Reporters gasped. Fans online exploded. The hashtag trended within sixty seconds. Some viewers swooned. Others speculated wildly. A few posted screencaps of Alexander looking directly at Charlotte as he said it, and the internet's collective imagination began its inevitable spiral.
Charlotte, meanwhile, inhaled sharply—but quietly. Her expression remained unreadable, but a storm had started behind her eyes.
The cameras didn't miss it.
She didn't speak. Didn't move. But her fingers curled slightly against her chair, as if grounding herself.
She wasn't surprised.
She was furious.
Charlotte's mind spun.
Of all the themes. All the words he could've chosen, he had to pick that one.
First Love.
It was a sucker punch wrapped in silk. A personal grenade disguised as poetic sentiment.
He was sending her a message. No, a challenge.
And the worst part? It was brilliant.
