Prologue - Morgan (Part 2)

“Oh, damn it!” at the sound of Charlie's wailing as she tried to balance on her right foot and immediately began to slide, Morgan suddenly found himself taking her in his arms, careful to hold her under the knees, well away from the wound.

"Wha... What are you doing?" she stammered, now red up to her neck, staring at him in disbelief.

“You're hurt. I cannot allow you to walk. “ he said that half-truth with ease, leaving out the fact that he had surprised even himself with that attitude “We need to get you to the doctor.”

“Oh, it's not necessary. “ Samantha mocked, earning a cross look from Charlie “It's not the first or the last time that our little Charlotte got hurt doing something inappropriate. You know, Mr. Sullivan, she likes to live free and dirty, like the pet in her hands. I guarantee she will be fine...”

"I'm glad you have such confidence in your daughter's immunity, Mrs. Manson. “ Morgan interrupted her, dry “ But I really think the most responsible thing would be to take her to a doctor.”

“ Stepdaughter.” it was all that Samantha made a point of answering, sourly “I'm not old enough to be anyone's mother, as you can clearly see.”

"Actually, you don't have to worry about this girl's nonsense, Mr. Sullivan.” Anthony agreed with his wife, looking nervous that the fury on Morgan's face was provoked by his ruined clothes “Let me show you where she can dry and change …”.

“Anthony, I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation. Your daughter could be hurt!” Morgan repeated, growing more and more mad at how trivial they were treating Charlie's pain. "We should…"

“Morgan…I mean, Mr. Sullivan…” Charlie called after him, her cheeks that lovely shade of pink again, “I appreciate your concern. But really, I'm fine. I just need to get to my room and bandage it up. As much as I hate to agree with Chuck's Bride…” she mumbled, looking lost in thought, “This really isn't anything serious. A few days in bed and I'll be as good as new. Believe me, I've been there.”

"Chuck’s Bride...?" he couldn't resist asking, a laugh barely catching in his throat, which made Charlie's blush deepen. “Listen, I'll believe you, but only if you promise never to jump from anywhere else in your life, not even off a sheet of paper.”

“Well, that you have to combine with the Waffles.” she snorted, with a pout that inexplicably made Morgan feel soft inside, as if her heart had become a cushion.

"I'll do it then." As soon as we get to her room.” he smiled, leading the two out of the fountain “ Show me the way...”

“Huh, Mr. Sullivan..." Anthony stammered uncertainly. "I can show you the way to the room where you can change, if you put Charlotte down...”

“ I don't think you heard well because of the distance, Anthony ... Your daughter is hurt ...!” he repeated each word slowly, in a tone much more threatening than informative “She needs help to get to her room, already. that you don't want to take her to the hospital. And with all due respect, I don't believe you or your wife are capable of doing that. “ Adjusting Charlie’s position in her arms to make her more comfortable and at the same time prove her point, Morgan began to walk away quickly, not even caring that Anthony and Samantha were no longer able to hear. him, when he commented, "I can sort out those wet clothes when I'm sure you're okay."

"Look, really, I can walk…" Charlie tried to protest again, and he had to contain a victorious smile as he felt her hands tighten on his shoulders, contradicting her words.

"Only concern yourself with guiding me to your room, Ms. Manson. Is there an entrance we can use that doesn't go through the Guest Room?”

“Right there.” She pointed to one of the side doors of the mansion, a few meters from where they were “Just go in through the kitchen, take two right turns in the hallway and then go up the stairs. It will take us straight to my bedroom hallway. I think it will be easy to recognize.” she opened a small smile that was both embarrassed and mocking “The corridor ends on the same balcony where you had the pleasure of meeting me.”

"Does all that familiarity mean you jump out of there often?" He raised an eyebrow, which only made her laugh even harder.

“No, I developed this habit less than two weeks ago, after my high school friends gave me Waffles.” Charlie told him, making a little buggy around the little guy's ears with the tips of his fingers.

“ School...?” Morgan muttered inaudibly to himself as that word brought a crucial question to his mind, one that made his stomach clench uncomfortably. "How old are you, Charlie?"

"Well…" she just mumbled for a few seconds, annoyed, before finally whispering, almost as if she didn't want him to hear her "Seventeen."

“I understand.” Pushing back the sudden, embarrassing wave of disappointment that washed over him, Morgan quickly composed himself; what was wrong with him that day to be reacting that way? Of course, he couldn't look at her that way. Even though she was a year older, not only did 14 years separate them, but she was also his partner's daughter; just the idea of even considering looking at her as anything more than a little sister or even a daughter was complete nonsense “Well, young lady, just make sure you don't reckless like that again.”

“Not talk like that.” she chided him, her freckled cheeks puffing out.

“Like what?” He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at her expression.

"As if I were a child! I'm not!” He got the impression that she would have put her foot down if she could, which just made the scene all the more adorable and fun.

“Mr. Sullivan!” Anthony finally managed to catch up, though his breathing was audibly erratic as he tried to keep up with Morgan's footsteps. “Please leave her here and accompany me to one of our suites. I'm sure we'll be able to find a comfy robe she can wear while we ask one of the maids to put her clothes in the dryer. We may even take this extra time to further discuss some contract details. Frankly, the stipulated participation fees are a bit...”

“Oh, Anthony, frankly, is this time to talk business?” Samantha interrupted him, making Morgan and Charlie snort at the same time “The poor man is already having to solve the problems that his daughter caused and he will still have to put up with his talk all night?” she questioned, sounding deeply asleep, before her voice was taken by a sweetness that even a child would be able to identify as false “Let me personally arrange the robe and everything else he needs...”

"I appreciate it, Mrs. Manson..." Morgan began to growl, disgusted. "But...”

"It's okay, Mr. Sullivan.” Charlie rushed to say, touching her cheek to get her attention, which immediately left the skin in that place warmer “You can leave me here. I don't want you to catch a cold because you're walking around wet because of me. Also…” With a whisper, she leaned closer to his ear, pretending to turn around in his arms so she could stand on her own two feet. “Go to the suite with blue details on the footer of the door. The maids always leave extra robes there and the door can be locked from the inside. That way neither of you will have any excuse to bother you.”

With that last sentence, she moved out of his arms and he immediately cursed the sense of loss and longing her warmth and weight left in her arms.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He glanced at the door closest to the balcony over there, uncomfortably.

“Me and Waffles are fine. Now all we need are bandages and dry clothes, just like you.” seeming totally oblivious to the irritated looks her father and stepmother were giving her, Charlie poked him in the chest, motioning him to step aside. "Oh, and thank you so much for your help." a deep red under her freckles, she started limping towards the bedroom, the bunny in her hands and Morgan once again had to stop himself from running after her and taking her in his arms once more, to make sure nothing would ever be able to harm her again.

Shaking his head, he tried to dispel that strange, intense feeling of protection that that girl seemed to have awakened within him, as he hurried to walk away from Samantha and Anthony, towards the room that Charlie had indicated to him. As promised, he found several bathrobes as soon as he opened the wardrobe and any other excuses the couple could come up with to continue taking up their time were immediately overturned by just one look from him.

However, even when he finally found himself alone and dry inside the room, the image of Charlie bouncing unsteadily on one foot did not leave him, continuing to haunt him to the point that to stand there, while she was somewhere in need of help, became unbearable. And not even the thought that it wasn't exactly right for a 31-year-old man to go into the bedroom of a 17-year-old girl he had just met couldn't stop him.

Cautiously, scanning each direction of the hallway before finally exiting the room completely to make sure Samantha Manson wasn't lurking somewhere nearby to try and prey on him again, Morgan made his way through the labyrinth of long white walls, with cheap marble details. It was obvious that this place had once been stately and luxurious, but now it was nothing more than a laughable caricature of wealth, trying to feign an opulence that the worn furniture and antiquated decorations could no longer support.

It wasn't news to anyone who knew Anthony Manson that he wasn't good at managing money. In fact, the most fervent comments said that he was nothing more than a cheap gigolo who, after seducing and marrying the daughter of a tycoon, got involved in an infinite number of dead-end businesses that, over the years, consumed him. a fortune which, so Anthony's father-in-law's admirers believed, was too great to be squandered so easily. Anthony, of course, proved them wrong, as Morgan can see firsthand by analyzing his past business dealings in the months they spent negotiating the partnership. It wouldn't be surprising if, in little more than a year or two, he disappeared with all the money Morgan would give him while they were partners.

And then Charlie would be helpless.

Confused and dismayed by why the idea made him so terribly uncomfortable, Morgan finally found himself in the hallway he'd seen Charlie limping through earlier. And the mere sight of the balcony beyond made his chest tighten even more at the prospect that this girl was alone in her room, perhaps in need of help, but completely alone. With nothing but a rundown mansion and completely remiss parents he couldn't count on.

“Charlie? It is me.” he tried to swallow the anxiety and keep his voice steady, when finally he knocked softly on the bedroom door and called her, with a murmur “Are you all right?”