Pretending to Be an Untouchable Crime Boss-Chapter 103: Candy.

"Are you going to die?" Charlotte asked, sniffing as she wiped away his tears.

"Charlotte, I told you a hundred times already…no. I just... I'm ill, you know." James said as she grabbed his hand again.

"But you didn't move all day." She placed her head on James' chest. "It's like your heart is still beating, but you're not in your body."

"Charlotte, when people are sick, they rest. And I'm resting now, so please go do whatever you want and let me get better." He patted her head, but she didn't answer, she just started crying again.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

"But what if—" she sniffled, looking up at James. "What if I never see you again?"

What is it with this girl? She just doesn't understand...

"Are you going to do this every time I feel bad?"

"Yes." She replied instantly, then rested her head against him again.

I feel hot... fuck. If I start sweating, I'm really going to get cold or some shit. He glanced at her again, seeing how she wasn't listening to him at all. Well, I was just like her when Mom got sick, when I was little. Fuck, even if she just got home late from work, even if it was just a minute I already thought she did or something happened to her... How annoying must I have been to Mom? I can't even imagine. I was probably more annoying than Charlotte, that's for sure.

"Tell me, what did you do with your grandma and Bella?"

That was the magic question.

In a second, Charlotte sat up, beaming, like all the sadness had vanished.

"We went to Candyland! And then we played in a big playhouse! And after that, we—"

"Slowly, darling." James laughed as she spoke so fast she was spitting everywhere. "What is Candyland?"

"It's a big building." she gestured with her hands, "and inside, you can find every candy in the world." She looked up at the light like she was seeing the candies in front of her.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes! And I ate so much candy that I don't even remember what any of it tasted like!" She declared, as if it was some great achievement.

A second ago, she was crying like I was about to die, and now it's like nothing happened...

"And what was the playhouse?"

"It was also a big building, but it had a huge park too! There were slides, ropes, everything, even swimming pools! But we didn't bring any swimsuits with us. So we all played in a ball pit and even threw balls at each other like we were having a snowball fight!" She gestured wildly, showing how she had thrown them.

"Wait... Grandma was in the ball pit too?" James asked, trying to picture it.

"Yes!" Charlotte jumped up and down. "Even the guys who came with us!"

Guys? What guys… No way. Don't tell me the bodyguards were actually playing in the ball pit with them…

"You mean the bodyguards?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes! They even picked me up and threw me in the air with Bella!"

What the fuck. They're supposed to be watching over her, not playing around…

"That's good…" He said with a smile. "And after that, what did you do?"

"I got tired and accidentally fell asleep in Bella's arms. Then I woke up in the car with one of the guards, who told me Bella and Grandma went shopping..." She suddenly paused, then looked up at him. "Without me! They left me in the car!"

"What did you expect? For them to carry you around?" James laughed, amused at how genuinely angry she was.

Well, the answer was obviously yes, but she didn't say it. She just huffed in frustration.

"Then that was it. They came back, and we came home… and found you half dead." She said it so casually. "What were you doing to get this sick?"

James was caught off guard by the question. He had already told her a lie earlier, but now he couldn't remember exactly what he had said.

"Uh… just caught something, you know. Bacteria are everywhere." He said vaguely, giving her a smile.

Charlotte just stared at him, completely unmoving. She didn't even blink.

"Okie." She finally said and sat back down beside his bed.

Just then, Bella opened the door.

"You're still here, Charlotte?" She asked, stepping inside and petting her head. "Go to grandma, she's baking something delicious."

Charlotte didn't need to hear it twice. All her worries about James disappeared instantly again, and she sprinted out of the room without a second thought.

"She's going to be an interesting person." James said, smiling at Bella.

But she didn't smile back. Her eyes were judging him.

"What?" He asked.

Bella crossed her arms, still looking at him with that same disappointed expression.

"Oh, nothing really." She said, "But it's kinda strange that I found an empty bottle of whiskey in the living room. And what's even stranger is the smell coming from the sofa cushions… You know, it's a smell I can't quite describe, but I know exactly what it is." She shook her head. "And that white powder I found, just a little bit of it on the rug… it seemed so familiar, so I tasted it."

James' eyes widened. "You did what?!" His voice shot up. "What if that was… I don't know, some kind of chemical or something?"

Bella laughed. "Yeah, it is some kind of chemical. We call it white magic. And that smell? That was green weed. So you and Hector were smoking, sniffing, and drinking alcohol on top of it, am I right?" She stepped closer. "And you're not sick…your body just couldn't process what the fuck was happening. Right?"

For a moment, James stayed silent, staring up at the ceiling, avoiding Bella's gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about…"

"James, don't play dumb. You two did drugs. I'm not even saying that's wrong…you're a drug lord, after all. But if you're going to do it, at least clean up properly. What if Charlotte accidentally found that white powder on the rug? What if she tasted it? Or worse, sniffed it?" Bella's expression darkened. "She could die within minutes. You need to be careful with this. You have a daughter."

That was true, he hadn't even thought about cleaning up properly, let alone the danger it posed to Charlotte.

"We fucked up… I'm sorry." He said, turning to Bella. Then, with a smirk, he added, "So, you've decided to be a full time mother instead of my employee?"

Bella blushed slightly. "I'm two in one!" She said before quickly turning to leave the room.

When did my life turn into a romance TV show? Ugh… it's annoying. No, I decided to take Charlotte in, and I love her… and I also feel something for Bella. Maybe I should finally tell her and take responsibility for it.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"At least there's peace in the streets." He whispered to himself with a smile.

But he couldn't have been more wrong.

Because something big was happening…somewhere else.