“Who was that?” Sadie asked Charles as she watched Emmy's brother walk off.“It’s nothing. Let’s pay and get out of here fast. The baby must be hungry,” Charles dismissed quickly. The last thing he wanted right now was to explain his ridiculous past to Sadie.She’d laugh at him. He would’ve laughed too if the tables were turned.Sadie stayed quiet, watching him as he paid. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t know much about Charles at all.“Should I help you unstrap the baby?” he asked after dropping the groceries in the trunk.“Yeah.”A few minutes later, Charles was driving. She sat in the back seat with the baby, eyeing him. Something had changed since that man showed up. Normally, Charles would’ve thrown a sarcastic jab her way by now.Damn. She hadn’t signed up for this version of Charles. The sarcastic, annoying one was way better than this tight-lipped stranger.“Um, I forgot to ask,” she started, “

“He works at Dynamic Vaultstone. So?” Emmy laughed. “Charles, seriously? That’s your new lie?” She turned to Sadie. “He works as a nanny for some woman. My brother saw him at a grocery store last night.” Sadie looked at Charles. “Is that true?” Damn, Charles thought. They should’ve left ten minutes ago. Sadie didn’t need to go this far. “See?” Emmy said triumphantly. “He can’t even deny it. I’m so disappointed, Charles. After all the lessons I taught you about wealth and success? You think this will make you rich overnight?” She narrowed her eyes on Charles. “Do you even know who she is? When she finds out the truth, she won’t forgive you like I did. She’ll ruin you.” Sadie calmly pulled out her phone and held it up. “Is this the woman your brother saw last night?” Emmy looked

“What are you doing there?” Charles asked. “Well... we shall see, shan't we?” Charles shook his head, trying to dismiss the twisted thoughts. This was a contract relationship. Nothing more. He didn’t even bother changing before following her to the car. She looked at him and shook her head. “You’re my bodyguard.” Then it hit him. She was sleepwalking. They’d argued that afternoon; if she really wanted to go out, she’d have left without him. Shit. “I have to tell you something,” Charles said, stepping closer. “Ace is waiting,” she snapped. “Ace? Who’s Ace?” “My...” she blushed, trailing off. “Let’s go.” “But Ace’s in the

Charles glanced around. “This all you’ve got? Why am I so disappointed?” Kade's smile twitched. “You're exactly as they described you.”“I’m sorry, buddy—” Charles lunged, grabbing Kade by the neck and pressing a knife to his throat, fast and ruthless.“She’ll be up in eight minutes,” Charles whispered. “If you want her to wake up to a corpse, keep bluffing. Or you can play nice and let her think you’re a gentleman.”Kade's jaw tightened. “Drop your weapons!”One by one, the guns hit the grass.“Now,” Charles whispered in his ear, “tell them to disappear.”Kade clenched his fist tighter. “Leave us. For now.”The hidden men hesitated before melting into the background like ghosts.“You got me, huh?” Kade said, forcing a grin. “Guess I underestimated you.”Charles cocked his head. “Glad we’re on the same page. By the way…” He glanced around casually. “Where are the others who were with you earli