There was a moment of total quiet in the room.

Charlotte didn't expect Liam to cave so quickly and found herself at a loss for words.

She thought she'd have to lay it on thicker and play the sympathy card a bit more to get him to steer clear of Chloe. But he agreed just like that.

Liam cupped her chin in one hand, furrowing his brows, his voice deep and serious, "Are you threatening me?"

"You just figured that out?" Charlotte might have thought his reaction was adorable if she didn't know how cold he could be.

"You know what Dylan's like, right? That he's playing you?"

"Yeah, I know." She nestled into his hand, looking up at him with trusting eyes. "That's why you've got to treat me better, so he won't push me around, and I can catch a break." Liam was left speechless, his face a picture of frustration.

Charlotte was using him, and it was no secret to either of them.

t ticked him off, being her pawn, yet he couldn't say no to her-not now.

She'd seen her mom go up in flames, and there he was, the guy who was supposed to have her back, telling her to keep it down when she was falling apart.

Yeah, he felt bad about that.

But that little bit of guilt? It didn't come close to scrubbing away the anger and the pain he was carrying.

"Charlotte," he was trying to figure her out, "Just stay close to me, and things will be smooth sailing."

"Stay close? As what, your assistant?"

Charlotte let out a snort of laughter, "What, should I dim the lights for you when you're hopping into bed with Chloe?"

Liam felt his insides churn, "You didn't use to take digs like this."

"Well, I used to be all about you, didn't I?"

"Used to?" Liam bit down on his words, not pushing any further.

He let go of her and, trying to keep his cool, said, "Kenneth's really sick, just wait a sec, don't make a scene."

Charlotte kept quiet.

Kenneth, sick?

He was all rosy cheeks and steady on his feet at the engagement party they'd just been at.

Didn't look like anything was wrong with him.

It was just an excuse.

Charlotte wasn't about to bust him on it though; she just turned on her heel and headed for the door.

She'd just taken a few steps when Liam yanked her back by the arm, his voice tinged with annoyance, "Did you even hear what I said?"

"Yeah, got it," Charlotte tossed back casually, not missing a beat as she made for the door again, "Been here too long my boyfriend's probably freaking out by now."

That was enough to fan the flames of Liam's temper all over again.

"What do you call him?" he couldn't hold back anymore, pinning Charlotte down and taking a harsh bite at her.

She winced at the pain, her fingers coming away with a spot of blood from her lip.

"You just bit me!" she glared at him, brow furrowed. "How am I supposed to cover that up when we get out there?"

Instead of answering, Liam bit down again near the edge of her lip.

She shut up, and he breathed out heavily.

"Ease up, Charlotte. I'm about at my limit with you."

He made her look him right in the eye, "You've been in a mood, so I'll write off what you said as you just being snippy. But keep up this act, and I swear, you'll never get what you're after." "You threatening me now?" Charlotte shot back with a raised eyebrow.

"Just saying-play nice," Liam countered with an edge to his voice.

Charlotte turned her head away, done with the back-and-forth.

Liam had laid it out for her: he'd let things slide for now because she was grieving her mom, but if she kept pushing him or got too cozy with Dylan, he'd wreak her revenge plot in a heartbeat. Another threat...

Charlotte didn't let it get her down, knowing deep down this was how it was supposed to go.

Liam wasn't going to be a pushover for her plans.

"I gotta work a bit harder," she said, heading for the door.

"What are you gonna work hard at?" Liam called after her.

"Work hard at making you fall for me a bit more," Charlotte quipped, pausing with her hand on the door to look back at him, "If you like me, you can't stand to see me upset, right?"

Liam just stared at her, his eyes full of suspicion.

He felt like Charlotte was like some siren right then, luring him in, and if he took the bait, he'd be dragged down into an abyss with no way out.

Charlotte didn't get riled up by the lack of response; she just opened the door and stepped out first.

Liam followed her out, his face still stormy, clearly riled up by her sly words.

"Honey!" Chloe hurried over, all excited. With Charlotte's head bowed, Chloe didn't catch sight of the mark on her lip; she just assumed from Liam's scowl that Charlotte hadn't exactly charmed her way into his good graces. She was waving her phone at Liam, "Which quilt you wanna use? I'm digging this red one..."

"Chloe, are you out of your mind?"

"Huh?" It was the first time he'd snapped at her like that, and Chloe was taken aback. "What'd you say, Honey?"

He didn't even bother giving her another glance, "Pick whatever you want. I wouldn't share a room with someone as messed up as you." holds this content.

"What? What did you just..." Chloe couldn't believe her ears.

Even though Liam was known to be a bit icy, he normally had manners, never crude, not even with servants.

She couldn't wrap her head around it, " Honey, it was Kenneth's idea for us to room together..."

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He cut her off, all snappy, "You think you can use Kenneth to twist my arm? I..."

He was about to say he hated being pushed around and wouldn't stand for it from anyone.

But then, like a record scratch, Charlotte's words echoed in his head, leaving him speechless and frustrated.

He'd just been totally manipulated by Charlotte, so what right did he have to talk big?

He shot Charlotte a glare and stomped off.

Chloe, tears streaming down her face, ran after him, feeling more and more heartbroken with every step.

This wasn't the engaged life she'd pictured at all.

Liam wasn't the same guy who used to be so sweet to her.

She'd gone through so much just to be part of the Parker family, and even when Liam gave her a hard time over and over because of Charlotte, she bit her tongue and put up with it.

Even that time Charlotte bit her neck and scratched up her face, she didn't make a big deal about it because Liam asked her not to. She even let Charlotte stay with them, showing real class! Chloe had given up so much already - why couldn't Liam see that?

Why couldn't he love her? Just why?!

Once the two of them had gone far away, Charlotte casually strolled out from the shadows.

Dylan caught sight of her lips and cracked a mysterious little smirk.

"Charlotte, which quilt are we using? I like that red one too."

"We're not staying together, or he'll get upset."

"I'm your man, Charlotte. Isn't it a bit much to say that stuff in front of me?"

"My man? Just my friend maybe." Charlotte snapped back coolly.

Dylan stopped smiling, his expression hiding all his feelings, but his clenched fists showed he was not pleased.

A little while later, Chloe came back with tear-streaked cheeks. From the way she returned, it looked like she tried to complain to Kenneth about Liam and got nowhere, so she came back crying.

The first thing she did when she got back was to tell the cleaning staff to take a break, "No need to go out of your way for Charlotte's room; she grew up hanging around salons and massage parlors, she's way more used to this kind of work than you guys!"