Charles' POV
Was I loving the chaos?
Yes.
Did I care that their relationship was falling apart?
Not in the slightest — that was the point. That was the goal.
But did my conscience bite me for hurting Alistair?
…Yeah. It did.
He didn't deserve this. Not really. He was kind — too kind — the kind of person who believed love could fix anything if you just tried hard enough. I used that against him. I wanted to.
Every smile he gave Louis made something in me twist, like jealousy and pain braided together too tightly to tell apart. So I did what I always do when something hurts — I turned it into control. Manipulation. Revenge dressed up as charm.
And it worked.
Louis was doubting, Alistair was hesitating, and I… I was watching the cracks widen. It should've felt satisfying — watching the man who ruined me finally lose what he loved. But it didn't. Not completely.
