Twisting Rosabella, he led her back to the bedroom, gently making her sit on the bed while Michel stood aside with his arms crossed.

When she noticed him there, Rosabella immediately began to gasp. She couldn't quite form the words to explain why, but she was only afraid of what the presence of the Black Roses leader would mean.


Charles had told her he had to involve Michel now.

Though seeing the cold gaze of the man in front of her, she couldn't help but panic at what he was going to do.

Will Michel punish her? Will he punish Charles?


Worst of all, would he hand her over to the Phoenix family simply to avoid further bloodshed?

She knew he didn't like her, and with her notorious murder reputation, she wasn't sure what to expect.


"For God's sake, Charles. Don't just stand there, get that woman a glass of wine." Michel hissed at Charles, who was standing beside her.

It only took a few seconds for Charles to walk into the vicinity and hand her a glass of scotch highball.

Rosabella tried to take it from his hand, her aching hand still shaking violently so Charles ended up having to bring it to her lips so she could sip the drink.

Right after that, it really started to calm her nerves, leaving her secretly grateful to Michel for making the offer.

She felt uncomfortable anyway, but at least she was calm enough to involuntarily move around because she wasn't able to rest.

It was enough for her to notice that Michel was patiently waiting for her, pulling up a chair and sitting down on it as he allowed her to settle into her seat.

When he saw that she was no longer struggling, her breathing steady and her gaze finally back on him, he cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

'So," He began, leaning forward as he rested his elbows on his knees, his gaze focused on her and Charles.

"What exactly happened?"

Feeling he should be the one giving the news to Michel, Charles instinctively stepped forward.

"We did..."

Michel cut him off immediately.

"Rosabella, I want to hear that from you. Tell me."

Apparently swallowing, Rosabella licked her parched lips and looked back at Michel.

Panic returned for a moment, sending shivers down her spine as the leader of the Black Roses stared at her.

What else was she going to say? How did everything go? How much does he even know to start with?

Has Charles told him about their outings? She knows that Michel already knows about their relationship but does that extend?

Pressing her lips together, she just decided to be honest. In her state, she couldn't keep up with any appearances anyway and Charles wouldn't have brought him in if he hadn't helped them, would he?

Trying to speak, however, Rosabella suddenly noticed how hard it was for her to find her voice.

Her throat felt itchy and swollen, and she wondered if the strong hug the Phoenix man had had on her neck earlier that day had anything to do with it.

"Charles and I were in a... we're in this hotel room. It just happened so fast. Suddenly they broke in and..."

She bit her lip and closed her eyes. Suddenly she replayed the events in her head, replaying everything like a slide show, making her see it again.

Knock. Three people entered. Feeling a strong slap on her face. Charles fights. Gunfire. Broken glass and wood. Two arms wrapped around her throat. More gunfire.

Blood. Too much blood.

Almost immediately, Rosabella's tongue felt too large for her own mouth, causing her to clearly have trouble forming words.

When Michel saw that she couldn't continue, he turned to Charles and glared.

"So tell me. You two were in a hotel room? What happened next?"

Charles drew in a steady breath. "There were three of them. Archibald and two members of Phoenix. Rosabella told me that the other two were the people who were with him when they broke into Fanny's house. They are the ones who escaped with him at Andy's wedding." He confirmed.

Michel's eyes darkened with anger. Rosabella didn't know if it was aimed at Charles and her or to hear what happened.

"Continue." He hissed, his hands clenched into fists.

Charles ran a hand through his hair. "Somehow they got to me. One of them was holding me down and Archibald was standing right in front of me, ready to finish me off. My gun... I must have lost it in my life. fighting. And the third guy..."

Now it was Charles who was doing his best to keep him calm, fighting the urge to grit his teeth as his nostrils flared and his eyes became black puddles of fire.

The anger he felt took possession of his stomach and he didn't know what to do with it.

Sure, he's angry about Phoenix having come to them and cowardly waiting for him to be left alone to attack.

But Charles was more angry with himself. He failed to protect Rosabella. It was his fault when things got out of control.

"The third guy took Rosabella, but she ended up fighting him, and in the end... she finally managed to get him out and found my gun. That's when she shot him."

Michel was silent as he watched Rosabella lower her gaze to her hand. It doesn't matter he's a killer. She couldn't help but feel deeply ashamed of what she was capable of.

"Anyway, I finished off one of those guys. The other escaped." Charles explained as he reached into his pocket to retrieve the phone he found.

"We got this. It's Archibald's. Maybe we can use it to get to Mr. Aiden. We can seduce him by setting up a fake meeting. He'll think it's Archibald."

Michel let out an exasperated breath as he took the device and spun it in his hand.

"We have to act fast. The escaped bastard might be filling Mr. Aiden with what happened when we talked. Charles, let's step outside for a minute. I need to talk to you." Michel spoke sternly as he turned toward the door, with the second in command following him.