Charles thought to himself, "How would I know what he's doing here? I don't even know the guy." He rolled his eyes at Katherine's unspoken question, wondering why she was looking at him for answers.
As they approached the group, a middle-aged man exclaimed, "There she comes!" But his smile quickly turned into a frown when he saw Charles accompanying Katherine.
"Who is he?" Stephen asked, his eyes narrowing slightly as he gazed at Charles. His tone was polite, but there was an undercurrent of possessiveness that didn't go unnoticed by Charles.
Katherine, seemingly oblivious to the tension, smiled brightly and began to introduce Charles. "This is Charles, a friend of mine. Charles, this is Stephen, and...," she gestured to the middle-aged man, "my uncle.”
"It was nice meeting you, Charle
