Charles had never been this confused in his entire life.He was standing in the middle of three women — each holding a different part of his story.The stranger clinging to him, Sadie frozen by the door, and Natasha standing right beside her.He could’ve shoved the woman off and explained that nothing was happening. That she was just part of the setup.But with Natasha watching? He couldn’t risk it.So instead, Charles slowly wrapped one arm around the woman.“Can you wait for me inside, honey?” he said in the huskiest voice he could muster — one that made his own stomach twist.The woman kissed him twice on the cheek. Charles tensed. Who the hell does she think she is? He wanted to wipe his face immediately, but he couldn’t break the act — not yet.Once she left, he turned back with a faint smile.“Miss Sadie,” he greeted, his tone light. “How can I help you?”For a moment — just a fraction of a second

But she couldn’t turn back now. She knew she should ask Charles for an explanation about what happened — but what would he even say? Probably the same line again: don’t misunderstand me, I’m involved in complicated things.The more she thought about it, the more she realized how foolish she might have been. No matter how good it felt having Charles around, maybe she’d made a mistake getting involved with him… and worse, falling for a man she barely knew anything about.“Hello,” she greeted quietly, pulling out the chair and sitting down.The man across the table raised his head.“Solomon?” she blurted, her eyes widening.He froze. “Sadie Wyatt?”“What are you doing here?”“I should be asking you that,” Solomon shot back. “Why the hell do you need a blind date when you already have that crazy little bodyguard who’d kill for you?”“I didn’t know it was you,” she said sharply, standing up. “My mistake.”“A

They spent the rest of the day darting across New York after whatever bouquet Natasha swore would “one hundred percent” make Sadie forgive Charles. It was ridiculous. It was exhausting. And it was exactly the kind of nonsense Charles would normally refuse.The more he watched Natasha work, the more fascinated he became. Python didn’t take on just anybody — but if she wasn’t a plant, she was at least better than most. She moved like someone used to getting results.It was rare for Charles to sit this close to someone and still have no clue what was going on in their head. Natasha beat that record. He couldn’t read her, not a single gesture. If his godfather hadn’t dropped that hint about her, Charles wouldn’t have suspected a thing.“I could drive you home,” she said as she pulled into a quiet park, “but it’s better if you walk. She might be watching — and if she sees me driving you, she’ll freak and it’ll look worse.”Charles gave a small, tight smile. “Thanks. I’m still mad, you know

Emmy’s sister was walking the dog with her father, who had come to visit. Her mind wasn’t on Earth—or Pluto for that matter—and she could swear it wasn’t anywhere in the galaxy either.She’d lost a whopping eighteen million dollars in just two days. Eighteen. Million. Dollars.And her phone wouldn’t stop buzzing with notifications—each one another debit alert from those crazy loan sharks.“Are you okay?” Mr. Harrington’s calm but aging voice asked beside her.She stopped walking. “Dad, can’t we… can’t we bring Charles back to the house?”Her father frowned. “Why? What’s wrong?”“I didn’t know… actually, babe took some loans. I had no idea about it. Then suddenly, those guys started debiting me, and I found out it was Charles who had been handling them before. He’s the one who kept things stable all along. And now—”Mr. Harrington’s shoulders sagged; he suddenly looked twice his age. “I told you all, but no one listened. Charl

“Teach me how to fight,” Sadie said the moment Charles walked back in after seeing her mother off.Charles blinked. He looked around, half expecting cameras. “Are you talking to me?”“Can you teach me how to fight?” she repeated, more firmly this time.“I… what?” Charles asked, still unsure if he heard her right.“I did learn some martial arts before,” she said, pacing. “But I don’t remember much. I need to have some fighting skills.”“Why?” Charles frowned. “You’ve got a dozen security guards around you. You could hire more if you wanted.”“The other time… Solomon…” she stopped mid-sentence. Her voice faltered. “He…” she swallowed hard.Charles straightened. “What?”“I tried to fight him, but…” she shook her head. “Can you teach me? Let’s start tonight.”“Don’t you have other things to do?” Charles asked, watching her closely.“Charles,” she said quietly, her tone trembling between frustration and fear. “I don’t want anything to come between us again. I want to tell you what happened