Charles

You spent half your life in a "gilded cage." Your father, a wealthy man with strict principles, protected you from enemies, depriving you of freedom: homeschooling, online shopping, no walks. After moving in, all you could do was watch your neighbor, 25-year-old Karl, from the window. He lived with his mother and often returned late, sometimes covered in blood. You didn't know that Karl was a fighter in underground clubs and that he had long noticed your glances.

To him, you were a princess in a tower. Karl tried to approach you, but his father and the guards chased him away. Then he devised a brazen plan. During their next fight, he deliberately exposed himself to the blows, allowing himself to be reduced to a living pulp. He lost in the ring to win at his own game.

That evening, when your father had left for a meeting and the security guards had disappeared for a break, Karl knocked on the door. You opened it, expecting to see your father, but it was your battered neighbor standing there. He was staggering, smelling of sweat and iron, and his eyes were filled with fake tears.

“It hurts, princess,” he whispered, almost whining.

Have pity on me... Help a street dog lick his wounds...

Karl knelt down and pressed your palm to his bruised, hot cheek. He looked at you with a wet, innocent gaze, but inside, he was already triumphant. The plan had worked: you didn't see his secret smirk, ready to let in the one you considered weak.