The heavy front door swung open with a soft thud, releasing a draft of conditioned air that swept into the foyer. Charity felt the air shift in Evan’s palm, the tiniest flutter of her fine baby hairs reacting to the subtle current. She tensed.
Voices rose to meet them.
“Hi, sweetie! You’re home!” came the sing song greeting of Evan’s mother.
Charity flinched at the brightness in the woman’s voice. There had been love in her own home growing up, sure, but not this kind. Not warm, enthusiastic how was your day love. Her parents showed care through structured expectations and pre-scheduled check-ins, never sudden embraces or spontaneous interest. A welcoming like this was foreign. And from her position, tiny and nestled in a tweenage girl’s palm, it felt almost unreal.
Evan’s body shifted subtly, her sigh, too soft for anyone else to hear, rumbled beneath Charity’s feet like a gentle groan of earth. Her fingers tightened just slightly under Charity, ensuring her little didn’t slip.
Then came the second voice, deeper, calm, familiar. Mark.
“Hey, kiddo.” He pressed a kiss to Evan’s forehead as he walked past, brief but deliberate.
The gesture landed heavy in Charity’s heart. This was the man who handed her over. The man her father had trusted with her care, who, in turn, gave her to his daughter like a birthday present. And yet… watching him press affection into Evan’s brow, Charity saw it: he was trying to do right by everyone. A friend’s promise. A daughter’s happiness. A balancing act no one trained him for.
Then came the moment she dreaded.
“And now who is this?” Evan’s mother, Jean, stepped closer. Her voice dipped into something more curious, maybe cautious, like someone approaching a strange animal at the zoo.
Charity sat frozen in Evan’s hand, arms hugged tightly around her knees. The scent of Evan’s skin, berry lotion, bubblegum, vanilla maybe something faintly floral, wrapped around her like a warm fog. The woman’s towering figure leaned in, shadow crossing over her.
“This is my little,” Evan said, her voice high with pride, the word my practically gleaming. “Charity.”
She tilted her hand, displaying Charity like a rare collectible. Charity resisted the instinct to shrink away, holding still, her spine straight even as everything in her told her to disappear.
Jean’s arms crossed, and she fixed her daughter with a look. “Evan, I thought we agreed you’d take some time before,”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Evan interrupted, eyes already rolling, her voice sharp with practiced defiance. “But she’s different, okay? She’s not some random I picked up from a display shelf at the mall.”
Charity’s ears burned at the phrasing, but she held her posture. She was learning the game. Being passive was sometimes the only defense she had left.
Jean narrowed her eyes. “Didn’t say she was. But I just walked in the door and suddenly I’m a grand guardian?” Jean said looking at Mark briefly.
A grand guardian.
Charity felt her stomach turn.
Evan sighed again, this time with more fatigue than frustration. “Mom, can we not do the interrogation thing right now? It’s been a long drive and she’s literally been through hell. The guardian she had before was practically homeless. This is the first time she has felt love and affection. She’s practically crying because she’s so happy to be my little.”
She paused. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter. “She needs quiet. And space. Not the Spanish Inquisition.”
That moment, the tone shift, rattled Charity more than anything else. Evan was still a tweenager. Still arrogant. Still bratty. But in that second, she was also protective. Her voice built a little wall around Charity, even if it was clumsy and adolescent.
Charity blinked.
The words caught her off guard. Not just because Evan had stepped in, but because she hadn’t expected her to. Not like that.
There was a pause in the room, and in that breath between sentences, Charity felt something shift. Evan’s tone had been sharp, but not cruel. Defensive, but not performative. It wasn’t a threat or a boast. It almost, almost, sounded like concern.
She stared up at the girl whose palm still cradled her like something small and precious.
Is she really trying to protect me?
Or is this just another form of ownership, guarding me like a prized accessory?
She didn’t know. That was the problem. It was easier with Alejandra, blunt, cold, transactional. Evan was inconsistent. Evan giggled while she enforced rules. Evan pouted and whined and threatened with candy-colored charm. And now she defended her, without warning or reward.
Charity didn’t trust it.
Is she manipulating me?
Or… is this what bonding feels like, even when I don’t want it?
The idea made her stomach twist. The notion that she could resent Evan, fear her, even hate her in moments, and still feel a kernel of something warmer unfolding in her chest.
It wasn’t affection. Not yet. But it was confusion. And confusion was dangerous.
She curled in slightly against Evan’s fingers, as if trying to hide from the thought.
Jean studied her daughter for a long moment, then sighed. “Alright. Just… remember she’s a person. Not a trophy.”
Evan glanced down at her, the flash of a soft smile flickering over her lips. “I know. I do. She’s… she’s not like anyone else.”
And somehow, for the first time in a long time, Charity allowed herself to believe someone meant that in what might be a good way.
Jean stepped back. “Okay. Just make sure you feed her. And maybe introduce me next time before announcing ownership like it’s a new pair of shoes.”
Evan scoffed. “Ugh, you’re so dramatic.”
“Wonder where you get it from,” Jean muttered, heading toward the kitchen.
“If you have issues with the product, please see the manufacturer,” Evan quipped as she carried Charity further into the house.
Mark chuckled in the distance.
Charity didn’t laugh. But she didn’t feel like crying, either.
As they approached the stairs, Evan’s fingers curled up slightly around her, creating a soft protective wall on either side of her body. Charity blinked. It was a small act, barely noticeable, but it ensured that if Evan tripped or jostled, she wouldn’t fall.
Alejandra had never done that.
Step by step, Evan carried her up the stairs, the motion rhythmic, like a lullaby underfoot. They passed several closed doors, each one towering like a fortress gate, until they reached a white door adorned with bright pink letters that spelled EVAN. Behind them, a collage of photos: Evan at summer camp. Evan with friends. Evan at a theme park. And there, repeatedly, the same two girls, Madison and Brooklyn, smiling with the same brand of unshakable confidence.
Charity recognized them from the FaceTime call. They were close. Very close.
The door creaked open and Evan stepped inside, the walls blushing with soft pinks and white. There was a kind of curated order to everything, furniture that gleamed, plush rugs without a wrinkle, even the clutter had structure. But there was edge here too, band posters, a pair of scuffed combat boots by the closet, a skull-shaped jewelry stand glittering with mismatched earrings.
“This is your home now, Charity,” Evan said casually.
Charity stared silently.
Evan moved toward her dresser, and Charity’s eyes landed on it: a habitat. A cage. A Littles enclosure. It was pristine, perfectly sized, with plush bedding and scaled furniture. And above the entry, etched into the frame in tiny metallic print, the unmistakable Sarandipity logo.
Charity’s heart sank.
“This is the exact habitat Sarandipity recommends. She helped design it for Littles like you,” Evan said proudly. “I wanted to make sure you had the best. That’s your own little space, it’s gonna be your home now.”
Charity stared at it, but her vision blurred, not from tears, just memory.
For a moment, she was back in her old home. Not this pastel plastic imitation of normalcy, but her real bedroom: high ceilings and wide windows that flooded the room with late-morning sun. Plush tall carpeting she picked out, her meticulously restored dresser. A bay window where she’d curl up with a tablet, her diffuser puffing soft jasmine and bergamot into the air. The couch had real weight when she sat on it. Her sheets smelled of lavender and luxury detergent. Her life was scented, textured, hers.
Now she was being gifted fleece and acrylic walls, artificial light, and furniture carefully placed with shelves set into place, comfort designed by a Sara, approved by a teenage girl, and enforced with a smile.
The memory evaporated as Evan’s hand shifted. Charity blinked as she was gently lowered into the enclosure, her feet sinking into the soft, fleecy carpeting.
“Evan,” Charity said, forcing the words out, “I actually know Sarandipity, so it’s… a bit weird to be in one of her cages. Do you think maybe we could get a different one?”
Evan gasped like a kid meeting her idol’s best friend. “Oh my gosh, you know Sarandipity? Can you introduce us?! I knew my little was special but this is mega!” Evan said grabbing her phone “Mads, Brooklyn, 911, Charity knows Sarandipity. They were like friends or something I guess,” she said aloud leaving a voice chat to her friends.
“What’s her number?” she asked eagerly.
Charity hesitated. “Alejandra deleted my contacts. I don’t have it.”
“Damn,” Evan muttered. “Well, you can pay to send messages to her during her streams. I’ll just let her know I have you. Maybe she’ll reach out.”
Charity didn’t respond. Her stomach twisted.
Evan looked her over. “It’s perf though. Look at you in there. It’s like it was meant to be.”
Then, without further warning, she dropped the branded cage cover over the habitat, blotting out the overhead light.
Charity blinked. Her eyes, adapted to low light by now, adjusted quickly. But it wasn’t darkness that settled over her, it was silence.
Evan’s footsteps faded. The door closed with a soft click.
Alone.
She looked around the cage. It was clean. Comfortable. Expensive.
But it was still a cage.
Charity moved toward the miniature bed and let herself collapse into it. Her body melted into the mattress, and for the first time in weeks, something in her muscles relaxed. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she was. The memory foam felt like heaven.
Her eyes fluttered shut. Not because she felt safe.
But because she finally had nothing left to fight for in this moment.
Just sleep.
And whatever came next.
(1) I love Jean already; hopefully, we get to see some interactions between her and Charity.
(2) Evan’s going to be shocked that Charity and Sara aren’t friends.
(3) It’ll definitely take some time for Charity to adjust to Evan and her family. Evan, in some ways, reminds me of Chrissy, where I think she does care about Charity at this juncture in the timeline and wants her to be happy.
I think charity will keep the friend thing going and Sara seeing her as a little that cant hurt anyone will go with it and get close with Evan to help train her to take care of charity lol.
1) Jean appears off and on throughout. So you will see more of her. They have some interaction but its not massive.
2) It would depend if it comes up or if Charity shares those details.
3) I would agree with you that Evan does care and likes her little. We dont know anything about Evan and Charity later in the timeline to know of how the relationship is.
A) I love the mom says charity is a person and sounds great.
B) I love the idea of Sara meeting Charity as a little and being able to give her a pet and give her guardian advise on how to handle her and have them on her stream talking about their medical bond.
C) I like the idea of Sara making Evan and charity famous on her stream for being a medical bond. Sara could see them all the time using them to sell new bonding and medical use products. It will be interesting to see how Evan and charity handle being famous in little circles.
a) the mom is a good person.
2) It only really came out that Charity knows Sara. There is no guarantee anything more comes of it.
3) I doubt that would be enough to make someone famous as its not abnormal or uncommon for littles help out in that way.
3) in our world we know about medical dogs but we still love programs and you tube about them so I am guessing on a famous program people would ask for them back like a regular guest lol.
1) “There had been love in her own home growing up, sure, but not this kind. Not warm, enthusiastic how was your day love. Her parents showed care through structured expectations and pre-scheduled check-ins, never sudden embraces or spontaneous interest. A welcoming like this was foreign” Charity’s family seems quite formal.
2) “She was learning the game. Being passive was sometimes the only defense she had left.” a lesson many Littles learn,
3) “Didn’t say she was. But I just walked in the door and suddenly I’m a grand guardian?” Not telling Jean was definitely a mistake on Mark’s part. (also Grand Guardian is funny)
4) “It’s been a long drive and she’s literally been through hell. The guardian she had before was practically homeless. This is the first time she has felt love and affection. She’s practically crying because she’s so happy to be my little.” I agree Charity’s better of with Rvann, but damn, that ego, lol.
5) “She needs quiet. And space. Not the Spanish Inquisition.” Evan’s right
6) “The words caught her off guard. Not just because Evan had stepped in, but because she hadn’t expected her to. Not like that.” it’s good to see Guardians actually guarding their Littles, I’m liking Evan quite a bit right now.
7) “Charity didn’t trust it. Is she manipulating me? Or… is this what bonding feels like, even when I don’t want it?” not trusting it is understandable.
8) “Alright. Just… remember she’s a person. Not a trophy.” good reminder
9) “I know. I do. She’s… she’s not like anyone else.” And somehow, for the first time in a long time, Charity allowed herself to believe someone meant that in what might be a good way.” Charity learning trust is cute.
10) “Okay. Just make sure you feed her. And maybe introduce me next time before announcing ownership like it’s a new pair of shoes.” I blame Mark for that; he should have told his wife.
11) “Ugh, you’re so dramatic.” “Wonder where you get it from,” “If you have issues with the product, please see the manufacturer,” Lovely mother-daughter banter.
12) “a habitat. A cage. A Littles enclosure” same model the Wessens will eventually get.
13) “And above the entry, etched into the frame in tiny metallic print, the unmistakable Sarandipity logo.” salt, meet wound
14) “This is the exact habitat Sarandipity recommends. She helped design it for Littles like you,” Why is Sara designing habitats? Doesn’t Genritech have actual professionals to do taht, instead of 16yo’s?
15) “Now she was being gifted fleece and acrylic walls, artificial light, and furniture carefully placed with shelves set into place, comfort designed by a Sara, approved by a teenage girl, and enforced with a smile.” that is quite teh down grade.
16.1) “Oh my gosh, you know Sarandipity? Can you introduce us?! I knew my little was special but this is mega!” I’m a bit surprised Evan doesn’t, her dad being a friend of the Gracewoods had me thinking she’d at least met Chloe, possibly her friends, we also know Mads met Sara in Guardian training
16.2) “Mads, Brooklyn, 911, Charity knows Sarandipity. They were like friends or something I guess,” not quite how Charity knows Sarandipidy, but if Charity’s smart, she’ll keep that under her hat.
17) “Well, you can pay to send messages to her during her streams. I’ll just let her know I have you. Maybe she’ll reach out.” Oh, I’m not sure Evan would like seeing where that goes.
18) “Charity didn’t respond. Her stomach twisted.” This is Charity’s chance to control the Narrative, play victim, say Sara bullied HER instead, and that her online persona was a hoax, We know Sara is a bully, even if she has a bully, so it’s believable. (even throw in some quips about Jordan being mistreated behind the scenes)
19) “Her body melted into the mattress, and for the first time in weeks, something in her muscles relaxed. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she was. The memory foam felt like heaven.” That’s cute.
1) They were very formal and proper. They did love and care about her but they were as you eloquently put it formal.
2) Its also a important lesson for people to learn as well. As most people aren’t in positions of power either.
3) He should have told her but I wanted to show that Evan is Mark’s weakness. As he loves his daughter alot. The idea for the grand guardian is how people do that kind of thing for their pets like cats and dogs. So it seemed like the same could hold true for a little in this world. Who is viewed as another kind of pet.
4) Lol, Evan was playing it up a little as she just wanted to go upstairs and to her room and not go through the full pomp and circumstance with her mom right now.
5) Evan isnt wrong even if it does benefit both of them.
6) Rare lethal praise towards a guardian. You are straight shooter though so it means its earned by Evan.
7) It would be new feelings for Charity towards evan.
8) Especially with impressionable minds.
9) She hasnt had a reason to trust many people since being a little. So learning will be crucial. Especially as Evan may be her forever guardian. The odds of getting sold again seem low and unlikely.
10) That was on mark but he also wanted to do something nice for his daughter and get carried away.
11) That was the goal to show they have a good relationship and its a happy home.
12) Also out of the cages i have models for the most versatile so its used the most.
13) are you trying to say Charity wont be thrilled to live in a Sara endorsed and designed home? I’m shocked.
14) Sara is the spokesperson for littlemart, and has her own streamming stuff going. She has a demographic where it makes sense. Evan is proof of that. Who bought the Sara version because its the Sara version.
15) I mean depending on how you look at it. Its a upgrade from the backpack she was living in with Alejandra.
16) well the parents do know each other and Chloe knows of Evan and but Chloe and Evan do not associate and Chloe’s dad doesnt use his daughter in that way as a business tool. Plus Evan wouldn’t just approach Chloe. As Chloe has a level of clout and fame that Charity doesnt have.
16.2) Charity does do exactly what you suggest here.
17) lol what could possibly go wrong with that.
18) That would also mean Evan would have to believe that Sara is a bully as that is not Sara’s image or persona. It would be like trying to portray Taylor Swift as a murderer. Not that you couldn’t but you would need to do alot of work to convince people as her image is rather wholesome. So most people woudl be skeptical.
19) Its a large step up from an old sweatshirt thats for sure.
1) Formal love is still love
2) true
3Evan being Mark’s weakness is understandable.
4) Definitely hints of exaggeration, with a side of patting herself on the back.
6) Well, she earned it, question is, will she keep it?
7) Towards anyone really
9) I think her and Evan are a forever pair, earning Charity’s trust is Evan’s next task imho
12) I get that.
13) Shocking as it may be, I suspect it to be true.
14) Fair enough
15) Upgrade from Alejandra, downgrade from Steven’s manor
16) Evan wouldn’t approach Chloe, but will ask for Sara’s number? Lol
Yeah, It seems like Mark is just an associate of the Gracewoods, but an actual friend of the Stevens
16.2) That’s not a spoiler, it’s just the most logical course of action
18) I disagree, seemingly nice celebrities are outed as arseholes all the time, look at Ellen DeGeneres or James Corden. Probably couldn’t convince people that Taylor Swift is a murderer, but I wouldn’t be too surprised if she was a bratty bully behind the scenes.
And influencers who do content with their pets/children are frequently caught committing animal/child abuse. So there’s precedent for it
19) Its a large step up from an old sweatshirt that’s for sure.
14) I’m sure this is simply a branding situation. I bet corporate designed it (perhaps with some input from Sara) and then Sara gets a kickback for co-branding and recommending on her stream.
I know visually it’s the same asset from Madisons world, but is it the same habitat madison ended up buying, or is this one different?
Canonically, it’s a different brand and model of cage as to what is in madison’s world.
cool. i’m a big fan of features lol so i’m excited to see what this model can do, if anything that is.
A) I love that Charity is living in a Sara brand house.
B) Next Evan can start dressing Charity in Sara brands and make charity into a little Sara lol.
C) I so want Sara to show Evan how to do the best little pet on Charity lol. Sara will laugh at the way Evan has put Charity in all her stuff lol.
Charity:” actually know Sarandipity”
*Sighs and goes to comments*
The Sara content has been light as of late. So needed to make sure people didn’t get to comfortable.