Kiss me if you dare [ENGLISH]

Chapter 7

Charmey

Charmey had always hated children - especially those who didn't respect her personal space and disturbed her inner peace with curious questions and irrelevant observations.

Now, a boy no older than four was staring at her. He held his mother's hand in one and an ice cream cone in the other, taking enormous bites from it now and then. His mouth was sticky with the disgustingly brown ice cream, and the sauce ran down his ugly sweater.

Minutes passed without either the mother or the child moving from their spot, and finally, Charmey had enough. She pulled a napkin from the dispenser and approached them. The mother was fully engrossed in discussing climate policy with her friend in line, not noticing her.

The little boy licked his lips and raised his impolite index finger. "Mom, she's weird."

The woman grabbed the child and pulled him close. "You can't say that..." she muttered sternly.

Charmey faked a smile. "No worries. He doesn't know any better."

She crouched down to the boy's level and looked up at him. "You're spilling all over your sweater. Let me help you."

The napkin absorbed most of the ice cream, leaving dark stains. It surprised her that the mother didn't do more than give her a cursory glance before continuing the conversation. Charmey could swear she wouldn't even notice if someone tried to kidnap her son. Irresponsible parents had no right to complain; it was their fault if their child suddenly disappeared.

"There you go."

He blinked and took another bite of the ice cream ball. Charmey quickly glanced at the mother before putting her hand on the boy's lower back and leaning close to his ear.

"If you look at me like that again, I'll kill you," she whispered.

The muscles in the fragile body tensed, and the chestnut brown eyes widened. Charmey smiled and then turned on her heel. She couldn't ignore the desperate sobbing behind her. She hoped he would have nightmares tonight.

Through the dirty window, she spotted the figures of a young man and woman emerging from the brick house across the street. She immediately left her coffee cup on a tray with the rest of the dirty dishes in the corner and waited for the revolving doors.

Charmey had meticulously noted the times they had spent in the townhouse and calculated it to exactly two hours, three minutes, and forty seconds. It was time for them to be done.

She had been waiting outside the house since six in the morning, shadowing Fleur all the way here. Charmey was unsure if the man who looked to be around thirty was a friend or more, but it bothered her. To succeed in the plan, Fleur had to trust her completely, and contact with the outside world would only distract her. It was, in any case, an excellent opportunity to exploit the daughter's vulnerability given the circumstances. Urban would never have acted as he did - it was a terrible mistake.

She fastened the top buttons of her brown coat and threw the scarf around her neck before following them. It was easier to find out more about Fleur's life to steer her where she wanted. Besides, she had nothing to do on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon.

The height difference between them was enormous. Fleur barely reached the man's shoulders and almost jogged to keep up with his fast pace. She wore the same pants and jacket she had on the night before, and her dark brown hair was tied up.

Charmey followed them past the grocery store, one of Thornhill's many hair salons, and the row of clothing stores constantly competing for the city's customers. They finally stopped at the fountain in the square and sat down on a bench. Charmey looked around and noticed one of the many passersby coming from the opposite direction. She was stout with boring brown hair and freckles. The high heels were probably the reason for her wobbly gait, and no matter how she twisted and turned it, Charmey couldn't understand why the woman had decided to wear them. The bearded man stood up and smiled lovingly before kissing her on the lips. They were probably a couple. The woman then turned to Fleur and shook her hand lightly but didn't seem particularly interested in talking. Instead, she smiled again at her partner and, despite the noise around, Charmey caught the name Gabriel.