From Desk to Altar: The CEO's Irresistible Bargain

Charlotte couldn't quite grasp what Liam meant until she stepped onto the balcony that evening and saw the lights still burning bright over at the shrine.

She found out then that Liam had made those people kneel all this time.

"They're gonna keep at it," Daniel said, appearing out of nowhere on the balcony, leaning on the railing and staring in the direction of the shrine.

He muttered, "Mr. Parker has always hated how the Parker family sticks their noses where they don't belong. Kenneth pushing him to get engaged to Chloe was the last straw. His patience with the Parkers was hanging by a thread, and then Pamela had to go and mess up even more. She's totally lost it."

Charlotte was surprised to see him, "Why are you here?"

"Had to work late, I'm here to give Mr. Parker a lift."

The night was cool with a breeze fresh from the rain.

Daniel turned and looked at Charlotte, his face a mix of emotions.

"Charlotte," he finally said, "Mr. Parker's done more than enough for you."

He hoped Charlotte would appreciate what Liam was offering.

"Both of you need to give a little to make it work."

Charlotte shot him a surprised look, "So, you think I'm asking for too much?"

"No..." Daniel trailed off, unable to articulate his thoughts.

Charlotte was all tangled up with Dylan, but Liam was still going out of his way to protect her. Daniel couldn't believe she wasn't playing some kind of game.

But playing too many games wears out the love.

"Let Mr. Parker deal with the mess with Chloe, the Beaumonts, and the Parkers. Charlotte, you don't have to lift a finger."

Charlotte wasn't so sure. The only reason Liam was stepping up now was that she had been pulling the strings behind the scenes.

She didn't trust Liam.

Daniel wanted to say more, but suddenly there was a ruckus from outside, and a group of people barged in, looking like they meant business.

"It's the Beaumont family elders." After Liam had unceremoniously sent Chloe packing, not even Kenneth could intervene. It was a mess, and now the Beaumonts were looking for answers.

"Liam, we know Chloe can be a handful, but she's carrying a child now. A little spoiling shouldn't be a big deal, right? She's your fiancée. Aren't you worried about her doing something rash that might harm the baby after you've been so harsh?"

They came right at Liam with their blunt accusations, causing Charlotte to shake her head in disbelief.

They were only making Liam angrier.

Sure enough, Liam snapped back with a sharp retort, "A bastard child and a slut. If they die, they die."

It wasn't like him to speak so crudely, and his words showed he was utterly disgusted with Chloe, the unborn child, and the whole Beaumont family.

The Beaumonts, blind to the truth, were incensed by his harshness.

Liam didn't care about their anger. He left the elders to curse in the courtyard and went back to his room.

As they cursed and fumed, their eyes inadvertently caught Charlotte standing on the balcony.

Suddenly, all the rage found its way out.

"Charlotte! Now that Thomas has taken you in, you're a Beaumont. Our family's got rules, and we don't like the whore!"

Charlotte couldn't help but laugh, "Oh, so I'm a whore now?"

"Yeah! Everyone knows what's going on with you and Liam!"

"And what exactly is going on with me and Liam?" Charlotte fired back.

Maybe her strong stance was too much, someone a bit more level-headed stepped in.

"Look, Charlotte, we're all family. A woman's gotta be faithful, especially when she's with someone. Since you're with Dylan, you should stay true to him and not mess with anyone else."

"Who am I messing with?" Charlotte asked with a grin, pushing further, "So basically, you want me to stay in line and not meddle in other people's love lives, right?"

They went quiet, which pretty much meant they agreed.

Charlotte was amused, "I'm Dylan's girl. I'm here because of him. Liam's got my back because I'm family, his brother's girlfriend. He doesn't like seeing his people get pushed around." She laid it out so nobly that it shocked even Daniel, who was eavesdropping.

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Charlotte added, "If there's trouble between Liam and Chloe, that's their business, not mine. So, keep me out of it."

Then she spun on her heel and left.

They were trying to guilt-trip her? Nonsense.

Daniel followed her downstairs, and they bumped into Liam, who'd heard everything.

"A family?" He was clearly peeved.

He didn't even care that Daniel was there and went straight for Charlotte with his questions.

Charlotte responded coolly, "What else?"

To be honest, they weren't.

"What's wrong between Chloe and me?" Liam pressed.

"It's my fault," Charlotte admitted.

Liam seemed to cool off a bit at that.

"I've got no feelings for her," he said coldly, then glared at Daniel, "You still here?"

Daniel was taken aback, "... You're kinda playing favorites, Mr. Parker. How about showing me some kindness?"

But Liam was over it. He walked off first, clearing out the Beaumont crew from the yard.

Charlotte was ready to crash but got woken up by a knock. It was Dylan.

"There's trouble," he said, dead serious, handing her a tablet.

Pictures of her and Vincent in a late-night meetup had hit the internet, painting their relationship as shady and claiming Dylan was being cheated on. Charlotte wasn't well-known, but Vincent and Dylan were. The messy triangle was out, and it was dragging both the Blackwoods and the Parkers through the mud.

The person pulling the strings really wanted to pressure the Parker family to give Charlotte the boot and even more, to make Liam start hating her.

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But really, what was the big deal with a couple of photos?

Charlotte had a whole video that told the real story. No one was going to be able to trash her with that.

And she had already shown Liam, so there was no way he was turned off by her because of this.

The only thing that might suffer was her rep.

"If the gossip keeps up like this, Kenneth will never let us be together. He'll for sure kick you out," Dylan was obviously freaking out.

Charlotte looked totally unfazed, "Liam will sort it out."

"You trust him that much?!" he said, shocked.

"What's my other option?" Charlotte threw it right back at him. "You've already gone behind my back. Why would I trust you over him?" "Charlotte."

Dylan tried again, "This baby's not gonna cause you any trouble, might not even make it. Why hold a grudge against me for a baby that might not survive..."

"I'm not holding a grudge, I just don't trust you," she said, cutting to the chase.

That shut Dylan up for a second, with only his heavy breathing left to fill the room.

Dylan looked at Charlotte's lips and forced a sad smile, "You let Liam off the hook for everything, but I messed up once, and you're done trusting me." Charlotte felt that creepy feeling of things spiraling out of control again and just gave him a hard look, staying quiet.

After a bit, Dylan got a grip and asked in a low voice, "So what are you gonna do about all this?"

"You don't need to worry about it." Without another word, Charlotte closed the door behind her and went back to her room.

Dylan was left standing in the dimly lit hallway, his face lit up now and then, feeling rejected and loathed.

But no worries, he told himself. Eventually, Charlotte would see that he's the rock she can always lean on, the one who's always there for her.