From Desk to Altar: The CEO's Irresistible Bargain

Charlotte couldn't possibly admit that this was love.

After being deeply hurt, did Liam really think a few light words of 'I miss you' could erase all his past mistakes? "I've said it before, I don't hate you anymore, Liam. Don't do anything more, don't say anything more."

Charlotte looked him straight in the eye, her tone cold and merciless, "Don't make me start hating you again." "I just want a chance to make things right!"

Since Charlotte came back from abroad, every word she spoke was a condemnation, a denial of his sincerity. He had opened his arms, hoping for a comforting embrace.

But all Charlotte gave him was endless torment.

Liam was starting to feel overwhelmed.

"I know everything you went through before was painful, but Charlotte, do you think I'm not in pain?"

"In these four years, at least you could still hate me. What about me? What did I have?"

"I watched you die in front of me, and every day since has been filled with endless guilt and self-reproach."

"Every mistake I made with you turned into a sword piercing through me these past four years. Charlotte, I now understand your pain, I feel the hatred you felt, I've learned how to express love, and I know what you want." "But now, you don't have feelings about me anymore."

Even if it's hatred?

Even if it's disgust?

The way Charlotte looks at him now is no different than how she'd look at a stranger.

"I'm glad that you're angry about me still living in that two-bedroom apartment."Exclusive © material by Nô(/v)elDrama.Org.

After dropping that bombshell, Liam hung his head, his chest heaving.

Charlotte had a thousand accusations and insults to throw at him, but after hearing Liam's words, she couldn't bring herself to say any of them.

The situation was too dangerous now; she didn't want to have anything more to do with Liam.

And she had changed her mind; she wanted to take Ethan and leave here immediately.

"People need to move on, Liam."

With those words, Charlotte stood up and walked towards the door.

Liam didn't stop her, but if Charlotte had turned around, she would have seen a dangerous look in his eyes.

Charlotte left so abruptly that the whispering on the twenty-fourth floor didn't stop in time, and she heard everything.

"Is that Charlotte? The one Mr. Parker was calling for every day when he first got out of the hospital?"

"Yeah, that's her. When he realized no one was answering, Mr. Parker lost his temper many times. Then he banned people from entering his office and even had the coffee machine on the twenty-fourth floor removed." "If Mr. Parker cares so much about Charlotte, does that mean she's here to get back together with him today?"

"That's not Charlotte, though she looks just like her. That's Serena, daughter-in-law of the Blackwood family, Vincent's wife, the future Mrs. Blackwood."

"So she's just going to ignore Mr. Parker's feelings?"

"What feelings? Mr. Parker himself said he's the one who did wrong by Charlotte."

Every single word drilled into Charlotte's ears.

Sophia, right by her side, quickly shut down the whispering with a sharp scold.

"Don't mind what they're saying, they got it wrong..."

"Liam admitted himself that he did Charlotte wrong," Charlotte cut Sophia off with a cold tone.

Sophia paused for a moment, remembering Mr. Parker's attitude towards the woman before her, realizing there was no point in hiding it.

She let out a sigh and said, "When Mr. Parker woke up from his long coma, his first words were asking for Charlotte, and his second confession was that he wronged her." Charlotte's grip tightened involuntarily at these words.

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"The search teams had been looking day and night for months with no trace of Charlotte. Her death was all but confirmed, but no one dared to break the news to Mr. Parker." "But you can't hide the truth forever. When Mr. Parker eventually found out, he became like a different person."

"Huh?" Except for being a bit domineering, Charlotte hadn't noticed any change in Liam.

Sophia glanced toward the CEO's office with a worried look and said, "He became... inhuman."

His behavior was robotic.

He shut himself off from others.

Utterly indifferent.

He didn't care about anything anymore.

Yet, he knew exactly what he was doing, just letting himself go, consciously drowning in it.

"Mr. Parker was like a perfect machine, but Miss Perry, as everyone knows, machines don't have souls."

"The Mr. Parker from that time was just an empty shell, filled only with pain and regret."

Such a terrifying boss, and such a stifling atmosphere, and yet the company was booming.

Compared to that, Liam just seems more and more terrifying.

"Look, I'm not kidding, but stepping into Mr. Parker's office for the last four years has been like walking on eggshells. I was always worried I'd stand in the wrong spot, breathe too loudly, or just set him off, scared he'd snap and start grilling me about where Charlotte was," Sophia said with a half-laugh, glancing at Charlotte.

"But today, Mr. Parker was all normal, and that's because you're here."

And because she has the same face as Charlotte.

"I might be on Mr. Parker's payroll, but I still gotta tell you, Miss Perry, don't try to be Charlotte's stand-in, and don't get close to Mr. Parker. It won't do you any good." "I won't."

After saying goodbye to Sophia, Charlotte felt all sorts of mixed emotions.

She didn't see any difference in Liam, so everything he did and everything Sophia said just seemed really weird.

Especially that last warning from Sophia - Charlotte didn't get it.

She's Vincent's wife now, for crying out loud. Would anyone really think she'd get tangled up with Liam with that label on her?

But Sophia warned her to keep away from Liam.

It didn't add up.

While Charlotte was trying to make sense of this weirdness, she suddenly noticed it was way too quiet behind her.

She was walking down a busy street in the business district, surrounded by hustling office workers - how could it be so silent?

She looked up and to her surprise, she found herself in an alley, a dead-end no less.

How could that be? Just a minute ago, there were two women gossiping ahead of her, heading towards the café!

"Miss Perry."

Caught off guard, she heard a familiar voice from behind.

Charlotte spun around and immediately understood everything.

"Henry."

As Liam's most trusted right-hand man, Henry was like Liam's sharpest knife.

"What does Liam want you to do?"

Knowing it was all Liam's doing, Charlotte felt a sudden calm.

"Sir would like to have a talk with you."

"We just talked."

"No, Miss Perry, he means sit down, clear up any misunderstandings, talk everything through," Henry said, dutifully relaying his boss's orders. "And then, give each other a chance."