Chapter 345
“Mmm.” Anthony’s reply was casual as he stepped out of the car, his long legs stretching beneath his suit pants. He glanced back. “We’re home.”
Charlotte placed her hand in his, letting him help her out.
“Watch your step, Charlotte.” Hans’s voice rang out, extra careful. Charlotte looked up lazily, her eyes narrowing with the tiniest hint of a smile. “Hans, you’re back already?”
“Charlotte Hans nearly lost it at her grin, feeling his heart skip a beat. In his mind, he was begging, please, just don’t praise me in front of Anthony again. The last time she said something nice about him, Anthony banished him to the desert for a week.
“You
“I’m fine, Charlotte, really… thanks for asking.” Hans cut her off, desperate, as if he could kneel for her right then and there.
Charlotte just laughed, obviously entertained. She lifted her chin and caught Anthony’s gaze, her voice low and teasing. “Hans got darker. And uglier.”
“He’s always been ugly,” Anthony answered with a crooked smile, taking Charlotte’s hand and leading her inside.
Hans let out a huge sigh, relief washing over him. He’d survived another day.
When the pair disappeared into the house, Andrew walked over, swinging Charlotte’s backpack. He glanced at Hans, curiosity in his eyes. “Did you do something to piss off Anthony?”
Hans wiped his forehead. “If you piss off Anthony, you’re dead. If you piss off Charlotte, you’ll wish you were.”
So, both times Anthony punished him, it was because Charlotte caught him in the act? Andrew
shivërëd a little just thinking about iť. One thought echoed in his head. mess with Charlotte and you’ll regret it more than anything.
Later, after his shower, Andrew
his’s
grabbed his test papers, planning to
find Charlotte for help. As he
vel
rounded the corner, he stopped short Anthony was holding
Charlotte’s hand, leading her into his bedroom. The door closed behind them and didn’t open.
Andrew’s papers slipped from his hand, falling to the floor. He stood there, mouth still open. Were they living together already? Charlotte wasn’t even that old yet. Did
Grandma know? Whet
about
Anthony’s parents? They were stiff traveling. Did they even approve? Andrew’s brow furrowed in concern. If Anthony ever dared to hurt Charlotte, he’d be the first to step up.
In her room, Anthony stood on the balcony, voice low as he handled some urgent call. Charlotte curled up on the sofa, tablet in hand, her fingers flying over the keys. Lines of complicated code scrolled across her screen.
A group chat notification popped up. Adonis: Charlotte, the treasury’s basically
empty. That last twenty million barely covered the materials.
Charlotte’s face tightened, annoyance flickering in her eyes. She paused, then typed back, I’ll do the voice-over job.
After a second, she added, I’ll take the Apex contract too.
Adonis replied, Got it. I’ll tell Jackson. He’ll go with you.
They definitely didn’t want her going alone.
“Okay.” She sent her reply, closed the chat, and tapped open a movie. The screen was still paused on a scene from before, the man and woman tangled together, lost in each other.
Charlotte frowned, reaching for the fast-forward, but a graceful hand suddenly appeared, taking the tablet right from her. Before she could react, Anthony’s tall frame leaned over her, his face so close it filled her world.