Charles shrugged. "Helpful. That trait can save lives in my work." He explained as he shoved his phone into the inside pocket of his jacket. "Anyway, I need to go now."

"Wait a minute." Rosabella's eyes widened.


Was he really going to leave her here? In his bed? Nude under the sheets?

Charles stopped by the door and turned around, his hand already on the knob.

"What?"


"We don't talk..."

"You want to talk about what happened last night? That's surprising."


Rosabella rolled her eyes. She didn't want to talk about it at all, he was right in that. But there were other pressing issues still weighing heavily on her mind.

"You're full. I don't mean this. I mean about Fanny."

He looked at her and licked his lips. He doesn't know exactly what else to say, but he doesn't necessarily mind the conversation either.

Charles couldn't help but recall what happened just a few hours ago.

Her moans of satisfaction and her nails dug deep into his back. He can still feel them on his skin.

"Okay. But now I can't. I have some things to take care of."

"When?" She looked impatiently at him.

"After breakfast."

Rosabella nodded. "Ok, I have to check on Fanny anyway."

"She's still sleeping."

Frowning, Rosabella stepped out of bed and clutched the bed sheet to her chest, not wanting to give him a floor show early this morning.

"How do you know? Did you go see her?" She looked at him suspiciously.

She wouldn't be surprised if he was well dressed. Maybe he let her sleep while he had dozens of meetings.

God, she was really hungry and in pain. Why does he look so unaffected?

Charles shrugged nonchalantly. "No, I don't. But Christian keeps checking on her and he's on my payroll. He keeps me in the loop."

"And here I think he's one of those who can stand it." She mumbled bitterly.

It's clear that Rosabella doesn't like being around any of the Black Roses members.

However, Christian seems to be an outsider to her, and when she finds out that he is actually a rookie from another family, she is satisfied with her decision not to like him, a little less than the rest.

Charles smirked and rolled his eyes. He really likes her attitude, even if she's not really doing it to please him.

He just likes that she is unaffected by his powers. She is just herself. A brazen princess.

"Anyway, if you want to shower before breakfast then you should get up early. Unless you want to appear like this. Not that I mind..." The smile on his face grew wider, causing Rosabella to wail.

Charles leaves after that and as she lazily makes her way to his bathroom, she stops by the mirror and gasps.

Oh my god, no wonder he suggested she get ready.

She looks like hell. Her hair looked like it was combed back, and her makeup was applied to her face and neck... It was dotted in hickeys.

Hickeys. This damn bastard has left marks all over her skin.

Muttering curses under her breath, Rosabella dropped the sheets and stepped into the bathroom.

---

Charles was right. Fanny is still sleeping.

Rosabella really hoped that she could use this as an excuse to miss breakfast, but since this was not the case and there was not much to do in the infirmary, she went to the dining room, I feel uncomfortable with the pounding in my head and pain between my legs.

Speechless, she thanked god that they hadn't paid much attention to her since they all seemed to be talking about their work.

"I'm not surprised Mr. Aiden is hiding. Aside from the fact that we'll chop his balls and feed the dogs when we get to him, the Davies are all furious at that. Their leader betrayed them." Carlos said, pouring his own coffee.

Vengo nodded. "I guess that's why Michel wants to meet us at the office in two hours. I think he's come up with a plan."

Audrey nervously rubbed her bump as she looked at her husband, her food unaffected.

"This better not involve bloodshed. I'm afraid something might happen to one of you... What they did to Fanny..." She pressed her lips together. and looked away, seemingly annoyed after hearing Fanny's first reaction after waking up.

For someone who is married to an old mafia boss, she is definitely sensitive...

However, while Rosabella watched Audrey shrink back, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, she felt sad herself.

'Your best friend has severe PTSD and you jump into bed with their second in command... Well done, Rosabella... Congratulations...' Rosabella mocked herself.

"What's wrong with you?" Rosabella was suddenly torn from her thoughts as she looked over at Kaylin sitting to her right, a peculiar smile on her lips. "Looks like you've had a rough night."

Rosabella quickly cleared her throat and took a sip of her coffee.

"Uh... well... you know, the thing with Fanny..."

"That's not what I mean by rough." Kaylin grinned at Rosabella, one eyebrow raised.

God, does she know? Rosabella swallowed, but before she had a chance to answer, Andy, who hadn't been listening to their exchange, cut in.

"So Fanny's awake? Can I talk to her?" he asked, his voice full of worry.

Turning to look at him, Rosabella found him staring at her with a sincere pleading expression.

Out of everyone in the family, he was the one who gave her an insight into the time Fanny had spent at home with them.

He told her about the time they spent together and how much she seemed to listen to him about what he called 'bullshit'.

And Rosabella believed him. Because Fanny gave her the same impression when they talked in her kitchen, explain to her that Andy supported her while adjusting to their lifestyle.

Rosabella poked her breakfast fruit on her plate and shook her head. "I don't think right now. She woke up for a while but is back to sleep now. She's not doing very well."

Andy's face darkened at this news. "Yes. Tell her I'll wait until she's ready?" He said with hopeful eyes.

Rosabella nodded.