Upset and annoyed with herself, Charlotte sat next to Hunter, who was sleeping on the couch. Her eyes wandered to the ceiling while her arms were crossed over her chest.
The desire to find Kaiser and punish him for bothering her burned inside her, but it faded as soon as she remembered his injured head.
Although he wasn't wearing the white bandages on his head, the deep wound beneath the long bandage was enough to remind her that he wasn't in the best condition.
"That jerk is making me feel upset..."
She muttered with frustration, trying to suppress the wave of curses inside her.
"Atchoo!"
On the other side of the city, Kaiser drove his car, leaning against the steering wheel with boredom, wiping his nose while keeping his eyes fixed on the road, watching the cars around him.
"Oh my, young master, are you sick?"
Alex, his personal secretary, asked anxiously through the phone.
"No, just a sudden sneeze."
Kaiser answered calmly, not taking his eyes off the road.
After a moment of silence, Kaiser spoke in a practical tone.
"By the way, Alex, has my father called you?"
"Your father—? I mean, the head of the family! Oh no, the head of the family hasn't called…"
Alex hesitated for a moment but asked in a low, worried voice.
"Why is the young master asking about the head of the family? I mean... did something bad happen last night?"
"Hmm..."
Kaiser raised an eyebrow without commenting.
In fact, Alex wasn't so surprised by the question about the head of the family as he was by hearing the word "father" come from the young master's lips.
Impossible, could the blow to the head yesterday have affected the young master's mind? Alex wondered nervously, sinking into his thoughts, not even noticing the young master's call behind the phone.
"Alex... Alex..."
Kaiser leaned against the steering wheel, staring with boredom at the red light, extremely patient but of course feeling bored, grumbling.
"Alex, where did you go!?"
"Oh, sorry, young master, I spaced out for a bit…"
Kaiser sighed and added in a calm tone.
"It's fine. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Prepare the conference room for the company's annual fall meeting."
"Your command, young master."
"Hmm, goodbye."
Kaiser ended the call after giving his usual farewell, then refocused on the road as the light turned green, resuming his journey.
Leonid wore an elegant gray suit, adding a touch of sophistication to his usual presence. After making sure his tie was arranged properly, he left his apartment and headed to work, but suddenly stopped at the door.
He remembered that he had forgotten to give Charlotte the spare key to his apartment. This was a step he saw as essential to ensure her safety in case of any future attack she could simply hide in his apartment.
He went to her apartment and knocked gently on the door, holding the keychain, trying to separate one of the keys.
"I'm coming!"
Charlotte's cheerful voice came from inside, and before he could think any further, the door swung open quickly, as usual, without any precautions.
Leonid strongly wanted to scold her, but he suppressed the urge for now.
"Oh, you haven't left yet!"
Charlotte said with a happy smile.
"Actually, I wanted to—"
"This is great! I have something for you too, I want to tell you something. Can you spare a minute?"
She looked at him with pleading black eyes, and he sighed, giving in.
"Alright, you have two minutes."
Charlotte's expression brightened, and she said,
"That's more than enough."
She opened the door and pulled Leonid inside by the arm. Leonid was momentarily surprised; sometimes Charlotte seemed shy around him, and other times, she was so comfortable that she touched him freely.
She led him to the kitchen, looking eager, and then raised a small fork with a piece of golden pancake in front of his face.
"Here, try this first."
Leonid hesitated for a moment, but decided to go along with it. He took the piece of pancake between his teeth and began chewing slowly. The sweet taste flowed into his mouth, sticking to his tongue smoothly.
Once again, Charlotte's cooking surprised him and exceeded his expectations.
Although he was a fan of sweets, Leonid suppressed the strong urge to ask for more, as if making such a request would reveal a weakness he didn't want to show. He raised his eyes to look at her, staring intently into her eyes as though showing indifference.
"Is this your first time making pancakes?"
"No."
She replied with a slight smile.
"Then why did you want me to taste it?"
Leonid raised an eyebrow slightly, asking calmly, while standing behind Charlotte with his free hand resting on his waist, looking at her with an ambiguous expression.
"I just wanted you to try the pancake, so… how is it?"
Charlotte looked at him with wide eyes, eager to hear the answer, but Leonid seemed reserved as usual.
"It's fine."
He said coldly, slowly stepping toward the door.
But before he could move away, Charlotte felt her heartbeat quicken and grabbed his arm quickly.
"Wait a moment!"
He turned to her, his gaze carrying a mix of curiosity and coldness. Charlotte thought for a moment, then said shyly,
"Does that mean the pancake is good or bad?"
Leonid hesitated for a moment before answering in a stiff tone.
"Fine means fine."
He insisted on his answer, but the way he shifted uncomfortably while looking away revealed more than he had said.
Charlotte felt a slight lump in her throat, but she refused to back down.
"You look like someone who says 'I don't know' while you know perfectly well!"
She said challengingly, her eyes shining with determination.
"Give me a clear answer, or I swear I won't share my thoughts with you again."
Leonid stopped in his tracks, his eyes fixed on a distant point in the room, as if trying to avoid a direct confrontation with her. Just the thought of her going back to her old ways of answering everything with "I don't know" was enough to stir up his growing irritation.
Moments of silence passed, feeling eternal to Charlotte, before Leonid slowly turned his head toward her, his gaze more serious and calm than she expected.
"If you want my real opinion, it tastes good… maybe better than I expected."
Charlotte couldn't contain the excitement that suddenly erupted inside her, almost choking with happiness. A slight smile appeared on her lips, but it betrayed everything she was feeling.
"Does that mean you liked it?!"
She asked eagerly as if she had discovered a great secret.
"Not much."
He replied with a fake coldness, trying to maintain his reserved appearance, but couldn't hide the way he touched his lips with his fingers, as if tasting the flavor again, eager for more without admitting it.
"Really?"
The sparkle in Charlotte's eyes faded in an instant, and her gaze settled on the plate.
She picked up the same fork she had fed Leonid with and slowly plunged it into another piece of pancake, then put it in her mouth.
She tasted the sweetness and furrowed her brows slightly, as if trying to solve an ambiguous puzzle.
She gently touched her lips after finishing and said, her eyes searching for an answer in Leonid's face.
"Is it because the taste is too sweet that you didn't like it?"
Leonid remained silent for a moment, studying her gaze intently, before responding with a slight smile.
"No, not because of that."
He looked away, suppressing the overwhelming urge to taste her lips, trying to hide his eyes that bore signs of desire.
"Hmm…"
Charlotte sank into deep thought as Leonid headed toward the living room. Automatically, he placed the spare key to his apartment on the table, then looked at her, saying,
"The spare key is here."
He gestured toward the table with a quick motion before heading toward the door with determined steps. His icy blue eyes glanced at the red rose bouquet lying next to the trash can, but he ignored it as if it didn't exist.
"You can come and go whenever you like."
Charlotte stopped thinking and walked behind Leonid.
"Wait, are you leaving now? I still have something to tell you."
Leonid waved his hand, turned the door handle, but paused before stepping out and looked at Charlotte.
"We'll talk later. As I told you earlier, I can spend the night with you if you want."
Charlotte's lashes fluttered for a moment, then she quickly looked away, hiding her embarrassment.
"Alright…"
"What?"
Leonid raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"I want… to spend the night with you."
Leonid stood by the door, staring at Charlotte, whose cheeks had turned red. Unclear emotions stirred in his heart again, and then he nodded.
"Alright, I'll meet you after work."
"Come before dinner, I want us to have dinner together!"
Leonid squinted, then sighed.
"Alright, I'll try to arrive earlier."
He said that and left, trying to calm his erratic heartbeat.
Just which part of 'spending the night with you' didn't you understand well? he asked himself.
Leonid sighed, rubbing his face with a tired motion as he walked down the hallway toward the elevator, as if trying to wipe away the traces of the last moment from his features.