Kaiser didn't move; he just kept staring at Charlotte with his amber eyes, which held shadows of tangled emotions. Anger? Disappointment? Or something else, something far more complicated?
"You said just moments ago that you're not innocent. I can't take that to mean anything other than that you don't mind what I might do."
He took a single step toward her, but it was enough to make Charlotte's heart pound violently once again. His fingers were still clenched, as if resisting an inner urge, while his expression remained composed, firm, showing nothing but a cold exterior.
"No! I... I'm just not innocent…"
Her words stumbled, as if she were trying to convince him or perhaps convince herself.
Kaiser stared at her in silence for a moment, then exhaled with a faint, mocking scoff.
"You keep saying that, but you're completely innocent."
His tone was calm, yet laced with a quiet bitterness. As if he saw her as something fragile, utterly removed from the darkness he believed stained him.
"You just don't see it."
Kaiser raised his hand and took hers. His grip was warm, but strong undeniable.
In one swift move, he pulled her toward him.
"Ah!"
Charlotte gasped softly as her body collided with his chest, her breath quickening from the shock. The space between them was almost nonexistent, and his closeness made her feel as if she'd made an irreversible mistake.
Kaiser lowered his head slightly, his voice slipping into her ears with deceptive gentleness:
"Look at me."
Charlotte couldn't pull away. She couldn't even lift her eyes to meet his. But he didn't give her the choice his grip on her hand tightened, as if trying to trap her in this confusing nearness.
"You said you see me as a good person… that you love me as your best friend."
He laughed coldly, that kind of laugh that hides a thousand meanings behind it.
"That's a lot for me… don't you think so too?"
His breath brushed against her skin as he added in a low voice, dripping with irony:
"That's why you're innocent in my eyes. No matter what bad things you do… you can't even come close to me."
His head lowered slowly, as if he were about to kiss her, a dangerous smile playing on his lips. But just as he leaned in closer, he suddenly stopped when Charlotte squeezed her eyes shut tightly.
Kaiser stood there, staring at her, then tilted his head toward her ear, his voice dropping to a sharp whisper:
"I'll give you a chance, Charlotte… until the right time comes. Don't waste it."
With a subtle nod, he lifted his head and took a step back, leaving behind a trace of tension in the air. Calmly, Kaiser turned and walked toward his apartment, while Charlotte remained standing beside Leonid's open door, clinging to her trembling breath until she collapsed to her knees.
After Leonid finished sorting Charlotte's notes in chronological order, Vladimir carefully took photographs, documenting every detail with precision. Then, with deliberate movements, they returned everything to its place. With Vasili and Dmitri's help, they moved quickly and efficiently, and within forty-five minutes, the apartment looked as if it had never been touched.
"Alright, mission accomplished. Let's get back to headquarters my muscles are stiff from all that cleaning."
Vladimir said as he walked toward the door, rubbing his left shoulder and stretching his arm with visible fatigue. Behind him, Vasili walked while grumbling, mocking the unusual amount of effort he had put in. As for Dmitri, he stood at the back, casting a silent, reproachful glance at Leonid almost as if silently chastising him for the words he had spoken earlier that day.
Leonid could feel the weight of Dmitri's unspoken blame in his stare. He sighed for a moment, then looked at him and said:
"Can you stop staring at me like that?"
He furrowed his brow and added with a sarcastic but light tone:
"You look even more miserable than usual, my friend."
Dmitri gave a short, bitter laugh, though his lips never curled into a smile. His eyes were cold as he opened his mouth.
"Well, imagine that… You still think I'm your friend after everything you said?"
Dmitri's words were sharp, and the bitterness in his voice echoed without any attempt to hide it. Then he turned toward the door, his steps steady but charged with restrained emotion, ignoring Leonid completely as if he wasn't even there.
Leonid furrowed his brows, pausing for a moment before shaking his head slightly, as if to push away unwelcome thoughts. He didn't understand the reason behind the tension, but he didn't bother to ask either.
Then suddenly, he stopped as if a light had turned on in his mind. He had just remembered how unpleasant he was the last time he spoke to Dmitri. After thinking about it, Leonid realized that his bad jokes weren't something he picked up from someone else, as he liked to tell himself it was simply his own terrible sense of humor.
"I'll apologize later."
He whispered quietly, then left Charlotte's apartment in silence, running his fingers through his silver hair. Halfway down the hallway, he gave a quick wave to Vladimir, who responded with a slight nod, before continuing on his way and entering his own apartment without looking back.
As soon as he closed the door behind him, he stopped his eyes fixed on the floor ahead of him.
"Charlotte?"
His voice came out more surprised than he intended. Seeing her sitting in the narrow hallway, beside the shoe cabinet, silently hugging her knees, unsettled something inside him, as if some of his senses had frozen.
"What… are you doing there?"
Charlotte slowly raised her head, her eyes meeting his.
"Tell me, please..."
Without any introduction, she wanted to ask him a question.
"Tell you what?"
Leonid frowned in irritation, then sighed and rubbed his temple before adding sharply:
"Charlotte, if this is one of your irrational episodes, spare yourself the trouble. I'm not going to—"
"Please, just listen to me."
She interrupted him calmly, her tone steady despite the slight tremble in her voice.
"I'm not going to say anything absurd. I just want to know..."
Leonid looked at her from behind his hand before lowering it and muttering:
"I warned you before. Alright... tell me, what is it that you want?"
"Do I seem pathetic to you?"
Her question echoed in the air like a strange whisper. Leonid froze, slightly taken aback by the nature of what she asked.
A few heavy seconds passed, wrapped in silence. He searched for words, his eyes flicking between Charlotte's face and her trembling hands resting on her knees.
"To me—"
"I want the truth, please."
Charlotte cut him off suddenly, her voice laced with a bitter longing for an answer that didn't allow for kindness or sugar-coating.
"You—"
Leonid's voice faltered before he could finish. He took a step back, as if the words he had almost spoken had nearly choked him.
He turned his eyes away for a moment, as though looking directly at Charlotte would force him to say what he didn't want to admit.
"The truth?"
He finally whispered, then let out a short laugh one completely devoid of warmth.
"You want the truth... that badly?"
He moved closer, slowly, until his shadow fell over her curled-up body.
"You're not pathetic, but you look like it right now."
Charlotte's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed with a dim look. She lowered her head and rested her chin on her knees. She would be lying if she claimed she hadn't expected words like that from Leonid… in fact, she had expected worse.
Like him yelling at her, or saying she had seemed pathetic since the moment he met her.
"It's the truth. Do you regret hearing it?"
"Not at all. I'm fine."
Charlotte shook her head quickly, trying to appear confident, while Leonid extended his hand to help her up from the cold floor.
"I'm glad to hear that."
She gripped his hand firmly and rose slowly. She was quiet, but her eyes kept avoiding his, as if she feared he might see the guilt she was carrying.
"Hmm..."
Charlotte replied with a vague tone, as if she agreed or at least didn't disagree.
"By the way..."
Leonid placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her toward him. He felt her hesitation, the slight motion as she tried to step back, but he ignored it, drawing her in closer as though rejecting the very idea of distance between them.
"The cleaning service is finished, and your apartment has been restored to how it was."
He lowered his head slightly and looked into her eyes, which kept trying to escape his gaze in vain.
"Would you like to take a look? After that, we can sort out the clothes you need… so we can have another night in my bed."
Charlotte didn't dare blink as she stared into Leonid's eyes. His honesty usually gave her a sense of comfort but not this time. Not after all those words… the sweet ones and the harsh ones alike.