Charlotte had been tracking Charles's movements using his GPS, and her suspicions grew as she followed him through the winding streets of Monaco. She had sensed something was off about Charles for a while, and now, with Charles missing calls, she felt more convinced that something was happening behind her back. She turned sharply at a corner, her heart racing, and when she saw Charles's ferrari, she didn't hesitate.
Meanwhile, Max was struggling with his restraints, exhaustion painting his face. The kidnappers had left him in an old, dark room, isolated and quiet. He could hear footsteps echoing in the hallway, but he couldn't move much—he was bound tightly.
Charles had just arrived, and when he saw Max, beaten and disoriented, anger surged in him. "Hey, let him go!" Charles yelled at the kidnappers. He rushed toward them, his fists flying, knocking one of them to the floor.
One of the thieves grabbed a metal bar and struck him directly in the back, then in his stomach, but before he could strike again, Charles took the metal tool and tackled him, making the other man fall on his head, K.O.
"Max! Are you okay?" Charles asked, quickly checking his friend. Max barely managed to open his eyes, and Charles could see the pain in his gaze. He quickly got to work untangling the ropes that bound Max.
Max, still too defeated to stand fully, looked at Charles and whispered, "I'm sorry... for everything."
Charles shook his head, his hands trembling as he helped Max sit up. "It's alright," he said, voice soft. "None of this is your fault. I just—" Charles stopped himself, feeling a lump in his throat. "I couldn't imagine a second living without you."
Max blinked, his expression confused but touched by the honesty in Charles' voice. Before he could respond, a voice interrupted.
"Charles, what the hell is going on?" Charlotte's voice echoed through the room, and both men turned to face her. She looked furious, fire in her eyes.
Charles quickly stood, feeling the weight of the situation. "Charlotte, it's unbelievable what happened. He got kidnapped, and I followed to help, but what are you doing here?" He frowned, all sorts of scenarios creating in his head.
But Charlotte, her face contorted with anger, didn't want to hear it. "Don't lie to me, Charles! This is incredible; what sort of story is this? A stupid excuse to avoid my calls." She turned to Max, her voice trembling. "And why the fuck are you tied in this place?"
Max started to speak, but Charles stepped in, trying to defend them. "Why don't you believe me? I have no reason to ignore you, and why the hell would some guys be lying on the floor, Max tied up, in a dirty state in a place like this? Why, Charlotte?"
Charlotte scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. "I don't believe you, Charles. You're lying because this situation is ridiculous. "She hesitated for a moment. "You have been texting Kelly lately, and she refused to tell me about what exactly."
Charles felt overwhelmed. "You went through my phone?" he scoffed dryly, rubbing his face as he turned around. "Our relationship has gone down to this level? We don't trust each other anymore? fuck it Charlotte, you're searching for what exactly?"
"The explanation," she stood in front of him, her eyes defiant. "what's between you and her" her eyes darted to Max, "or you and him"
Charles's eyes widened, and his expression turned to a more serious "You think of me as a..." he trailed off, looking for a moment at Max. His hands went through his hair as he exhaled.
he gathered his thoughts and his hands, he went to face her once. "Char, before saying nonsense like this, you should have information based on what you say."
Charles was about to continue, but Charlotte cut him off, "You are demanding proof?". In a shaky, frustrated motion, Charlotte pulled out her phone and showed him some photos—photos that Max recognized immediately as taken by his girlfriend, Kelly.
Charlotte's face twisted in disgust, and she shoved Charles. "I should have known! You've all been lying to me!" she sniffed and gathered her courage to speak again. "I lied, she did tell me, but I was embarrassed to have a boyfriend who demands naked pictures of his rival from his girlfriend. Kelly provided you because she wanted enough proof to show me. After all, this is crazy."
Charles remained speechless, his gaze blank, his head down, unable to face the reality of his acts. Without another word, she stormed out, tears streaming down her face.
Max stared at Charles, his mind reeling. "What's going on, Charles? Why did you do that?"
Charles, struggling to find the right words, lowered his head. "This side of me was undiscovered, and I didn't want to share with anyone, even with you; it's creepy and gross." he inhaled. "I didn't want anyone to know what was going on between us. But Max, I never wanted any of this."
Charles lifted his head, his eyes pleading, "When you confessed to me, I couldn't agree; I was still scared."
Max looked at Charles, his gaze softening as he realized the depth of the situation. "So, what now? Where do we go from here?" he asked, his voice tired, uncertain.
Charles reached out, offering his hand. "We get out of here and continue our lives".
Max hesitated, but then he took Charles' hand, allowing the comfort of their connection to wash over him. "Thanks, Charles," he said, the weight of the entire ordeal starting to lift off his shoulders.
Charles helped Max to his feet, supporting him as they walked toward the car. "So, about your meeting—"
But Max cut him off, turning toward Charles and placing a soft kiss on his lips.
Charles was caught off guard but couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.
Max pulled away just enough to look at Charles, a spark of something more than friendship in his eyes.
"Are you going to take me to that meeting, or... should we make a detour?" He said in a teasing manner.
Charles chuckled, his heart full of both confusion and excitement. He looked at Max, not quite understanding where all this was heading, but for the first time, he was okay with not knowing. They had come so far already. And whatever came next, they would face it together.
