❝𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 & 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖.❞

❝ 𝑰𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. ❞

Charlotte was visiting her parents' house with the twins when the news of her husband's death was broken down to her by her father, Simon.

Her body went numb for a while. His words still not being able to process in her head before she shook her head in denial, not believing her father's words.

The first stage of grief: denial.

She was in denial. The news was absurd. It has to be. This couldn't have had happened. Justin won't leave her and their children behind. Not when he had promised to spend the rest of his life with them. They were still very young. They had yet so much to experience together. Their story had just begun. He won't leave her midway. He won't leave her to fill the pages of their story alone.

He won't do this.

He won't do this, right?

Somehow, Simon convinced his daughter to take her to the hospital. Charlotte agreed to him only because she was confident and wanted to prove him wrong. Maybe he got the wrong news. It must be someone else. It wasn't Justin. It wasn't her Justin.

But when she saw his lifeless body, she couldn't hold herself anymore. She started screaming and sobbing uncontrollably. How did this happen? How could he leave her behind? How could he leave his family behind? They were just so happy in the morning but now? Her whole world was turned upside down in a matter of few hours.

"Justin, get up. This is no joke. Get up. You promised forever. You cannot break it. Please wake up. Wake up!" She cried, shaking his body.

He promised her forever. Why did he break his promise then?

Justin's whole family was devastated. They had never thought he was going to leave them so soon. They soon found out what had happened. Charlotte learned how her husband had sacrificed his life to save the children. The driver from the truck sadly didn't make it alive either.

She wanted to scream at the driver but he had disappeared into ashes too. Who would Charlotte blame for her husband's death now?

Little Roman and Nevaeh could not understand why their mother was a crying mess. They couldn't understand that they had lost their father. Their confused stares were fixed on their mother who was sobbing on her father's shoulder. Her tears just won't stop. Grace couldn't hold herself anymore as she hugged the twins, tucking their heads under her chin as she cried, "My poor babies. Why did you do this God? Oh my, my poor babies."

Justin's brothers had to prepare for the funeral because their parents and Justin's wife were in no condition to think or do anything. When suddenly, Charlotte remembered Justin's dream. She remembered how he told her that he wished to spend the left after his retirement with her in South Korea. He had told her that he felt at peace there. She still wanted to make his dream come true. She wanted him to feel at peace, even in afterlife. So, she made a decision by herself that day.

She told the brothers of how she wanted her husband to be buried in the different country and how she wished to move there with the twins after everything was settled. She didn't want her twins to grow up in a mafia family like she and Justin had to. That is not the kind of life she wanted them to lead. A life so cruel which only brings tears and pain. She wanted them to have a normal life. She didn't want Roman to be thrown into the cruel world of mafia as soon as he could learn how to hold a gun in his hands like his father had to. She didn't want Nevaeh to be claimed by someone as if she was an object like her mother had to experienced. Now that Justin was gone, the enemies would try to target the twins and Charlotte. She couldn't let that happen. She wanted to lead a safe, peaceful and normal life with her kids.

The family threw millions of questions at her for this. The Biebers were against her decision. It was not fair to them. They had just lost a family member. They couldn't let the other three leave. They wanted to know why she was making a rash decision such as this one. Charlotte couldn't think of anything else other than making Justin's wish come true and keeping her children safe. She stood by her decision.

Sloan, who was the closest brother to Charlotte, understood his friend. He agreed with her decision and made everyone understand what she wasn't able to. How could she? The poor girl's life had been thrown upside down and the sad part was that she was helpless.

The funeral was conducted as soon as it possibly could be. Charlotte and her twins' things were moved into a new house in Seoul. She had decided to help with De Luca's business situated there. The business was clean and untouched by the mafias. Grace and Simon were still reluctant to let their daughter move into an unknown country. They either wanted to take her back with them or stay there with her but she refused.

Her parents shouldn't throw their lives away for her. She would never ask them to leave their world behind and join hers. Besides, she didn't want to be associated with the mafia world anymore. She wanted her kids to grow up in a peaceful environment. And she wanted to feel close to Justin.

Fortunately, Grace and Simon were able to understand their daughter and respected her decision. It took weeks for the Biebers to leave back to Chicago. They were reluctant to leave Charlotte alone and tried every other possible way to make her come back with them. But in the end, they gave up. Instead, the families made her promise to give updates of hers and the twins lives and ask for their help if she ever felt lost. They never failed to mention how she was always welcome to come back if she wanted to.

A few months went by.
Without Justin.

Charlotte was holding herself together for her children's sake. Life without Justin was tough but she had to manage on her own. Even when Justin was not with her physically, she still felt his presence around her. He came to her as the wind, the sun, the moon, the stars, the rain, the sakura and the snow.

He was always by her side at a distance.

One day, Eliza came knocking on Charlotte's doorsteps with suitcases in her hands. Just like Charlotte, Eliza had also made her decision. She was going to stay with Charlotte. She wasn't going to leave her best friend's side. They were each other's ride or die. Upon asking, Eliza said that she wanted Charlotte to raise the twins with her. She mentioned how amazing it would be for the twins to be raised by their amazing mother and aunt. Charlotte was grateful to her best friend. She didn't know how to thank Eliza for what she had done. She still questioned why Eliza wanted to throw her own life away for Charlotte.

For Eliza, she wasn't throwing away her own life for anyone. She was simply choosing her fate. She was choosing her best friend over the cruel world they both had once belonged to.

They both started living together. They worked together. Eliza also started helping Charlotte with the company. They started raising the twins together.

A while later, Charlotte had to go out to buy the groceries, leaving the twins with Eliza at home. Their refrigerator was almost empty. The food which the twins ate was gone. She worried that they would be crying at home. She was in hurry as she grabbed the items she needed to buy.

At the counter, she was impatiently waiting for her turn. A man was in front of her in the line who had forgotten his wallet and phone at home in hurry. He knew the owner of the store but the old man wasn't at there today. Charlotte's patience was running thin as she watched the man try to convince the new part timer who refused to believe of the man's connection with her boss.

Then, out of impatience and frustration, Charlotte annouched that she would pay for the man's things. She stood in front of him and put her things on the counter asking the part timer to ring the things quickly as she was in hurry. The man's eyes widened when he noticed Charlotte. He was the same man she had bumped into years ago. He was confused to see her again. Putting his thoughts aside, he tried to stop her from paying for him which she ignored. She simply told him to not argue with her as she was in hurry and out of patience. That's when he realised that she didn't recognise him.

But then again, who even remembers the person they had bumped into years ago? Clearly, he did.

In his defence, he considered himself as an exception.

Without any other thought, Charlotte payed for everything before grabbing her bags. She hurriedly walked out of the store, not letting him even thank her or to even try to return the favour.

Eliza was confused when she saw Charlotte walk inside the house while cursing under her breath. Thankfully, the twins weren't crying and just playing with each other. While the girls organised the groceries, Charlotte told her everything that had happened at the store. She was annoyed at the man but Eliza told her to just forget about the incident and not overthink over it.

A few years went by.
The twins were seven years old now and already in preschool.

Charlotte was older and wiser. Most of her time was spent either working or with the twins and Eliza. She never gave herself time to do anything else. Although, Eliza and her family secretly wanted her to move on and try dating again. They wanted her to find love again but they never said anything regarding their thoughts. They knew she would just pretend as if she didn't hear them.

According to Charlotte, she had moved on. She had accepted her husband's death. She didn't need to date another person to prove it. Besides, her first priority were her children.

She just wanted her kids to lead a simple and happy life. Her and Eliza worked at high positions at the company. They had this benefit because the company belonged to the De Luca's. Their income was more than enough. Yet they never considered living in a big mansion and lead a luxurious lifestyle. They only kept enough to keep the household running smoothly while the rest of the money was either saved for future or sent to Chicago.

She hadn't visited Chicago in these past few years. Despite Charlotte saying she'd moved on, she never had enough courage to go to that city again. The city held the history of her love. She had met her lover there. The city did contain happy memories but the unfortunate memories overpowered them.

Roman and Nevaeh did not actually know what Chicago was like. They had only heard stories about it from their sister Leyla whenever the family would be visiting them. Leyla would tell them her stories, talking about her life in Chicago. She would mention how she wished she could stay in Seoul with them so they could go to school together and play together. For Leyla, Seoul was the best place to stay. For the twins, they wished they could experience what Chicago was like.

But home is home.
Seoul was their home.
Their eomma was their home.

Besides, they didn't want to leave their friends behind at school. Who was going to play with them if they went to Chicago?

It was a normal day at home.
The twins had returned back from school with their mother and aunt.

Roman was busy bragging to Charlotte about how he was the winner of tag amongst his friends. Then, Neveah started talking about how their homeroom teacher has been changed because Mrs. Lee was moving to Busan. They talked with admiration about their new teacher, saying how handsome he was and now their favourite teacher.

Charlotte listened to her kids attentively and decided to meet the new teacher. She should introduce herself to him and make a judgement of what kind of a man he was. After all, he was going to be teaching and looking after her precious gems.

She fixed an appointment to meet with the new teacher the next day.

When the next day came, the twins were enthusiastic about their eomma meeting with their favourite teacher. Neveah was secretly hoping they would become friends so she could see her favourite teacher more often. He had made them laugh a lot yesterday during the class.

Their homeroom teacher was a little bit nervous to meet two of his student's mother. He wanted to make a good first impression. He wanted her know that she could trust him with her children. He mumbled some comforting words to himself to calm his nerves. Just as the door opened letting three figures walk in, he bowed down. When he looked up, his eyes widened and mouth parted.

Who would've had thought that the mother of his students would turn out to be the same woman he have had developed a crush on years ago?

Charlotte bowed at him with a smile, "Annyeonghaseyo, I am Charlotte Bieber. Roman and Nevaeh's mother."

"Hello, I am Charlotte Bieber. Roman and Nevaeh's mother."

His heart fluttered upon hearing her name. He have liked her all these years without even knowing her name. After all these years, he finally got to know the name of the girl who couldn't leave his mind and heart.

"Aah...annyeonghaseyo," He bowed again. "I am Roman and Nevaeh's homeroom teacher, Kim Taehyung."

"Aah... Hello."

Roman and Nevaeh greeted their teacher with enthusiasm which made Charlotte smile at them.

She asked Taehyung how her twins were in studies and whether they were well behaved or not. Taehyung assured her, praising the twins for their studies and behaviour. Their meeting was short but for Taehyung it felt enough.

For the next couple of weeks, he would watch Charlotte coming to school to pick the kids at dispersal. He would smile whenever she would smile at her kids arrival. The twins would jump into her arms, showering her with kisses and hugs. Charlotte would bow to him whenever she would notice him around and he would do the same.

He had developed a special bond with the twins in these past weeks. They looked up to him and never got tired of telling him how he was their favourite teacher. The twins had surely worked their magic on him and so has he on them.

Whenever Taehyung would see Charlotte, he wondered whether she remembered him or not. He never expected her to. He still remembered he had annoyed her the second time they met. He hoped he would get to cross paths with her again after their second meeting. But he never expected it would happen like this. He never expected her to turn out to be the mother of two of his students. Taehyung never saw the twins father nor he ever heard them talk about him. He couldn't help himself but be curious to know about their father. Who was he? Where was he? Was he even in the picture?

Taehyung used to live with six of his friends who were like family to him. He had met them when they were teenager and they immediately connected and shared a special bond of a family. They were always there for each other. They would share the work around the household to make things easy. Taehyung didn't know how to cook but he was incharge of grocery shopping for the household.

One day, he was doing grocery shopping when he crossed paths with Charlotte. She was the first one to notice him. She politely smiled at him which he returned. Not wanting the conversation to be so short as always, he decided to ask Charlotte about her work and how the twins were doing. She answered him that everything was going alright and then asked him if her twins were causing him any trouble. This was just to start the conversation with ease.

Just as their conversation continued smoothly, he decided to drop the bomb. "Do you remember me?" He asked her slowly. She frowned her eyebrows in confusion, slowly shaking her head. Taehyung was already expecting this reaction but he couldn't help but smile at Charlotte's cute face. He mentioned the first two of their meetings to her. Charlotte's eyes widened with realisation. "Oh that man was you. I am sorry for being rude to you." She bowed apologetically.

He chuckled and shook his head. Instead, he thanked her again for paying for his things and told her that he wanted to do something for her to show his gratitude. She raised her hand which made him confused. Upon seeing his reaction, she asked him to return him the money she had spent on him. He was dumbfounded at this. "Uhm... I have only brought enough money for the grocery." He said nervously. "Oh." She put her hand down, embarrassed by her action.

"How about I treat you with dinner?" He smiled hopefully. She frowned and slowly shook her head telling him it was alright. Was he trying to ask her out on a date? "It is not what you think. How about you bring the twins too? I could prepare dinner for you. And I would get to spend some time with them too. I just want to thank you properly." He bit his bottom lip nervously.

She stared at him for a few seconds, blinking in confusion before slowly agreeing to his plans. Taehyung had never smiled so big before. He thanked Charlotte again before exchanging contact numbers with her so he could text her his address. They planned to meet this weekend. The rest of the grocery shopping went quickly. They both payed for their things before walking out. As Charlotte was about to walk away, Taehyung called her name. She turned her head to look at him.

"Get ready to have the best dinner of you life. You will never forget it."

"I look forward to it, Mr. Kim." She smiled softly before turning to head away.

Taehyung smiled so brightly and was over the moon throughout his ride back home. He couldn't stop rambling all of the details of what had occurred at the grocery shop to his friends. They were very well aware about the crush their friend had developed on Charlotte. But there was a problem. Taehyung did not know how to cook. When Jimin reminded Taehyung of this information, it set off the panic button in him.

What was he supposed to do now? He had invited her over for dinner but he wasn't very familiar with the world of cooking. He couldn't serve her with burnt food. What would she think of him then?

Seeing his friend in panic, Jin patted his shoulder, "Don't worry. Hyung will take care of it." Taehyung jumped on his Jin hyung, happy that Charlotte would be able to eat delicious dinner.

For the rest of the week, Taehyung would greet Charlotte whenever she would come to pick the kids up from school. They would make small talks, their conversations now not as minimal as they used to be. Taehyung always managed to say something which would make Charlotte smile brightly and laugh. It would give him a sense of pride at the sight. He felt proud at the fact that he was the reason behind her smile and laughter. The twins observed their mother and homeroom teacher closely every time. As soon as they'd get some alone time, they'd coo about Charlotte and Taehyung, happy that their favourite teacher was becoming her mother's friend.

When the weekend arrived, the boys' house was filled with chaos. Taehyung was whining about how the house wasn't "cleaned enough" for Charlotte to walk in. He went on a cleaning spree, polishing each and every corner of the house. The kitchen was filled with voices and sounds of utensils hitting against each other. The boys wanted to make a good impression on their guests. Taehyung liked Charlotte and they just didn't want to give her a reason which might not work into his favour if he chose to confess in the future. They were family after all.

Even Taehyung helped around in the kitchen, despite not knowing anything about cooking. He just wanted to feel useful.

At Charlotte's house, the twins were too enthusiastic as Charlotte got them ready for dinner. They couldn't just wait to spend the evening with Taehyung and his family. They liked him as much as he did. Unfortunately, Eliza couldn't join them for dinner because she had a date to go to.

On the ride to Taehyung's house, Charlotte found out their houses were really close to each others. She had no idea they lived in the same neighbourhood. She was welcomed with huge smiles at his house. She gifted a bouquet of flowers to Taehyung because she felt awkward going empty handed. Taehyung blushed at that.

The twins were already the star of the evening, stealing everybody's hearts with their smiles and personalities. The evening had started with small talks about getting to know each other. That was when Taehyung found out about Justin. "Our Appa is a star. We see him through our window. Eomma says only only good and strong people get to become stars." Roman smiled as he shared the information. Charlotte couldn't say anything except for smile at Roman and ruffle his hair who proudly looked at her. What else was she supposed to tell them? She couldn't bare to break their hearts. They were kids. As curious as kids are, they too kept asking about their father. One night, she told them that their father had become a star because he was a good and strong man. The kids were proud to hear the good things about their father that made him a star, not actually knowing what it actually meant.

Then it was time for dinner. The boys had prepared a lot of dishes for their guests. Even Taehyung was proud with what he had prepared. He had prepared the sauce for the potato pancakes (cooked by Jimin) and presented it in a squirrel bowl. He even named it "squirrel locked in garden." Charlotte burst out into giggles when she saw it. Taehyung's cheeks turned scarlet but he smiled brightly at her. "Why are you laughing? Food is decoration. It is the best sauce you will ever have." He claimed.

"Ah, sure. Why don't we release the squirrel then?" She started laughing again along with the guys. The twins giggled silently as they looked at each other. The rest of the dinner was filled with laughters. Taehyung was making Charlotte laugh with everything he'd utter. She didn't remember laughing so much with someone else after Justin's death.

After dinner, when Charlotte had to go to the bathroom, the twins saw this as an opportunity which they grasped as they dragged Taehyung to the living room. He kneeled down in front of them when Nevaeh motioned him to do so. "Seonsaengnim, we think eomma likes you." She said quietly as if it was a secret. He chuckled and asked her how she came to this conclusion. "Eomma doesn't laugh with anyone except for Imo Eliza and us. She doesn't like people. But she laughed with you." She explained with a grin. Ignoring his fluttering heart, Taehyung smiled and caressed her hair.

He secretly hoped Nevaeh was right.

Maybe it was fate which brought them together at every chance it got. Charlotte and Taehyung kept bumping into each other at places. But it would never get awkward between them. They'd joke around, claiming that the other one was stalking them. Whenever they'd meet, they'd walk side by side while talking. Even Eliza noticed the changes in Charlotte's behaviour. Charlotte had started to smile more. She had started to laugh more. She looked more carefree and confident. She looked more lively. Eliza could feel that her Charlotte was slowly returning back to her. But this time, she was returning as the better person.

Eliza felt thankful to Taehyung, who she'd met a few times, for helping her return her happy best friend back.

It was the weekend. Charlotte had been called to the office due to an emergency. She had not expected the call but somehow got ready and rushed out of the house. She left the car behind, fearing she won't be able to make it at time. Besides, she didn't want anything to happen to her just 'cause she was in hurry. So, she must hurry to the bus which would leave in a little while.

Just that time, Taehyung (who was on his way to go to the art museum) found Charlotte walking in hurry. He called her name and tried to ask her whether something was wrong but she didn't stop. She couldn't say much except for mentioning she must hurry. Taehyung ran towards her before grasping her hand in his.

Charlotte was shocked by his action but before she could say anything, he said, "Nal mid-eo." His tightened his grip and started dragging her towards the nearest bus stop. The breeze flew through their hair as they ran.

"Trust me."

In no time, they managed to catch the bus. Taehyung got in with her and they sat down beside each other. Charlotte explained him that she had to be present at the office due to an emergency before asking him where he's headed to. He was glad to help her. He could still feel his hand tingle from sensation when he'd held her hand.

On the bus ride to the company, Charlotte accidentally fell asleep due to the heavy workload she was burdened with. She hadn't been able to get proper sleep last night so she planned to sleep in today. Clearly, the universe wasn't on her side.

When Taehyung noticed this, he gently put her head on his shoulder. The sunlight was hitting on her face directly through the window causing her to furrow her eyebrows and wiggle in discomfort. Taehyung blocked the sunlight with his hand, smiling softly at Charlotte who had now relaxed in her sleep. His hand didn't move from its place until they had reached her stoppage and he had to wake her up. He had missed his stop just so she could sleep a little bit longer. Charlotte was kind of embarrassed for falling asleep on his shoulder but still grateful.

She was stuck with work for three hours while Taehyung visited the museum. Sixty minutes before she was about to leave, it started raining heavily. Taehyung was eating at the subway at that time. His first thought was of Charlotte as he watched the raindrops fall. She didn't bring an umbrella with her. He thought.

Eating his food quickly, he bought an umbrella before rushing to her office building. He had to wait for thirty minutes until he found her walking out trying to cover herself with her handbag. He started waving to get her attention, "Charlotte-ssi!"

When she noticed him, she rushed to his side. "Taehyung-ssi, what are you doing here?" She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as he leaned the umbrella towards her. He was okay being soaked by the rain but he couldn't handle her falling sick because of it. "It started raining and you didn't bring an umbrella with you." He stated the obvious. She also remembered that he didn't have one with him when she'd met him earlier. Or maybe it was in his backpack. "So, I, your lifesaver, decided to come and save you." His beautiful boxy smile took over his face. She giggled, "Thank you, lifesaver."

They took the bus and walked side by side in the rain on their way back home. It was comforting. It almost felt like a date. If anyone saw them, they'd think they were a young couple. Taehyung was talking about the paintings he saw at the museum in detail while Charlotte was listening to him with a smile, giving her inputs in between.

Charlotte was met with the sound of cries as she walked through the door of her house. Her heart sank when she found Nevaeh and Roman crying and Eliza trying to calm them down. "What happened?" She asked. "We were in Park where this kid named Jihoon also was. That kid started teasing them. He said their father didn't love them and that's why he left." Eliza explained sadly.

Charlotte's eyes widened and she got down on her knees and softly grabbed the crying twins in her arms. "Eomma, can't you tell Appa to come back?" Roman cried. "Tell him we don't want him to be a star anymore. We want him to come back home." Nevaeh hid her face in Charlotte's neck.

"Bring him back. Jebal." Roman sobbed. Charlotte desperately tried to stop her own tears from falling as she wiped away his tears and tucked his head under her chin. She tried her best to calm them down. They fell asleep shortly after from the exhaustion. The house was quiet. Too quiet.

"Bring him back. Please."

Eliza rubbed Charlotte's shoulder who was sitting down in front of the dining table. Tears slowly started flowing down Charlotte's cheeks as her best friend pulled her into an embrace. A few minutes later, she wiped away her tears quickly announcing that she was going out for a walk to clear her head.

She walked towards the nearest park while looking down to hold back her tears from falling. There, she sat down on one of the swings. It didn't take long for her to completely break down. Why was this happening to them? Why did Justin had to leave so early? How was she supposed to handle the twins? How was she supposed to handle herself? How was she supposed to tell her children that their father was never going to come back?

It must have had been fate which tied Charlotte to Taehyung. He was on his way to buy ice creams for his family when he found Charlotte sitting on a swing. "Okay this is enough. You need to tell me honestly now. Are you really stalking me?" He joked as he stalked towards her. But his smile flattered when he noticed her tears and sobs. "Yah, what happened?" He kneeled down in front of her and cupped her cheeks. "What is it? You didn't fall sick from the rain, did you?" She was unable to answer him and continued to sob. He put his hand on her forehead to check her body temperature but it seemed normal. Was something bothering her?

"I am sorry, all right? Whatever it is, I am really sorry. Please don't cry." He wiped away her tears. She slowly looked at him before throwing her arms around his neck. He was startled for a second before wrapping his arms around her. He didn't ask her anything further and let her cry on his shoulder, cooing sweet nothings to her and caressing her hair to calm her down.

She finally calmed down after an hour. Taehyung was sitting down beside her on the swing as they stared at the stars in silence. It wasn't until she decided to break it, "You asked me to trust you." His gaze met her.

"I trust you."

That night, Charlotte told Taehyung about her story. She told him about her husband who was no more, her best friend who sacrificed his life for her, Gianna who killed her child and in return what she did to get her revenge. She didn't miss out any detail, narrating her life like a story.

Taehyung's heart felt heavy after listening her story. He was a softhearted person. He found himself weeping as she spoke.

"Yah, are you crying?" She looked surprised when she noticed his tears. "Why would I be crying?" He sniffled and looked away to wipe his tears. "You're such a bad liar." She giggled. "It's okay, don't cry." She patted his back.

"Mianhaeyo. I should be the comfort you but it is happening the other way around." He chuckled in shame. "It's okay. You are already comforting me by being here." She grinned at him. His eyes sparkled with admiration and he found himself grinning back.

"I'm sorry. I should be the comfort you but it is happening the other way around."

Never had he ever met someone as strong as Charlotte. He admired her strength. He admired her standing tall for the sake of her family.

"Do you love your husband a lot?" It was silent for a while until Taehyung broke it with his question to which Charlotte smiled, "I do love him a lot. I always will. He is still here. I don't need to see him physically to feel his presence. He comes to me as the wind, the rain, the snow, the sunlight, the stars." She looked up at the sky.

In that moment, Taehyung found himself falling for Charlotte even more. He wasn't jealous of Justin or their relationship. In fact, he had started to admire it. Their love was real and true. Sadly, it was the right person at the wrong time.

Maybe it was fate.
The fate which was bringing Charlotte and Taehyung closer.

When Taehyung reached back home, he was bombarded with questions from his friends. "What took you so long?" They asked. Before Taehyung could open his mouth to answer, Jungkook spoke up. "Hyung, where is the ice cream?"

"Aah—aah... ice cream...well.... you see..." Taehyung mumbled, trying to come up with an excuse.

"KIM TAEHYUNG!"

Charlotte was truly grateful to Taehyung for listening to her story. But she was even more grateful that he didn't bring it up at whatever chance he got like others did to show their fake sympathy. She was grateful to him for being a new support in her life. His presence brought her comfort.

He was her salvation.

They'd spend more time together, meeting up whenever they could or talking on phone calls. He was the talkative one among them but Charlotte never made him feel like one or as if he was annoying her. She would always be attentive towards him.

"Come and get me if you can." Charlotte giggled as she rode her bicycle with Taehyung following behind her. She would squeal in between and pull her hands away from the handle for a few seconds before laughing and grasping it tightly again.

"I am going ahead. See you." Taehyung winked when he surpassed her while waving. She gasped and picked up her speed to catch up with him. Both of them laughing and showing each other a few handful of tricks they knew.

It was past midnight when Taehyung ended up at Charlotte's doorsteps with tears streaming down his eyes. She was very shocked to him in such a devastated state. She had never seen him like this before. Before she could even ask him what was wrong, he jumped into her arms, sobbing.

She was a little bit startled but she embraced him in her arms. Pulling him in the living room, she sat down on the couch with him still in her embrace. "Tae, what's wrong?" She asked softly.

But no words left the poor man. His throat was stuck with sobs, his heart was heavy. She ran her fingers through his hair, cooing sweet nothings into his ears. After ten minutes, he developed some courage and pulled away from her. He spoke up for the first time that night, "My grandmother... my grandmother... she is very sick." He cried.

"T-the doctor said she... she doesn't has much time left. O-ottoke?" Fresh hot tears started flowing down his cheeks causing Charlotte's heart to break at the sight. "Oh Tae... I am so sorry." She pulled him into her embrace again, letting his body lean onto her.

"T-the doctor said she... she doesn't has much time left.  W-what do I do?"

"O-ottoke?" He'd cry in the crook of her neck. She'd rub his back and kiss his hair once on a while, not really having much thoughts on her actions. Her entire attention was on letting him know that he could lean on her too, just like he made sure she could lean on him.

"W-what do I do?"

That night, Taehyung eventually fell asleep crying and so did Charlotte in her living room. His head was resting on her chest while she had her arms protectively wrapped him with her head resting on the top of his.

Eliza was the one who found them in a deep slumber when she woke up around at three in the morning to fetch herself some water. She was surprised at the scene in front of her but a smile entertained her lips. She brought a blanket and a pillow downstairs from Charlotte's bedroom. She pushed the pillow under Charlotte's head and covered them with blanket.

The next day, Taehyung had to return back to his hometown to spend time with his grandmother in her final days. His friends and Charlotte went with him at the station to see him off.

The very next day, Zayn, Sloan, Bella and Maya came to visit Charlotte. She was happy to see them after such a long time. Eliza told them about Taehyung and then the ladies and Sloan won't stop teasing Charlotte with his name, claiming that she liked him.

Charlotte denied the allegations everytime. He was just a very close friend of hers. Just because she cared about him didn't mean she actually had feelings for him. According to her, they were just being absurd and immature.

A week and a half later, Taehyung came back to Seoul after his grandmother's funeral. He had spend her last days staying by her side. Even though he was upset, he was grateful she won't have to go through the pain he had witnessed her go through during her last days. At least, she was in a better place now.

Charlotte didn't know of his arrival until she saw him waiting for her in front of her work place. She smiled softly and embraced him with a big hug. His heart swelled up with love and he hugged her back and closed his eyes. She didn't to use words to comfort him. She could already do it with her presence. She patted his back and head to show her support, letting him hold her tighter and weep on her shoulder.

Taehyung's feelings for Charlotte were as deep as the ocean.

He was in love with her.
If only, he could actually tell her this.

Taehyung even had the pleasure to meet Charlotte's family. His charms had taken over the ladies. They had seen how Charlotte was around him. They felt as if their old Charlotte was back. The same one who'd laugh and smile at every little thing. The same Charlotte who would do silly things without any second thought and keep Justin on his toes. The same Charlotte they'd lost with Justin.

They could see her with Taehyung and they wished he would actually end up together with their Charlotte.

One evening when Charlotte and Eliza returned home from work, they were welcomed with a heavy tension at home. Bella and Maya were looking pissed, Sloan seemed helpless while Zaun seemed as if he was determined to do whatever he was planning onto.

"What's wrong?" Charlotte asked as she set her bag on the table and sat down. "It is time you should come back home." Zayn looked at her with seriousness.

"What do you mean? I am already home." She raised an eyebrow. "You already know what I mean, Charlotte. You should come back to Chicago. Roman is already seven years old. He is going to take over the family business upon coming to the age. He has to train for his life." Zayn broke down the news.

"W-what? Come again?" She let out an humourless laugh. "You already heard me. I am not repeating myself." Zayn clenched his jaw.

"Is that why you suddenly decided to visit me?" With disbelief, she uttered. "Wow, what the fuck." She laughed. "And what makes you think I will come back with you? Or I'll let you take Roman away from me?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Did you already forget what happened to Gianna and her security? If you fear for your life then I'd suggest you to think before you speak. Don't you dare forget you are standing in my house, Zayn."

"We come from this lifestyle, Charlotte. You, I, Us. All of us do. We cannot run away from it. Roman is the heir after Justin. Dad wants him to come back and know about his family life. The traditions cannot be changed. Nevaeh needs to know about the lifestyle so she can support her future husband." Zayn stood his point. "Well fuck him, fuck you and fuck the lifestyle. I left it years ago on my very own account. I won't let Nevaeh be claimed by anyone. Roman doesn't need to know shit about the family life you are talking about. I am his family. His sister is his family. His Imo is his family." Charlotte slammed her hand on the table.

"Charlotte you are crossing the line. You cannot run away. I give you a month to think this through and then we will be going back home." Zayn said and stood up. "And you listen to me very clearly, Zayn. After a month, you all will be leaving back to Chicago but my family and I will stay here. Try to touch any of them and I'll break your arm. Take it as a threat or a warning, I don't fucking care." She pushed past him and walked upstairs to the twins room.

The twins were doing their homework when their mother rushed into the room. They smiled brightly at her and Charlotte clutched to them with the fear of losing them entertaining her. "My babies." She kissed their foreheads and caressed their cheeks lovingly.

"Do you like Seoul, my babies?" She asked softly. "Uh huh, Seoul is beautiful." Nevaeh smiled. "Yes it is," Charlotte nodded her head with a smile. "Do you want to move to Chicago?" When another question was thrown at them, they shook their heads. "No, I don't want to leave my friends and Seonsaengnim. And Kookie Oppa, Jiminie Oppa, Yoongi Oppa, Hobi Oppa, Jinnie Oppa and Joonie Oppa. Who will play with them if I will go to Chicago?" The little girl answered. Roman nodded his head in agreement. "Besides, Seoul is home, right Eomma?" He smiled causing his mother to eagerly nod her head.

"Yes baby, Seoul is home."

"You won't leave your Eomma, right?" A tear rolled down Charlotte's left cheek "Never." The twins immediately shook their heads. "We will never leave you. We love you too much." They threw their arms around her neck causing a soft whimper leave her mouth, "I will never leave you too, my babies. I won't let anyone take you away from me."

The tension surrounded the house for the next few weeks. Everyone was walking on eggshells around Charlotte and Zayn, who haven't talked to each other after that evening.

One weekend, things took a worse turn for Charlotte. She and her twins were playing the park. The twins never failed to notice other kids playing around with their fathers. Melancholy took over them at the site. Never had they ever felt so jealous of someone before. They never lacked anything, their mother and aunt made sure of it. But they couldn't bring back their father, could they?

On the way back home, the twins were too quiet. Charlotte noticed this and upon reaching home, she finally asked them the question she was dying to ask on the way.

"Babies, what's wrong? Why are you so sad?"

"Does Appa hate us?" Out of nowhere, Roman asked. "W-what?" Charlotte shuttered. "Why isn't he with us? He hates us, doesn't he?" Little Roman's lips started to wobbles. "Jihoon was right. Appa hates us so he left." Nevaeh cried. "You lied. I will not go to school anymore. I hate you both." She cried and ran upstairs. Charlotte's heart broke down into pieces.

"Nevaeh!" She called out for her daughter while her son ran after his sister. "R-Roman." She took a step forwards to run after them when Zayn's voice stopped her, "That's why you should go back with us. They deserve to know what their father was like."

She clenched her jaw and glared at him with distaste. "You fucking stay out of this. Don't make me throw you out of my house." Zayn sighed and walked into the guest room he was sharing with Bella.

Charlotte rushed upstairs towards the twins bedroom only to find out that it was locked. "Roman, Nevaeh! Open the door, babies. Please listen to your Eomma. Open the door." She juggled the knob but it was of no use. She could hear the cries of her children but she felt so helpless in the moment. "B-babies please."

After a while, she decided to leave their door. They were very stubborn just like their father. They'd come out on their own after a while. She sighed and walked out of the house.

She strolled down the street without any destination. Her mind was all over the place. She felt like such a bad mother at that moment. She couldn't even do anything to make her kids feel better. Why did Justin leave her like this? Things would've had been so different if he was around. Their twins won't be desperately craving for their father's affection if only he was around. How was she supposed to make them understand that it was impossible for Justin to come back?

Holding her head down, she continued to stroll until she ended up bumping into a hard chest. Looking up, she came face to face with Taehyung who was worriedly looking at her. Upon seeing the tears glistening her eyes, he cupped her face into his hands. "Why are you crying?"

A small cry left her throat and she wrapped her arms around his torso. He let her rest her head on his chest as he caressed her hair.

Taehyung bought her a popsicle to light up her mood. They went to the same park and sat down while quietly eating their popsicles. Charlotte told him everything. She started from Zayn telling her to return back to Chicago and ended to with kids craving their father's presence in their lives. Taehyung attentively listened to her throughout it.

"Why is everything so hard?" She sighed and looked down at her hand. "If only Justin was still around. Why did he have to leave us so early?" She wiped away an alone tear which has managed to drop from her left eye. "You are not alone, Char. I am with you. The kids are still very young, they will come around. Don't worry. And nobody is going to take them away from you. I won't let them." Taehyung grasped her hand into his own and gave it a light squeeze.

She looked at him with a smile, "Why do you let me lean on you when you're going through a hard time yourself?"

"Because I want to. You can always lean on me just like I know that I can lean on you. You can lean on me." He smiled and patted his shoulder for her to rest her head. She let out a small giggle and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Taehyung." She said softly.

"Hmm, for what?"

"Just for everything."

The kids were still upset with their mother. They won't talk to her which upset Charlotte a lot. She tried to make them smile but they won't even spare her a glare. Eliza wasn't able to see her family so devastated. She couldn't let them drag themselves into the pits of endless sadness.

To make things right, she decided to pick up the kids from school herself so she could take them to meet their mother at the office and resolve everything. She even requested Taehyung to tag along because he knew how to handle the kids the best after her. Besides, what hurt could a little support do?

Taehyung agreed to her request and Eliza drove to them to the office building. She bought them some donuts first when they demanded to have some from the bakery shop near the building. Just as they were about to walk towards the building, he got a call from back home. He couldn't ignore this so he asked them to go first and that he'd join them in a bit.

Eliza was determined to make things right. She took the twins to her best friend's cabin where she had burried herself with work. Upon seeing the kids, Charlotte's eyes lit up but before she could even open her mouth to speak something, a loud explosion echoed through the walls.

As the noise echoed, Taehyung's phone slipped from his hand from the shock. He picked it up quickly and looked towards the building which was glistening with fire. His eyes widened and he let out a loud gasp. It didn't take much time for the fire to spread through the floors of the building. He found people running out of the building in fear. What about Charlotte, Eliza and the kids? His eyes widened and he rushed towards the building in search for them.

Grabbing her kids first and best friend, Charlotte rushed to go outside. She managed to help them escape outside successfully. Unfortunately, before she could even follow them behind, a part of ceiling fell down in front of her. She covered her face while coughing as the smoke filled her lungs.

The kids were crying for her mother. Eliza was screaming and calling the emergency number for the fire brigade to come over quickly. Taehyung's feet took him to the twins when he heard their screams. His eyes widened when he saw them crying for their mother who was stuck inside.

Without any other thought, he ran towards the underground parking lot of the building, ignoring the cries of others who were trying to stop him. His steps were careful as they hurriedly let him towards the stairs. He ran upstairs to the floor where Charlotte was stuck at.

"Charlotte!" He screamed for her before coughing when the smoke filled his nostrils. It took him a few minutes until he found her kneeling down, hiding her head and coughing and rushed towards her side. He grabbed her shoulders to help her stand up. She glared at him with blurry eyes, "Are you fucking c-crazy? W-what are you doing here?" She coughed. He chose to ignore her and picked her up bridal style.

"Yah, what are you doing? Why would you risk your life like this?" She continued to scold him. "You can yell at me all you want. Let's just get out of here first." He glared at her. He tried to walk back towards the stairs but it had already caught on fire.

"Fuck." He cursed under his breath.

"You shouldn't have had come here. Now we're both going to die. There is no way out. You pabo, why would you risk your life like this?" She cried. "Shh." He glared at her again.

"You shouldn't have had come here. Now, we're both going to die. There is no way out. You fool, why would you risk your life like this?"

He tightened his grip on her and walked back towards the entrance. His eyes roamed around in search for any kind of exit until they landed on a small space which wasn't completely surrounded by fire unlike other places. He rushed there with Charlotte in his arms.

Charlotte screamed and closed her eyes when a gush of fire came towards her but before it could even reach her, Taehyung turned his body letting the fire catch on his back instead. He safely took her outside where the fire bigrade was already working on letting out the fire. They took Charlotte and wrapped her in a blanket before doing the same to Taehyung and letting out the fire from his back. Earlier, when he was taking Charlotte outside, Taehyung didn't even notice the burning ache from the fire, but as soon as people started screaming about it, he panicked and screamed about the fire on his back.

They were rushed to the hospital to get treated. Charlotte was first one to gain consciousness. She sat up from her hospital bed and saw Taehyung laying down on his stomach on the bed beside hers. Her eyes teared up at the sight and she covered her mouth, choking out a sob.

When the sound of her cries reached Taehyung's ears, he opened his eyes and looked at her with a lazy smile. "Why are you crying?"

"You fucking idiot. Why would you do that!?" She cried. "What are we going to do now!"

"Why would you jump into the fire? You fucking stupid insane man!" She sobbed.

"Because you were stuck in there. I'd jump in fire millions of times if you're stuck in there." He gave her another smile which made her cry harder. He sighed, "Come here." He slowly motioned with his hand for her to sit in front of him on the chair.

With trembling lips, she got up from her bed and sat down beside him on the chair. "Are you hurt?" He raised his hand to caress her cheek. "You are the one who has burned his back." She pouted. "Are you hurt?" He asked her again. Sighing, she shook her head. He smiled and nodded his head. "Dahengida."

"That's a relief."

"Does it burn a lot?" She whispered. "Do you want me to be honest?" He licked his lips causing her to nod her head. "Yeah, it kinda does."

"You fucking idiot!" She hit him on the head before wrapping her arm around his shoulder and leaning her head against his. "You are so stupid. Fucking idiot." She whispered. He chuckled and closed his eyes.

Thankfully, Taehyung's back wasn't badly burnt neither was it too big. Charlotte had a little burn on her arm. They were discharged from the hospital after a day. Taehyung's friends didn't stop scolding them for not hurrying out of the building. They were worried to death for them.

When Charlotte got home, she found out the twins were too shocked from the incident and suffering from fever. She was about to go into their bedroom when she heard Zayn talking to Sloan.

"Are you sure it was them?" Sloan asked. Zayn signed and nodded his head, "Yes, they were the ones who caused fire at the building."

Charlotte's eyes widened at the news and she walked to them. "What did you just say?"

"The fire. It was caused by one of our enemies." Zayn swallowed. "W-what? And you want me to throw my little Roman into the same fire, huh? All these years! All these seven years, there was no such incident like this and now you came back demanding to take us with you. Can't you see how dangerous that lifestyle is Zayn? How could you ask me to throw Roman into it just like that?" She grabbed his collar and he looked down in shame.

"I know. I am sorry. I am sorry for being so selfish." He admitted. "I was never meant to be the leader. Justin was. I just grew selfish and agreed with father when he said to bring Roman back to train him for the position just because I couldn't handle it. I am really sorry, Charlotte." He apologised.

"I could've had lost them." She weeped. "I know. I am so sorry, Lottie." He gazed at her with sadness.

"Taehyung was hurt. I could've had lost him." She cried softly.

"I truly sorry." He pulled her into his arms and let her cry on his shoulder. "I am so sorry I became greedy for a while. Roman isn't going anywhere. Nevaeh isn't going anywhere. You aren't going anywhere. I will make sure of it." He caressed her hair. "I am so sorry, Lottie." Tears started rolling down his cheeks.

"Please don't cry you two." Sloan whined and hugged both of them.

After a while, both Zayn and Charlotte had calmed down and were sitting on the dining table with hot chocolate which Maya had made earlier for them.

"I am sorry for whatever I've said to you." Charlotte apologised. "It was wrong of me to do so."

"No, you're a mother. You had every right to fight me." Zayn shook his head. "We will be going back after a week. The business is still left unattended and Andrew is taking care of it alone." He added.

Charlotte looked at him and he smiled, "Don't worry. I will handle Dad. The kids and you aren't going anywhere." She smiled softly and nodded her head, "Thank you, Z."

"Also," He cleared his throat.

"You should tell him, you know." He suggested. "Tell who what?" Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "You should tell Taehyung you love him." He smiled while she shook her head in denial. "No, I don't. He's just a very close friend of mine."

"You can deny it all you want Lottie but deep down you know it's true. And he loves you too. I am not blind. I have seen the way you both act around each other. No man is going to jump into fire to save a woman until and unless he's in love with her." Charlotte's mouth parted in surprise. "It is okay to fall in love again, Lottie. It is okay to move on with somebody else. I know Justin would want you to. He'd want you to love and be loved by someone. It is okay to be loved by someone again." He gave her hand a squeeze while she swallowed a lump stuck in her throat and looked down at her cup while biting her lips.

That night, Charlotte couldn't stop thinking about Zayn's words as she tended to her ill kids. She wet a piece of cloth in cold water before squeezing the access water out and putting it on Roman's head who was asleep.

She sighed and was about to do the same with Nevaeh when a small voice caught her attention.

"Eomma."

"Hmm my baby heaven?" She smiled at her daughter. "I already know." The little girl said. "About what?" Charlotte stared at her daughter in confusion.

"I already know about Appa. You can be honest with me, Eomma." Nevaeh said. "Did you hear something, baby?" Charlotte asked, with a small encouraging smile. The little girl shook her head in denial, "I don't need to hear anything. It is obvious to me."

"Nevaeh, the thing is that Appa—"

"Appa didn't have a choice to stay, right?" Nevaeh said. "What are you talking about?" Charlotte gave her daughter a soft smile who sat up and looked at her mother.

"There is this girl Ge-eum in my class. She told me that sometimes people don't have a choice but to leave when they die because God calls for them. Appa was called by God, right? That's why he died." Nevaeh stated.

"Baby..."

"Earlier I used to question if Appa misses us or not. Why did he leave? Doesn't he miss us at all? I used to think like that." The seven year old uttered.

"Nevaeh, baby, that's because..." Charlotte tried to find a way to make her daughter understand even though she was already aware.

"That day, I thought I lost you in the fire. I missed you while you were in the hospital. But you know... I don't miss Appa that much." Nevaeh confessed. "What?"

"Maybe it's because we've been apart for so long. He feels like a stranger. I don't feel attached to him. But you are everything to me...." She smiled at her mother. "So, stop worrying about us and start living your own life. If there is one thing I learned in all my years, it's that there isn't much to life. You just have to live happily with people you love, right?" Tears welled up in their eyes as they stared at each other.

"You love us. And we love you too. So, let's just live happily by ourselves." Nevaeh's bottom lips wobbled. "If anybody tries to tease you about Appa, Roman and I will beat them up for you. Don't worry about them. You can be with Seonsaengnim if you want. Or you can be with us. You won't have to worry about others, just live happily." She cried and a few tears escaped Charlotte's eyes.

"Come here, baby. Oh my, come here." Charlotte picked her daughter up and embraced her into her motherly arms. Nevaeh started crying as Charlotte rubbed her back. "My poor baby. You little thing. You must've been worried sick. It must've been so hard on you. I am sorry. Eomma is so sorry, my baby." They both cried into each other's arms.

"I am sorry for hurting you, Eomma." Nevaeh cried. "No, it is okay, baby. I am so sorry. You poor thing. It must've been so hard on you." Charlotte continued to rub her back. "My sweet Angel." She kissed her daughter's forehead.

"Can you sleep with us today?" Nevaeh looked at her with big doe eyes. Charlotte nodded her head immediately and laid her daughter down on the bed before getting in beside her. She put a wet piece of cloth on her forehead and pressed it. "Go to sleep baby. Eomma is not going anywhere." She kissed her hand as Nevaeh nuzzled into her mother's embrace and fell asleep.

The next couple of days went by a blink of an eye. It was weekend when Charlotte knocked on Taehyung's door. She bit her lip nervously as she waited for him to open the door. After a lot of thinking, Charlotte could finally admit it to herself.

She was in love with Taehyung.

Her family was not wrong. Maybe it was her heart which took long to admit it because it was scared. She was scared. Whoever she's ever loved was taken away from her. Luke who also happened to be her first kiss was taken away from her. Her husband was taken away from her. Maybe she didn't want to admit her love for Taehyung to even herself because she was afraid of losing him.

She was pulled out of her chain of thoughts by Taehyung who opened the door for her. "Are you free?" She asked nervously. He grinned and nodded his head as response. "Would you like to go on a date with me?" She uttered. "What?" Taehyung was taken aback by her question. Did he hear her right? Was the love of his life just asking him out on a date? "I asked if you'd like to go on a date with me." She gulped nervously.

"Yes, I would love to." A big smile took over his face. "Let me get changed first. And stop standing by the door and come inside." He gently pulled her inside. He brought her some snacks and drinks despite her protests and headed to his bedroom to get changed.

After fifteen minutes, he came downstairs and then they went out together to catch the bus to go to the Lotte World. Their date went by with laughters and smiled. They rode multiple rides together.

While they were getting ready to go on the Flume Ride, he started talking and making gestures with his hands, "If your clothes are wet by the splash, please use the dryer on the left of stairs. Everyone safely got in the Flume ride at Lotte World! Ready, go!" Charlotte burst out into laughters at his acting and covered her mouth while staring at Taehyung, who was proudly staring at her.

It was almost the time for fireworks in the evening when they found a good place to catch the view. "Have you heard about the three loves that comes to one's life, Tae?" Charlotte asked softly to Taehyung who was busy looking at the sky, patiently waiting for the fireworks to start. "Hmm? Three loves? Ani." He looked at her eagerly.

"Hmm? Three loves? No."

"There are three types of loves. The first love which often happens at a young age. The second love which teaches us lessons and makes us stronger. Then there's the third love. This one comes blindly. No warnings, it creeps up on you silently. You don't go looking for this love, it comes to you. It makes you fall in love with the person's imperfections. You see the universe in their eyes. You truly love them." She softly said as Taehyung listened to her attentively, slightly tilting his head at her words.

"Luke was my first love. Justin was my second. But you..."

"You're my third love, Kim Taehyung."

Taehyung's eyes widened at Charlotte's confession.

"Saranghae, Taehyung-ah." Charlotte confessed with a smile and just then the fireworks erupted in the sky. Instead of looking at the bright sky, they kept staring at each other.

"I love you, Taehyung."

"Say it again." Taehyung finally spoke up after what felt like a millennium.

"Saranghae." She said softly. "Again." He stepped closer to her.

"I love you."

"Saranghae."

"I love you."

"Again."

"Saranghae." A tiny giggle left her throat. Taehyung's boxy smile took over his face and he didn't waste another second to cup the right cheek of the love of his life and leaned down. Their lips met each other halfway before they meshed together like missing puzzle pieces. They couldn't stop themselves from smiling into the kiss. The feeling of each others' lips would be engraved into their minds forever.

"I love you."

"Nado saranghae." Taehyung softly confessed and leaned his forehead against hers. A big smile took over Charlotte's lips as she pecked his lips again.

"I love you too."

The sound of fireworks errupting finally caught their attention and they both turned to look at it. Taehyung wrapped his arms around Charlotte as she leaned her head on his shoulder, looking up at the sky, quietly thanking God and Justin for gracing Taehyung's presence into her life.

They took small steps for their relationship. Charlotte would send lunch for him while he would pick her up from her office. He'd bring umbrella for her whenever he'd read that there's a possibility of rainfall because he knew Charlotte always forgot to bring it with her. They'd go on walks, hold hands, sneak kisses from each other at whatever chance they'd get.

Taehyung was loved by Charlotte's family, often having family dinners with them. Meanwhile, Charlotte was adored by his too.

Taehyung had become a fatherly figure into the twins lives, often taking them to parks and playing with them. He'd spoil them at whatever chance he'd get.

After eleven months of dating, Charlotte and Taehyung nights were spent loving each other, basking each other's into their scents. They'd love every single part of their bodies, whether it was the old scar on Charlotte's abdomen (caused by Gianna or faint scars from her accident) or the burn mark on Taehyung's back.

One weekend morning, Charlotte was suddenly called for work again. Apparently, there was another emergency. Taehyung drove her off to her work place as she had spent the night before at his house. They were sitting in his car and she was busy putting her hair in a bun while looking at the mirror meanwhile Taehyung was staring at her with heart eyes. She noticed him staring and tried ignore it.

"Can you not look at me like that?" She said and started applying lipgloss on her lips. "Like what?" He sighed dreamily. "Like a househusband watching his wife getting ready for work." She blushed.

He started chuckling, "I'd make a great househusband."

She looked at him with a smile for a brief second. "I still feel a little sore from last night." She pouted. A proud smirk took over his lips, "I will run you a warm bath after you come back from work."

She nodded with a cute smile. "Come here." He opened his arms and she leaned towards his body, embracing her beloved. "Work hard." He patted her hair and she nodded again, "I will."

"I'll get going. Don't be so bored without me." She pecked his lips. "Okay."

She got out of the car and shut the door. But before she could walk away, she noticed him saying something. The windows were up so she couldn't hear anything. She walked towards the driver's side of the door and he put down the window. "I said this beautiful woman is mine." He yelled loudly. Scarlet red crept up on Charlotte's cheek and she put her hand on his mouth.

"Are you crazy? Why are you screaming like that?" She looked around shyly and he kissed her hand.

"Work hard. I will be waiting for you." He said again. "I will." She waved at him before rushing towards the entrance of the building.

They dated each other for two years.
Two years of bliss and happiness.

One day, Taehyung and Charlotte were spending time together with the twins when Roman and Nevaeh suddenly asked Taehyung to come to them.

He smiled at Charlotte before going to the kids. "Seonsaengnim, last night Eomma asked us if we'd like you as our Appa?" Roman smiled. "Huh?" Taehyung looked at him with surprise. His eyes welled up with tears, "What did you answer her with?"

"We'd love to." Nevaeh smiled. "Would you like to be our Appa?" She asked, staring at him with big eyes. "Yes, I'd love to." Taehyung smiled and hugged them. "Can you wait here?" He asked making them nod their heads. "We'll wait here, Appa. Go to Eomma." Roman and Nevaeh said in unison and Taehyung chuckled before patting their heads. His heart swelled with love for them and a sense of pride struck him. He loved those little humans to death.

He turned to look at Charlotte who was holding her hands behind her back with a smile on her face. He walked towards her, letting a tear fall from his right eye freely.

"I know I am not perfect. I get mean at times. I get silly at times. I like to hold you everytime we're together. I toss and turn around a lot in my sleep. Hmm... what else is there?" She thought out loud. "Do you really... mean it?" He asked her. "Do you really want me to become their father?"

She smiled and nodded her head, "Yes I do. I want us to get grey hairs together."

He smiled and pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead.

"Saranghae." He kissed her.

"I love you."

"Nado saranghae." She mumbled against his lips.

"I love you too."

They both got married after being engaged for six months. After a year of their marriage, their child, a beautiful baby boy, graced their lives. Despite the twins not being blood related to Taehyung, he never discriminated amongst his children. The twins were his kids despite sharing the same DNA or not. His kids were equal for him.

Two years later, Charlotte ended up giving birth to another set of twins, this time two baby girls. Nevaeh was over the moon after finally having two little sisters to play with while Roman was very protective over his little siblings.

Now, it's been ten years since Charlotte and Taehyung had been married to each other. They've shared happiness, sadness, stress, joy and youth together. No matter what, they never left each others sides. They always leaned onto each other.

Charlotte let out a huge sigh of frustration when she saw that it was raining outside. As always, she has forgot to bring an umbrella with her. Sighing again, she put her handbag over her head and walked outside. Suddenly, her gaze fell upon her husband who was standing with an umbrella over his head. He smiled as soon as he saw her and rushed towards her and put the umbrella over her head.

"You're here." Charlotte grinned.

"I am here." Taehyung whispered.

"Bogo sipeo." She put her arms around his torso and leaned her head against his chest. "Nado." He kissed her forehead.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too."

She pulled away to gaze into his eyes and he cupped her left cheek in his hand. "Hmm, let's see." He mumbled. With confusion, she asked, "What?"

"Is it just me or is my wife getting more beautiful day by day?" Taehyung's infamous boxy smile was back on his face. His words made his wife laugh, "I think it is the second one. Come here, take a closer look." She leaned her face towards him. He giggled before locking his lips with hers.

"Let's go home. The kids are waiting." They interlaced their fingers together and started walking down towards their car, talking to each other about their day.

A cool breeze blew past them along with few droplets of rain. A soft smile took over her face when she felt it brush against her soft skin. She looked up at the sky for a brief second.

Do you remember?
What you told me all those years ago.

You said the sun can shine brightly because of the shadow. Even though, they can't become one, the shadow is always there in distance, so the sun was never lonely, and is able to shine.

Living the life you've gifted me with, I'm always reminded of that.

Justin was always by her side. Just like always, he'd come to her. This time, he came to her as the rain.

Charlotte was able to shine brightly because of Justin. Even though, they couldn't become one, he was always there in distance, so she was never lonely and was able to shine.

For there, Charlotte was the sun.
And Justin was the shadow.

- 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑬𝑵𝑫 -

𝑩𝒊𝒆𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒔 💜

3/3 done!

lmao not me collecting sad/bittersweet ending for my books like Pokémon😭
It's like I'm addicted to them 😍

I mean technically it's a good ending for Charlotte but it's a sad ending for Jarlotte 🫣

Y'all rn:

This summary would've had been a sequel to "Claimed" if I haven't had my fall out with wattpad but I am still happy that I was at least able to give you all a summary for it and didn't leave it midway.

Don't worry, I won't give you the trauma through which I had to go through in the past because the fanfics were left discontinued for years, instead I'll give you a different trauma with my endings 🥰👍

Y'all to me:

I've named this summary as "Light & Shadow" because I think it obvious. I wanted to show that Charlotte still cherishes Justin and their memories together. She still loves him and feels his presence around her, knows that he's protecting her and her family. I got inspired by the k-movie "Soulmate" and K-drama "Alchemy Of Souls: Light & Shadow" for the title and this summary. I highly recommend them both. I tried to make it obvious in the summary, hopefully I've succeeded. And as always I tried to make this interesting and I hope you like this <33

Ngl, I'm very satisfied with the ending.
Not Charlotte moving to South Korea and every book of mine and ending up with a maknae 😭

You'd know what I'm talking about if you've read my book "All I Want For Love Is You."

Also, I am sorry again if there are any mistakes. As I've said earlier, it's been a long while since I've been on wattpad. It feels foreign now.

Also if you managed to read this entire book, then THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH and a huge round of applause for you. You guys are so patient with me. I don't deserve you all <33

Can't believe it's time to say goodbye to this book. Even though I've only written 10 chapters of it + three summary, I feel very proud of it. I might be out of my wattpad phase now but still I am happy with what I got here and what I gave.

ALSO CAN WE TALK ABOUT WINTER BEAR TAETAE??

LOOK AT THIS GORGEOUS HUMAN! HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE HIM???
THE MOST GORGEOUS HUMAN ALIVE😍😍🤌🏻

Also, I feel like this is the kind of boyfriend Taehyung is. I know I haven't shown more parts of Chartae but I feel like Taehyung is a this type of boyfriend. It is headcanon that I read on Tumblr. It is written by jxngh on Tumblr so the entire credit goes to them.

You can find it in the masterlist in jxngh's bio under the title of "the boyfriend sessions headcanon". I've also added the link but I don't think it will work from here. So I'll also put in the announcement and it's in my bio so check it out!

Here's the link to the "Taehyung's boyfriend headcanon":

https://www.tumblr.com/jxngh/661178310457540608/taehyung-as-your-boyfriend

The song I've added in the top of the  summary feels like Chartae to me🥹
Like even if you pay attention to just the melody or just the lyrics, it feels like then 🥺

And this audio reminds me of Chartae too (the melody, the humming and everything is just >>>):

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Like these audios screams Chartae to me 😍
These audios truly has their vibe and love to it 🤌🏻

So, are we team Jarlotte or team Chartae? 👀

Anyways,

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING "CLAIMED" AND SHOWERING IT WITH SO MUCH LOVE AND SUPPORT. I COULD NEVER ASK FOR MORE ❤️

Do check out my other books if you want 🥰

also don't forget to like & comment

It feels weird to say goodbye but it has to be done.

SO,
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING 🫶🏻
Goodbye❤️