Harry stood directly across from the judge who truly held the power, a briefcase in his hand. He was wearing a pair of glasses, something he had deliberately put on just before stepping into the office, even though he had no actual need for them. The choice was odd, but intentional. What surprised Harry most was that he had even been granted this meeting at all. Judge Walter was considered an influential figure, or at least that was how he had been presented to Harry. Securing this audience has not been easy. Harry had been required to part with a massive sum of money simply to prove that he was worth taking seriously. In total, he had spent one million dollars just to demonstrate his financial capacity and seriousness. That display alone had been enough for the judge to acknowledge him as a man worth meeting, and as a result, Walter had agreed to see him without delay. Everything about the transaction had been handled discreetly. The money could not be traced back to Harry in any m

Harry made his way back home, and to his genuine surprise, he found that Melissa had already selected the outfit she wanted him to wear for his outing with Rhiannon.He wasn’t entirely sure how he was supposed to react to something like that, but he couldn’t deny that the gesture meant something to him.As he took a closer look at the clothes she had laid out, Harry couldn’t help but admire her taste. Part of the reason it looked so well put together was because Melissa clearly had more information about the evening than Harry himself had been given.He smiled warmly at her, then moved closer to the bed to inspect the outfit more carefully.“This actually looks really good,” Harry said, openly complimenting her choice.“You like it?” Melissa asked, her face lighting up instantly, and Harry nodded in response to reassure her.Her fashion sense stood out to him because there was no chance he would have picked something like this on his own.The shirt was simple and loose, patterned with

Harry slid into the car, settling into his seat as the door closed behind him. The evening had gone incredibly well, and notably, neither of them had touched a single drop of alcohol the entire night. It had been a genuinely good moment for both of them, one of those rare experiences that felt light, comfortable, and real. Slowly, it dawned on them that Melissa had been the bridge that connected their paths in the first place. She was the reason this night had even happened. Melissa had trusted Rhiannon enough to place her around Harry, and at the same time, she trusted Harry enough to let him be around Rhiannon. That trust had made everything possible. Rhiannon found herself grateful that Harry had entered their lives. She had been cautious at first, carrying doubts and internal hesitations, but what Harry had done earlier was something she was absolutely certain no one else would ever do for her, not in this lifetime. That realization warmed her deeply. For the first time, sh

Harry had given Rhiannon something she couldn’t find anywhere else, and the most important part of it all was that there was no sexual expectation attached. There was no hidden agenda, no ulterior motive. This was simply Harry being a decent human being and offering support to someone who was clearly hurting.When Harry finally made his way back home, the amount of money he had spent that evening didn’t bother him in the slightest. It felt justified. More than that, it had been worth it, because it allowed Rhiannon to open up and let herself be vulnerable around him, something she clearly struggled to do with others.By the time Harry arrived home, it was already well past eleven at night. What he didn’t expect to see was Melissa curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. She hovered in that half-asleep state, drifting in and out of consciousness. From the way she lay there, Harry could tell she had been waiting for him the entire time, worried enough to stay up despite her exhaust

Harry lingered inside the club for a short while longer, allowing himself a moment to decompress. He leaned against the bar area, quietly drinking several glasses of water in succession, letting the tension of the earlier meeting ease out of his system. As he stood there observing the space, his thoughts drifted to Mia. Mia was capable, there was no denying that, but he lacked experience. She could keep the place running for now, sure, but this establishment was only going to grow. Managing it long-term would require someone with sharper instincts and more exposure to high-level operations. That was when another thought crept in. This might be the perfect chance to bring Brandon into the equation. But then Harry hesitated. What if Clara was the better option? After all, there was a hard limit to how much a personal trainer could realistically earn, even one as skilled and well-connected as Clara. Bringing her into something bigger could dramatically elevate her financial standin