“Have you really given up on Charles?” Mr. Harrington asked gently, sitting with his daughter in the living room while waiting for his wife to finish dinner. She had insisted she didn’t need help. “I…might be getting married to Roger,” Emmy admitted, her voice quiet. Mr. Harrington sat upright, lowering his voice. “Emmy, Charles could do more for our family than Roger ever could. Are you even sure… do you really think Roger can treat you the way Charles did?” Emmy looked at him wearily. “Dad, did that boy do something to you? Don’t you see how much he’s done for our family, even now? He asked for a divorce and I consented. What else do you want me to do?” Mr. Harrington looked at her helplessly, torn between knowing what his daughter was giving up and seeing her content in the moment. “Has Charles ever…hit you?” he asked cautiously. “He wouldn’t dare. I’d have reported him to every legal office in the world and put him in a cage he’d never get out of,” she said firmly. “A

It wasn’t until 6:50 p.m. that Mr. Wyatt finally ended the important business call he had taken the moment Charles entered the room.“I’m so sorry about that, Mr. Charles,” he apologized smoothly as one of his men collected the phone and left with it.“I didn’t plan for that to run this long. But business first, right?” he added with a practiced smile.“Exactly, Mr. Wyatt. For someone like you to have come this far, it must have meant sacrificing a lot,” Charles replied evenly.The comment caught Mr. Wyatt slightly off guard. His smile froze for a second before returning, thinner now.“As much as I’d love to take that as a compliment, Mr. Charles,” Mr. Wyatt said, leaning back, “I’m not sure we’re close enough to exchange words like that.”“I don’t think of it that way, Mr. Wyatt,” Charles countered lightly. “If you told me my shoes were nice, I’d probably smile and tell you how Sadie got them for me—limited edition, just two day

“Oh my goodness, you should try being a stand-up comedian,” Sadie said.Charles blinked. Either Sadie had gone completely crazy—or he had totally missed the new standard of humor.He managed to endure the rest of dinner without smashing a plate in rage. The two of them were unbearably annoying.Later that night, when the guy excused himself to the bathroom, Charles and Sadie were finally alone.“He’s a fan,” Sadie said. “His father begged me. Maybe this was the only thing that could help him. As you can see, he's a bit…some mental stuff.”Charles glanced at the guy earlier; he did look harmless enough but since Sadie was saying this. Well? “Please just pretend you don’t know anything,” Sadie added.“Of course,” Charles said flippantly. “He’s using your room, right?” He was already heading toward the kitchen.“Just ignore us. His father will be back tomorrow to take him to the hospital.”Charles narrowe

She slipped away quickly, heart pounding. What if Charles was a stalker? Or worse—someone sent after her?How had they even met? She rewound that night in her head.She’d always known Charles carried influence, but nothing prepared her for this. No mafia movie could. Seeing the man you love—someone you imagined a future with—kill without hesitation and give quiet kill orders afterward… it was horrifying.A presence behind her made her freeze.She turned.Charles stood there, still shirtless, tattoos and scars catching the light.“You okay?” he asked.She nodded weakly. “I… was… I thought… you’re—” She forced a nervous smile.“We can use my room together tonight,” he said simply.She almost refused. But what was safer—sleeping alone in a house that reeked of gasoline, or staying close to him where she could watch every move?“I… your room. Yeah,” she stammered.He turned and led the way

“I see you were shagging my sister in public over there,” Damien said casually. “Makes me wonder what you two do when no one’s watching.”Charles chuckled. “Don’t mind us, brother-in-law. We’re trying as much as possible not to have kids before marriage. We’re really using stuff.”Damien shifted his gaze to Sadie.By now, Sadie was struggling to keep a straight face. She couldn’t get over the fact that Damien had suddenly appeared out of nowhere to “show support.” It made her uncharacteristically nervous.“Miss Sadie!” one of her PR team called, rushing over.Two more joined, and together they led her away to handle preparations.Now, Charles was left alone with Damien.The fake smile Damien had been wearing vanished the moment Sadie walked off.“We could hang out over there if you don’t mind,” Damien said, pointing toward a shaded spot a short distance away.Charles followed him, and the two sat under