Honestly, Max and Duke weren''t what you''d call cute—not in the Instagram-dog
way. They were big, intimidating, and had that look that made people cross the
street. Definitely not the kind of dogs you''d see winning "Prettiest Pup" at some
fancy dog show.
But Charles never cared about pretty. He liked strength. Pretty things were just for
show, and he had no patience for that. Max and Duke were the toughest dogs
he''d ever seen. Raised on special meds since they were pups, they didn''t even
feel pain in a fight. They were just like him—made for battle.
Whenever Charles brought them to parties abroad, he instantly became the guy
everyone avoided. The socialites and heiresses would shriek the moment they
saw the dogs, making the rest of the Chester family want to disappear. Eventually,
Charles just stopped going to those parties. He got used to doing his own thing.
Even his older brother, Mitch, only ever called his dogs "impressive" or "fierce." No
one had ever said the word "cute."
So when ra looked up at him with those bright eyes, it threw him for a loop. He
stood there, totally stunned, like his brain had short-circuited.
"ra, why don''t you just stay with me from now on?" he blurted out. "You think
they''re cute too, right? We could go anywhere together."
ra nodded, all in, eyes sparkling. "Okay!"
Charles jumped up, ready to make it official, but then reality hit. He remembered
his deal with Richard. In three days, he''d have to hand ra over. And on top of
that, she was married now—to Dn.
It wasn''t that he minded her being married, but Dn wasn''t just anybody. Mitch
had warned him back when they were abroad: don''t mess with that guy.
Now that ra was Dn''s wife, she''d have to be careful with everything she did.
She''d probably end up just like those perfect, boring socialites he couldn''t stand.
And he''d be left alone again.
If only ra could stay just like this.
He dropped his head and started walking away.
ra hurried after him, hugging her stuffed animal. "Charlie, what''s wrong? Are
you upset?"
Charles tried to smile, but it came out crooked. "Aren''t you only ten? How''d you
know I was upset?"
Everyone else always just thought he was throwing a tantrum—they never took it
seriously.
ra caught up to him and stood by his side. "I can just tell. I don''t want you to be
sad. Did we not y enough? We can keep going if you want."
The more she talked, the worse
Charles felt. He almost wished he''d
never met ra. If he hadn''t, he
wouldn''t have to deal with all this.
When they got back to the manor, the family doctor was still up. He saw Charles''s
face and looked confused.
He''d left in a good mood—so why was he so down now?
"Young master...?"
Charles just slumped his shoulders, looking totally deted.
At the entryway, ra was struggling out of her shoes, still clutching her stuffed
bear. "Charlie, can I go see Max and Duke?"
She really did love those dogs—the way she looked at them said everything.
Charles felt his heart soften again.
"Yeah, of course. I''ll take you."
Max and Duke were as wild as ever.
Charles never bothered with leashes,
not even at home. They followed
him everywhere, even slept in his
massive bedroom—the ce was so
big you couldn''t see the end of it.
He led ra in, grabbing her wrist in his excitement. "This way,e on!"
Her wrist was still sore, but she didn''tin—just winced and kept quiet.
Max and Duke were dozing on the
carpet, but when they heard them
huge, their coats shining under the
lights.
ra put her big stuffed bear down in front of Max and reached out to pat his
head.
Charles''s heart nearly jumped out of his chest. "Wait, don''t just touch him—Max
can—"
Before he could finish, Max leaned right into ra''s hand, tail slowly wagging.
Charles stared,pletely stunned, his eyebrows drawn tight in disbelief.