Liam left in a huff really ticked off.

Charlotte snuggled back under the covers, too lazy to brush her teeth again, and drifted back to sleep.

Today was just the start of her getting even; she's not gonna let Chloe keep showing off like that.

On the day after the engagement party, there was another bash lined up. Chloe was about to become part of the Parker family, and this shindig was thrown to help her get to know all the women in the family.

Even though it was just a family affair, the standards were through the roof. You could tell a guy's status in the Parker clan by how his woman showed up-dressed to the nines, dripping in bling, and looking on point.

"My grandpa never liked me much, and that rubbed off on the other elders. I may be the oldest grandson of the Parker family, but the resources I've got access to are pretty thin." Dylan said, looking over at Charlotte with an apologetic gaze. "Looks like I'm going to drag you into an embarrassing spot at the party."

Charlotte shook her head, glancing towards the bathroom. "No, that won't happen."

"The family dinner was announced so last minute, even if Charlotte got Thomas to hustle and find her some jewelry, it wouldn't be ready in time!"

Patricia was fixing up Chloe's hair, talking away as she did, "Dylan's not exactly the golden boy, so top-notch bling is out of the question. I bet he can't even swing a nice dress for Charlotte. You're totally going to eclipse her today, no contest." Chloe watched herself in the mirror. She was determined to show off how much Liam cared for her in front of the Parker women. She went all out and borrowed a set of precious cat's eye emeralds that belonged to her great-grandmother from the Beaumont family. She was dead set on outdoing Charlotte at the party!

"Once you step out with those emeralds, nobody's going to be able to outshine you."

This jewelry set is like an inside secret, kept within the family. Outsiders wouldn't know it's from the Beaumonts; they'll just think Liam adores Chloe so much he's willing to splurge on such fancy gems for her.

Confident as ever, the aunt and niece duo headed to the venue. And sure enough, as soon as they made their entrance, they caused quite a stir.

"Whoa, weren't those emerald gems shown off a few months back? I heard they were priced sky-high, and it had tons of people walking away all upset 'cause they couldn't cough up the cash!"

"Can't believe Liam actually bought Chloe that set. Guess all that gossip about them not getting along must be just rumors."

"Yeah, Chloe might rub some people the wrong way, but with Liam spoiling her rotten and the Beaumont crew in her corner, she's gonna be running the Parker family before we know it. Let's make sure we're on her good side today - it'll pay off."

Listening to everyone gab, Chloe was soaking up the attention, schmoozing like a natural.

"Who's that over there?"

"Seems like Dylan's latest catch? Word is he had to sweet-talk Kenneth Parker yesterday just to make sure she'd be let in!"

"Rumor has it she's some kind of adopted kid from the Beaumonts, right?"

Catching wind of the gossip, Chloe's grin just stuck there, and she whipped around to see for herself.

There stood Charlotte, in a sleek champagne dress, no fuss about it, with just a couple of jewels on.

But that tiara and ring? They were something else.

"Hey, isn't that tiara on her head the hot ticket item everyone was battling over at that fancy charity thing?"

"Oh, I've seen that ring before. Liam shelled out big time for it at an auction in January..."

The crowd paused, sneaking glances at Chloe.

The ring Liam bought ended up on Dylan's girlfriend's hand. That's some real eyebrow-raising stuff.

Could it be...?

"Maybe Chloe let her borrow it, huh? Since Charlotte's like a foster sister to her from the Beaumont family, it makes sense. Dylan's not exactly Mr. Moneybags, so Chloe hooking her sister up with some bling is pretty normal." Someone supported Chloe, and the crowd nodded along, finding it a reasonable explanation.

But Chloe knew the real deal - just last night, she had begged Liam to give her that ring.

And he had shut her down, just like that.

But there it was, that ring, on Charlotte's hand today!

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Chloe's fists clenched tight, her knuckles going white with the strain.

She hadn't seen it coming, Liam humiliating her like this, all for Charlotte!

"People are saying you're super generous with your sis, lending out such a pricey ring and all," someone complimented Chloe.

Spotting that it was one of Liam's relatives, Chloe managed a tight smile and responded, "Well, Charlotte's new to the Beaumont family and doesn't have much in the way of jewelry. If I don't help her out, who will?" The crowd started buzzing with how kind and considerate Chloe was.

As Charlotte glided over, what she walked into was a chorus of praises.

She flashed a smile: "The dress is indeed a favor from Dad via the Beaumonts. Saying Chloe is kind and considerate isn't wrong - after all, she didn't stop it from happening, right?"

Her snarky comment caught everyone's attention in a heartbeat.

Charlotte added with a smirk, "Just to set things straight, the jewelry isn't from Chloe, and honestly, I wouldn't ask her for it."

The crowd was buzzing, "If it didn't come from Chloe... could it be... Liam?"

The ring was Liam's big buy, so how'd it end up with anyone but Chloe?

But wasn't Charlotte with Dylan? Why would she be wearing something from Liam?

Ignoring the puzzled looks, Charlotte just twirled her dress and breezed over to the dessert table for some mini cakes.

She might not have a fancy family background or know all the high-society rules, but her knockout looks, that tiara on her head, and the ring from Liam on her finger were all the confidence boosters she needed to glide through the party with

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Meanwhile, Chloe was swamped with people grilling her left and right.

Word of the drama at the party didn't take long to reach Liam's ears.

Daniel was always mingling with the ladies, and he was pretty tight with one of Liam's cousins. She hit him up asking about what's up with Liam and Charlotte and mentioned that the word on the street was that Liam must be into Charlotte. "Isn't she stirring up drama? You're engaged, and she's supposed to be Dylan's girl. This kind of move is just gonna mess up everyone's rep!"

After letting off some steam, Daniel couldn't help but dive into the gossip and grilled Liam, "So did you really give her that ring? Did you know she'd flaunt it at the party?"

Hearing that, Liam's fingers froze on the keyboard for a good long moment before he casually resumed typing like nothing happened.

Daniel knew him too well and caught on right away that the pause meant something.

He blurted out in surprise, "You knew she'd pull something like this... wait a sec! Mr. Parker, spill it - what did she offer you?"

"Got nothing better to do?" Liam glanced up, giving him a look, then tossed over a file folder. "Brendan's been on his. Go follow up."

"You actually handed the project to Brendan?" Last time, to see if Charlotte was just using Liam, they'd let slip that Brendan would get the project, and sure enough, Thomas made a beeline for Brendan. That move pretty much nailed down Charlotte's plan.

Daniel hadn't kept tabs on that project since then and was surprised Liam actually went through with giving it to Brendan.

He took the file folder, and flipped through it, but noticed Thomas wasn't in the mix.

"What's the deal here?"

"Thomas and Brendan go way back as old schoolmates, it's just that it's been a while, and not many people are aware of that," Liam dropped that line, and Daniel filled in the blanks on his own. "So when Thomas went to see Brendan that day, it was because they're old pals, not because Charlotte tipped him off?"

"They had arranged to meet up three days in advance."

"So..." Daniel scratched his head, "So, actually, Charlotte didn't use you after all."