"Yes. Would you like to try one?"
"No, of course not."
Daniel shook his head, dismissing any possibility of wanting to try smoking.
"Don't you know that smoking is harmful to the lungs?"
"I know."
Leonid replied calmly, his gaze shifting to the side, a sarcastic smile forming on his lips, before he said.
"But it's adult life... this way, we can live without losing our minds."
For a moment, the smile faded, and his eyebrows furrowed in a serious expression before he shrugged indifferently.
Daniel swallowed a piece of pancake while glaring at Leonid with a critical look before saying sharply.
"For your information, I'm an adult too, but I don't need suicidal methods like yours to keep my sanity."
Leonid stayed silent for a few seconds, then turned his gaze to Charlotte, who was busy cooking the pancakes, her hair neatly tied back, adding to her elegance.
"Maybe my method is a bit suicidal, but it's still within reasonable limits."
He paused for a moment, then added with a light smile.
"By the way, how old are you, kid?"
Leonid smiled dryly, fixing his eyes on Daniel. He knew everything about him, but it wouldn't hurt to stir up a little tension, especially in front of someone as transparent as Charlotte.
"Me?!"
Daniel fumbled before setting the fork aside, hesitated for a moment, then said.
"Twenty-one..."
"Really? I thought you were still in your twenties."
Charlotte intervened with a calm smile as she placed the pancake plate in front of Leonid.
"Charlotte! Not you too!"
Daniel exclaimed in frustration, adding with a tone of protest.
"This is unbelievable! How can you forget that I turned twenty-one? Did you really forget my birthday party two months ago?!"
Charlotte stopped for a moment, gazing at Daniel with calm eyes, before turning her back and returning to the kitchen, speaking in a low tone.
"I don't remember."
"Charlotte!"
Daniel cried out in clear displeasure. In response, Charlotte ignored his tense tone, stopping only when she reached the stove and said with a light smile.
"Okay, okay... I'm sorry, but what can I do? My memory's weak."
Leonid's lips curled into a sarcastic smile as he leaned on the dining table, calmly eating his breakfast.
Daniel narrowed his eyes and retorted sharply.
"You're lying now."
"No~, I'm not."
Daniel's irritation grew, and his face flushed as his fingers trembled slightly while he clenched his fist tightly.
Charlotte was calmly flipping two pancakes before she turned off the stove and carried her plate to the table. Before sitting down, she approached Daniel and lightly patted his head with her free hand, speaking gently.
"Okay, calm down... I was just joking with you."
Daniel raised his gaze to her, his gray eyes glinting with annoyance, and tears slowly began to gather at the corners of his eyes.
"Is this how you joke?"
Charlotte stopped and stared at him for a moment before quietly placing her plate on the table. She leaned toward him and gently cupped his face in her hands, looking into his eyes sincerely.
"Of course not!"
A moment of silence passed before she added in a soft, regretful tone,
"Listen, Daniel, I didn't mean to hurt you like this... I'm really sorry."
"It's too late for an apology, I am now..."
Daniel paused for a second, took a deep breath, and then let his words out all at once.
"Angry at you!"
"Daniel!"
Charlotte called him with concern, then bent toward him, lifting his head toward her. Fortunately, Daniel responded to her touch and lifted his head, forced to look at her.
"Don't say something like that. Okay, I admit... maybe I was a bit mean, but I didn't intend to hurt your feelings."
"You're very mean."
Daniel's words were blunt, but they were nothing more than childish reproach.
"I'm sorry again..."
Charlotte whispered regretfully, then slowly withdrew her hands and wrapped her arms around Daniel's shoulders, drawing him into a warm hug.
For a moment, Daniel remained stiff before gradually relaxing his body in her arms.
Maybe he was just too sensitive that day, as the only person he considered family was now involved with someone else and might abandon him at any moment.
Before he moved into the apartment to live as an adult, Daniel's life had been empty, stuck with a family that barely deserved the title. His mother never stopped shouting at him, accusing him of being the cause of her unhappiness, and his father saw him as nothing but a heavy burden, not to mention the types of punishments he imposed on his son under the pretense of him being a bad child.
He was the only child in that house, but instead of receiving care and warmth, he lived through hell with them.
How did he end up clinging to her this much?
Unable to control his emotions, Daniel clung tightly to Charlotte's sweater, burying his face in her chest, powerless to hold back his tears.
His harsh childhood had built walls around his heart, making him incapable of giving others chances or opening his heart to them. Perhaps after meeting Charlotte by chance, Daniel was able to break a piece of those walls little by little, until he had precious friends to him. But some wounds are impossible to heal. Even with time, those wounds never fully healed, and their scars continued to haunt him deep inside.
Despite all the effort she put into him and treating him with the care of an older sister, Daniel still felt fear. That fear accompanied him every moment, causing his heart to race in the moments when he felt that Charlotte might abandon him or when he might leave her. It was the fear of losing that rare opportunity for acceptance and love, a feeling he had never known before.
That was why Daniel had been crying ever since he learned about Charlotte's relationship with Leonid.
"I'm really sorry..."
Charlotte apologized once more, gently lifting his chin. As her fingers softly wiped his tears, they trembled slightly as she tried to comfort him.
"Please don't cry, Daniel... I'm really sorry."
Her eyes were filled with sadness, and tears began to gather in her own eyes.
"Daniel..."
She said it almost in a whisper, as though she wished everything would be alright.
On the other side, Leonid observed the situation with a calm expression. He wasn't angry with Daniel or with the whole situation, and of course, he didn't feel jealous. Perhaps he felt something closer to pity for Daniel, maybe because he sensed his pain, as they had both gone through somewhat similar childhood experiences.
"That's enough, kid."
"Huh?"
Charlotte paused for a moment in comforting Daniel and looked at Leonid, who calmly added, as if the situation didn't bother him at all.
"Aren't you an adult now? Stop crying and finish your breakfast quickly."
Charlotte hesitated in her gaze, but she didn't say anything. Meanwhile, Daniel was struggling to catch his breath, unable to shake off the embarrassment he felt in front of Leonid, who had been watching them from the start.
Kaiser parked his car in the lot and got out, his handsome features looking pale and tired, but beneath those features, there was a sense of suppressed frustration that still overwhelmed him.
He hadn't been able to find his purpose at his family's home the day before, and this led to a nervous breakdown that left him with an unexplainable misery. He thought he would be able to settle some scores before his father returned from his business trip, but he failed.
Kaiser rubbed his face and then entered the residential building. On his way, he encountered some colleagues who had just returned from their vacation. He greeted them and exchanged a few pleasantries, then continued on his way to the elevator, heading to his apartment.
He rode alone to the eighth floor, so the elevator was quiet. After arriving, he moved and walked through the sunny hallway, stopping for a moment before opening the door to his apartment.
Kaiser glanced over at Charlotte's apartment and stared with a dark, buried desire. For a moment, he had the thought of creating some inappropriate amusement, but he suppressed that desire within himself. He then unlocked the door and turned the handle.
He slowly removed his brown jacket and began unbuttoning his shirt as he headed toward the bathroom. Today, he wasn't in the right mood to go to the office and continue his day as usual, so he had already called Alex earlier to let him know he wouldn't be coming in.
After the argument with Charlotte yesterday, Natalia began to feel the weight of guilt creeping in. Since she woke up this morning, her mind had been relentlessly chastising her, as if every thought led back to that moment when she caused pain to someone else.
She closed her eyes and leaned on her elbow. The day seemed empty to her, despite being a receptionist at a prestigious bank. The day felt monotonous, and the office buzzed with noise around her while she remained lost in her thoughts.
She sighed and then opened her eyes again. The idea of apologizing to Charlotte had become inevitable in her mind. She had to make things right, and she was determined to apologize today without a doubt, even though she wasn't entirely sure how she would do it.
After moments of thinking about the reason for her anger toward Charlotte, Natalia felt the weight of guilt pressing down on her chest once more. She blamed herself and then sat up straight, trying to focus on her work. Natalia decided to put all her energy into completing her tasks perfectly, at least to distract her mind from those troubling thoughts.