry, Cass. I didn't mean to hang up. I was just...I couldn't...
Charlotte: Please just don't tell Sano about this.
Cass: I'm so sorry this has upset you. But I also need you to know that you have yet to hear the rest of what I saw.
Charlotte: What you've said was enough.
Cass: I wish you'd reconsider, but I've learned the hard way that I can't force anyone to listen to me, no matter the reason. If you ever change your mind, call me.
Charlotte: I will. Thank you, Cass.
Cass: Take care, Charlotte. I'm so happy that you have your husband back.
So am I, Charlotte thought. It had still bothered her a bit that Landon had returned to her in another man's body, and a younger one at that, but now, after hearing what Cass had to say—-
You and Sano will just have one day...
She swallowed back a sob.
I know I asked You to give him back to me for even just a day, but does it really have to be just one day before I lose him again?
Chapter Seven
Thoughts finally started racing around her head once Charlotte was able to successfully vanquish the urge to cry. If she only had a day left with Sano, then tears would only be a waste of time. What she needed now was a plan, and to do that she needed to make a choice. Did she tell Sano about Cass' vision?
The answer came to her in an instant.
Absolutely not.
Doing so would only be pointlessly hurtful, and Charlotte never could bear seeing her husband in pain. It was enough that she knew they only had less than twenty-four hours to themselves, and after that...
What then?
How exactly did God plan to take her husband away this time? Since she couldn't believe He could ever be cruel enough to kill Landon at a young age for a second time, God was surely planning something else, like...
Erasing his memories of her?
The thought was more than enough to have Charlotte take deep, big gulps of air. She had never been the type to hyperventilate, but just imagining how it would feel, to have Sano look at her like she was a stranger—-
It hurt.
A lot.
But it also made a lot of sense.
Tomorrow, God could take Landon's soul away, give Sano's body a new one, and no one would be the wiser for it except her. She had prayed to God to give her Land back even just for a day, and He had done it. Would she let today go to waste simply because she knew what tomorrow had to bring?
NO.
Having an extra minute, or even an extra second, to be with someone you had lost was more than what most other people were granted. Less than a day was still better than nothing, and she needed to be less greedy and more grateful about this miracle.
I'm sorry, God.
It's only because I love him so much, and I missed him so, so much.
Maybe she would never understand why God could only grant her just another day with her husband, but one didn't have to understand in order to love and trust Him.
If this is what You think is best, so be it.
But in the meantime—-
The others were still deep in discussion when Charlotte returned to the conference room, and she could feel Sano staring at her as she bowed in apology.
"Please do not feel the need to apologize," Yuki said before she could get a word out. "We were made aware by Sano of an important call you had to take. I hope everything's alright?"
"Um, yes, it's fine now." Charlotte was relieved when Yuki's assistant required his attention at that moment, thus cutting their conversation short. The less said about her call with Cass, the better. Since her husband's job had made him exceptionally good at spotting lies, Charlotte had learned early on the best way to conceal the truth was not to try hiding it at all.