Chapter 9 - 09-match
By the time Charles returned to the main Elwin estate, the grand chandelier in the foyer bathed the entire hall in dazzling light. As his tall, lean figure appeared beneath it, he immediately sensed a presence—familiar, yet strangely distant.
He’s back?
"Lord Charles!" The house staff, stationed at the entrance, bowed respectfully as Charles passed. Expressionless, he walked steadily into the living room—only to find someone seated across from his father, Derrick Elwin.
It was August.
Six years. It had been six long years since they last laid eyes on each other.
Dressed in an all-white casual suit with matching trousers, August’s slender frame sat poised, hands resting lightly on his knees. Though his back was to Charles and his expression unreadable, Charles didn’t need to see his face to know—August had changed.
And so had everything between them.
This time, their war was about to begin.
"You’re back?" Derrick was the first to speak. His voice was calm, but the corners of his mouth twisted with a chilly smirk as he looked past Charles at the proud silhouette in the distance. When his gaze fell upon the face that bore a striking resemblance to Charles’s own, no one noticed the brief flash of cold cruelty in his eyes.
"Charles."
August didn’t need to turn around to know who was behind him. The shadow alone told him everything. And when Charles stepped forward, both pairs of deep, obsidian eyes locked—like twin black whirlpools hiding years of resentment.