I really did it, didn't I?
Jas questioned himself, but Charlotte's crying and the way she clung to him so tightly gave him the answer.
I beca a foster father out of nowhere... No, this was Lucian's plan. That bold headed...no, he's dead. Respect the dead, Jas. Respect the dead.
That motherfucker, Lucian... I'm going down to hell to kick your ass.
"Jas?" Charlotte looked up at him, her eyes red and swollen from crying.
"Y-Yeah?"
"Are you okay?" She asked, gripping him even tighter, whispering the words near his ear.
"Of course I am. But what about you? You just lost your father."
She didn't answer right away. Instead, she hugged him even more tightly.
"I was always with my mother in a huge house. He only saw three tis, and that was enough to know he never wanted ..."
Jas felt sothing crack inside him. Before he even realized it, a tear slipped down his cheek.
He understood that feeling all too well, the pain of having a father who didn't want him.
Not the father he made up for stories, the one who supposedly died in the war.
No, his real father.
The one who left them when things got too hard, when they beca too expensive to keep.
A small hand touched his face.
Gently wiped away his tears.
"Jas...?"
"Oh, I'm sorry." He quickly wiped his face, but Charlotte just stared at him. Then, to his surprise, she cupped his cheek—just like she did that morning.
"From now on, I'll call you Daddy."
Silence.
"No. There's no way you're calling that." He pulled her away and set her back down in the chair.
"Why? You don't want ?" Her voice trembled as fresh tears welled up in her eyes.
"No, that's not it. But you can't call that. Just call Jas, and that's it."
"But you're technically my father now..."
"Charlotte, I was the one who shoot his..."
Shit. Chill, Jas. You can't say that to a kid.
"Shot what?" She tilted her head, confusion written all over her tear streaked face.
Why am I not panicking? Panic, Jas. You just took in a child you've only known since yesterday. You can't develop feelings in two days.
Lucian knew. He knew I wouldn't let his child be alone.
That bastard used .
"If my father died, what's going to happen to the family?" Charlotte's voice shattered Jas thoughts.
How the hell was he supposed to answer that?
He exhaled. "You are the family."
Her eyes widened.
"For now, I'm not going to talk to you as a child but as the head of the Augustus family," Jas continued. "Everyone else is gone. Vallen, Marius, and Daniel—the pillars of the family—they're dead. And the n who once served your father? They've scattered."
But Charlotte's reaction wasn't what he expected.
She smiled.
"Daniel died...?" She asked.
"Yeah..."
Jas felt a chill run down his spine as her smile widened for a brief mont before dropping into sothing softer, relief.
This kid is creepy. Is she possessed by a demon?
Charlotte stared at her hands, knuckles turning white. "I think you've noticed the bruises on my body..."
Jas didn't say anything, just watched her.
"The woman who gave birth to ... she was the one who beat ." Her voice wavered, eyes welling up with tears. "And it was also—"
"You don't have to explain yourself." Jas cut in, his voice firm yet steady. "You don't have to justify why you feel the way you do. You don't owe them anything." He leaned forward slightly. "We're living in the present, and we'll go into the future together. As a family. You Augustus Charlotte. And Jas Bellini."
Why the hell am I talking like this? Since when did I start sounding like a damn father?
Charlotte hesitated, then slowly lifted her gaze to et his.
"...So, does that an you'll let call you Daddy?"
Jas groaned, running a hand down his face. "Charlotte."
Charlotte giggled at his reaction, the first genuine laugh he'd ever heard from her. It was light, small, almost foreign coming from soone who had lived through hell.
Jas sighed, leaning back in his chair, rubbing his temples. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Maybe." She smiled again, but this ti, there was sothing softer in it. "It's funny seeing you all serious."
Jas let out a breath, shaking his head. "You're a weird kid."
"I know."
A silence stretched between them, not heavy, not awkward. Just... there. The kind of silence where words weren't necessary.
Then Charlotte spoke again. "What happens now?"
Jas tapped his fingers against the table. "What do you an?"
"I'm the last you said."
"When you grow up you will do what you want, what I ant by that is the family as a organized cri is over, the Augustus na no longer feared or has influence."
"But I'm still alive."
She was right. She was alive—which was a problem. A big one.
They would co for the money. There was no way Lucian hadn't written everything in her na. He might have been a bastard, but he wasn't stupid.
"I'll make one thing clear, Charlotte." His voice was firm. "If you stay with , you're under my protection. You don't need to fear anyone."
Charlotte tilted her head, thinking.
"...So I really can't call you Daddy?"
Jas sighed again, dragging a hand down his face. He didn't answer, but deep down, he felt sothing strange. Sothing unfamiliar.
Family.
He had never wanted one. Never thought about it. But sohow, in the span of just a few days, this stubborn little girl had word her way into his life. And now?
Now, she was his responsibility.
Whether he liked it or not.
"Here's the dium-rare steak and potato salad." The waiter arrived.
"Thank you." Jas muttered. He picked up his fork, hesitated for half a second, then started stress-eating.
Charlotte watched him, then picked up her own fork and poked at her food.
"This is our first al as a family?" She asked, her voice light, almost teasing.
Jas paused mid-chew, glancing at her. "Yeah... so eat every bit of it."
Charlotte giggled but did as he said, taking small bites at first before slowly easing into it.
For the first ti in a long ti, she ate with warmth—because, for the first ti in a long ti, she felt like she truly belonged sowhere.
After finishing their al, Jas reached into his pocket and tipped the waitress generously—not just for the service but for putting up with the little dramatic scene Charlotte had caused earlier.
The woman gave a grateful nod, and Jas waved it off before leading Charlotte out of the restaurant.
"Ho or where?" He asked as they stepped outside.
"Shopping." Charlotte said imdiately.
Jas raised an eyebrow. "Shopping? What do you want?"
"A ring."
"A ring?" He gave her a skeptical look as she blushed, hiding her hands behind her back.
"Yeah, but I'll explain it after we buy it!" She said, her voice firm like it was an order rather than a request.
Jas sighed. "Alright. Hop in."
As they got into the car, Jas leaned toward the driver.
"Just find a jewelry shop."
The driver nodded.
Jas expected a decent jewelry store, sothing mid-tier, respectable. But as the car rolled to a stop, he realized this wasn't just high-end, it was beyond high-end.
From the outside, the jewelry shop looked elegant.
Inside gold decor, polished white marble floors.
But Jas knew the signs. The real giveaways were the details, the staff wearing white gloves, the way they moved with precise.
Charlotte, however, didn't seem fazed at all. She walked right up to a glass display like she belonged there.
"What do you want, Charlotte?" Jas asked, already preparing himself for whatever nonsense she was about to say.
"Matching rings."
Matching rings?
She blushed again, avoiding his gaze.
Ahh, this girl...will bankrupt ...
One of the staff approached and gave Jas a bow so deep it made him feel like so kind of emperor, which also gave away that this is going to be expensive.
"Can you help us find matching rings?"
"Yes, of course. Please take a look at these."
With a practiced motion, they pulled out a velvet tray lined with elegant rings, each one gleaming under the bright lights.
"Alright you better start explaining."
Charlotte grinned. "I will... after we pick one."
Of course.
She carefully examined each ring, her small fingers delicately tracing over the different designs. She took her ti, eyes sparkling with excitent as she scrutinized every tiny detail.
Finally, after what felt like forever, she picked one.
It was a matching set with small butterfly engravings, each wing inlaid with different-colored crystals.
Of course, it had to be sothing complicated.
"How much?" He asked, bracing himself.
"This pair symbolizes peace and freedom, represented by the butterfly motif. Crafted with the finest quality diamonds and—"
"Just the price...please" Jas interrupted, already feeling his wallet ache.
"This pair costs 134,000."
Jas stared.
Charlotte, on the other hand, looked up at him with glowing eyes, completely oblivious to the fact that they were standing in front of a six-figure purchase.
But before Jas handed over his card, he turned to Charlotte
"Alright, before I pay, tell why do we need matching rings?"
"Because we're not related by blood..." She said softly "but from this point on, we are family, and this will always symbolize that."
Jas froze.
It wasn't so childish excuse. It wasn't just so whim.
She ant it.
"O-Okay, I'll only buy it if it fits-" He said.
And of course, it fit, almost like fate wanted it to.
As they left the jewelry shop, Jas let out a deep sigh, still feeling the sting of spending that much money on rings of all things.
Charlotte, on the other hand, looked completely satisfied, clutching the tiny box like it was the most precious thing in the world.
And not even five minutes later she was already out sleeping.
How the hell did this happen?
His dead friend's daughter.
A girl who had lost everything, yet she was smiling, happy that he took her in, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
It's not realistic.
People didn't just move on like this. A child shouldn't be this... accepting, this calm after everything.
A simulation. A trick. So ssed-up dream his brain had cooked up to torture him.
He let out a slow breath, staring down at her peaceful face.
If this is a dream, he thought bitterly, then why does it feel so damn real?
Maybe I should send her to so sort of therapy...
Would that even help?
Charlotte had lost her father who didn't care about her and on top of all that, she had been abused by the people who were supposed to care for her.
Yet here she was. Smiling. Acting like nothing was wrong.
That wasn't normal.
No one bounces back that fast.
Jas glanced down at her sleeping face. Peaceful. Too peaceful. Like she had just decided to move on.
It didn't sit right with him.
He knew that look, the kind of look soone wore when they buried things deep enough that they convinced themselves it didn't hurt. He'd done the sa thing once.
And now?
He was still fucked up.
Jas exhaled sharply and looked back out the window.
Yeah. Therapy. I should go too...
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