Charles walked into the office and found Michel slumped over his desk, his head at an odd angle while one of his arms was swung out over some documents.

Instinct made him reach into his jacket, ready to grab his gun but as he slowly approached, he soon noticed that Michel wasn't shot by the intruder, Michel was just sleeping.


Relaxing a bit, he cleared his throat, causing Michel to jump in surprise, looking around to see where the sound was coming from.

When he saw it was just Charles, he let out an annoyed sigh and ran a weary hand through his messy hair.

"My God, Charles. Why don't you speak up or knock?" Michel grumbled.


Charles crossed his arms. "I knock on the door. But you're sleeping." He speaks realistically.

Looking at him with displeasure, Michel reached for his cigarette and lit one himself without acknowledging Charles' answer.


Michel knew he had fallen asleep.

After all, he had a bad night, having spent it sitting in an uncomfortable chair next to Fanny's bed as she continued to wake up screaming.

Come to think of it, he's surprised Charles didn't come to check. Charles is usually the first to show up when there is any commotion in the house.

He knew that Carlos, Andy, and Kaylin were out on a mission and Vengo's room was in the opposite wing, making it impossible for him to hear.

So what kept him away?

Is he keeping more than what Christian has told him?

Or is this just a confirmation of what Kaylin said?

"You wanna see me?" Charles sat down, waiting for Michel's instructions.

Michel leaned back in his chair and smoked a long cigarette.

For a second, he debated whether he should be comfortable with his second-in-command or should he do what he's always done.

In the end, he decided to just go out and see Charles' reaction.

"Since when do you have the authority to choose what information to tell me?"

Charles frowned, not knowing exactly what this was all about. He quickly scanned all the relevant and unrelated points to their work and could only come up with two things he hadn't told Michel.

One is that Christian found drugs in Fanny's blood and the other is that he has begun an affair.

So, keeping his face straight, he leaned back in his chair and hoped Michel wouldn't put him in position.

"Is this about Christian?" Charles resented, hoping that it was more about this than about who he was having sex with.

Thankfully Michel confirmed it. "Who told you to hide this from me?" He said, his voice not necessarily angry but clearly annoyed with Charles.

Charles sighed. "I really do not know." He said, being completely honest about how he felt.

This answer seemed to surprise Michel because Charles always had the right answer to everything.

"What?" He frowned at his second-in-command.

Charles leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and nodded. "I really didn't. It just happened. I guess I don't want to add to what happened."

"You've never done this, Charles. You've always been transparent with me."

"Uh, but I've never seen you so degraded either," Charles replied back.

Michel immediately fell silent at that honest statement.

He knows exactly what Charles is alluding to and he has no source to argue against.

Because Charles is right. Going through what happened to Mr. Aiden and finding Fanny the way he did broke him.

But he also knows that Charles wouldn't have pointed this out and rubbed salt in his wounds if it weren't for Michel himself confronting him about it.

So he accepted it. Leaning back, he finished his cigarette and nodded.

"Okay, but not okay? I chose you as my second-in-command because I've always appreciated your input and honestly, I want to keep it that way."

Charles couldn't agree more. He confides in Michel about everything exactly why they survived as a family.

And now that he's sitting there, looking at his leader, who he knows will always support him no matter what, he feels guilt tugging at his conscience.

"Okay, I won't." He spoke with a bitter taste on his tongue.

Michel nodded in acknowledgment. However, he seemed to have a glint of understanding in his eyes as he looked at Charles without flinching.

"So is this really all you have to tell me?" Michel kept his gaze so penetrating that it immediately made Charles realize what was going on.

Michel knows exactly what Charles is keeping with him.

"How long have you known?" He asked instead, giving up despite the fact that he had promised the girl that he wouldn't tell anyone that they had started sleeping together.

And it's not like he did. Michel seems to have been quite well-informed.

"Kaylin alluded to that and when you didn't show up last night, you put two and two together," Charles spoke clearly, keeping his gaze.

"Last night?"

"Fanny is suffering from PTSD. She keeps waking up screaming all over the house. Makes me wonder why neither you nor Rosabella came to get checked out." Michel shrugged, lit another cigarette, and smoked.

Charles was speechless. He didn't hear anything. But thinking about it, he knew it was most likely Fanny and Michel making the noise themselves.

"Anyway, what's the situation?" Michel asked Charles.

"The situation?"

Michel calmly looked at Charles.

"First of all, it's everyone's Rosabella. Are you two just messing around or is this something serious? I guess you don't want people to know too?"

He watched as his second-in-command licked his lips and ran his hand through his hair.

It's not really a nervous gesture, but he can tell that he didn't expect the conversation to go this way.

"Nothing serious and no, I'd prefer it if we could keep it between us. And well... Kaylin... because she seems to already know."

Michel nodded.

"But Rosabella? Thought you two weren't compatible."

Charles gave him a look that Michel immediately understood.

Sex doesn't mean they're getting along.

Raising his hand, Michel gestured to Charles that he wouldn't spend much time debating it.

"Okay. You know what you're doing, Charles. Just don't let it be a big deal, okay?"

"I will not."

"Good."

Standing up from his chair, Michel walked around the desk and went to the glass case against the wall.

"Anyway, Kieran and Bellamy are officially members of the Black Roses. And Mark and Eddie are joining us tonight." He turns around and takes a sip of vodka, wincing.