From Desk to Altar: The CEO's Irresistible Bargain

Liam begged for one last shot at redemption, asking Charlotte to forgive him

Charlotte shot him down without a second thought.

The thing is...

You can act a fool for youth or obsession, but if it's just over some guy's sweet talk, that's a whole different level of dumb.

She had already marked the calendar to leave here, just a month away.

She had a laundry list of things to take care of first.

When Maria died in that fire, Charlotte, fueled by anger and sorrow, rushed back to her and left Maria's arrangements to a couple of guys Liam sent. After all these years, including not once visiting Annie's grave, it was high time she did.

But before she could head to Leiventale, she had two people she needed to see.

"Mom, this place is creepy. Does anyone actually live here? I don't like it," Ethan said, clinging to her.

Walking through the run-down village with Ethan in her arms, the old neighborhood was gone, replaced by rubble.

Looking around, Charlotte felt a wave of sadness wash over her.

This was where she spent over ten years, where all her suffering started.

The money from Annie went to raising Axel and partly to buying this house.

there was still a mortgage of a hundred thousand on this house.

Now, it was nothing but ruins.

"Charlotte?" A gruff, old voice called from behind. She turned to see Robert, bent over with a cane, a dirty bag of collected bottles in his grip. "How did you get to look like this?" Charlotte asked, sizing him up.

Robert eyed her suspiciously, "Are you Charlotte or Serena? The one Liam ran tests on with my samples, what was the outcome?"

"Test results or not, Charlotte or Serena, it doesn't matter. I'm not your daughter."

Charlotte had always loathed Robert, and nothing had changed.

Robert's grimy face twisted, a glint of cunning in his eyes, "If you ain't my daughter, what brings you to this neck of the woods? Could it be..."

He broke into a crooked smile, "Now you're part of the fancy Blackwood family, and Liam must be eating out of your hand. You've got more cash than you know what to do with." In just a few minutes, Robert couldn't hide his ugly side.

"You wouldn't want the world to laugh at you for having a beggar dad, right?"

"You surely don't want the Blackwood folks to know you were Liam's side piece, huh?"

"You wouldn't want everyone to see the disgrace of you hitting someone, would you?"

Robert rubbed his hands greedily, "Look at me. I've got nothing left to lose. If I can't have a good life, don't think you can live peacefully!"

"Mom, this guy is freaking me out. Can we get out of here?" Ethan said, gripping Charlotte tighter as he pushed her to move away.

Charlotte comforted Ethan, patting his back.

Robert had always been a thorn in her side, but she'd been kind to him out of family duty, which probably kept him from seeing things clearly.

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"Ethan, remember what I told you about dealing with bullies and liars?" Charlotte asked.

"You stand up to them. Be brave." Ethan recited, echoing Charlotte's lessons.

Ethan repeated Charlotte's previous teachings word for word, "Anyone who wants to hurt me, no matter who they are or their reasons, should neither be compromised with nor forgiven."

"That's my boy," Charlotte confirmed, though she often worried her hardline stance might be too much for Ethan.

She wanted him to be kinder than that, which is why she let Vincent teach him-a gentler influence from the Blackwoods would do him good.

She knew it was right, but she couldn't shake the fear of her son getting hurt or hurting others.

So, she occasionally slipped into her own life lessons.

Never cave to those who wrong you that was the first rule she'd drilled into Ethan.

And now, she finally grasped the full weight of it herself.

"Robert, I might be set for life, but I'm not sure you are," Charlotte said coolly. "What are you going to do? Listen, Charlotte, I've got dirt on you that could ruin you. Don't try to pull any stunts with me I'm your dad! What's Vincent going to do, help you kill me?"

Charlotte scoffed, "Like I said, I'm not your kid."

She was there for one thing only, "Robert, when you sent Maria to tell me about Annie's death, did you know it'd be a one-way trip for her?"

She didn't care about any games Robert thought he was playing. She'd wished him dead often enough; his wanting her dead was par for the course.

But what mattered was Maria.

Maria might have been weak and favored sons over daughters, with her fair share of faults.

But she did right by this family, especially by Robert and Axel!

If Robert sent Maria to her death on purpose...it would have been such a cruel story.

Charlotte locked eyes with Robert. He looked taken aback for a second, then burst into a nasty, yellow-toothed smile.

"Of course, I knew," he said.

"That good-for-nothing Maria couldn't even get a few grand from you. Without money, what am I supposed to eat or drink? Other guys have wives who cook, clean and work. What about her? Just a useless burden, eating up my food. Might as well turn her into some cash for the card table!"

Hearing Robert say this, Charlotte finally felt a weight lift off her chest.

"I'm glad to hear you're as heartless as ever," she said with relief.

"What's that supposed to mean? You planning to leave me high and dry?" Robert pressed.

"Not at all. I'm going to take very good care of you."

Charlotte dusted off her skirt and said calmly, "You've lived over fifty years without lifting a finger, all thanks to that 'useless burden' you just mentioned."

"Maria put up with you, but I won't, Robert. From today, you and your good-for-nothing son need to start pulling your weight."

"Pulling our weight?"

Robert wanted to ask more, but Charlotte was already getting into the car with Ethan, leaving the place.

A few bodyguards came over and pushed Robert into a dark alley nearby.

Thinking it was Liam's doing again, Robert panicked, "What more do you want? I've done everything you asked for! All the misery I've been through, going blind, limping, it's all thanks to you! What else do you want, Liam? My dear daughter's already back, isn't she? Here, I give her to you-ahhh!"

As Robert's protests faded into screams, the reality of his situation started to sink in.