chapter 3: university, unwanted attention & A secret crush (Charlotte's pov)

Charlotte had always been good at keeping secrets.

For example, when she was eight and stole Charles's phone to prank-call his business associates, she never confessed (even when he spent two weeks thinking he had been hacked).

Or when she was sixteen and accidentally broke his favorite watch, she simply replaced it and feigned innocence.

And now, at eighteen, she had one more secret.

She had a crush on Charles Williams.

Of course, she couldn't tell him. Not when he still saw her as the little girl who used to cling to his leg. Not when he was so frustratingly composed, so maddeningly unreadable, and so ridiculously handsome in a way that made her heart do embarrassing things.

No. This was her burden to bear alone.

And the best way to handle it? Distraction.

That's how she found herself at university, sitting beside her new best friend, Lena Carter, who had known her for exactly three hours but was already acting like they had been soul sisters in a past life.

"Wait, wait, wait." Lena put her hand on Charlotte's arm dramatically. "You live with Charles Williams? As in the Charles Williams? The insanely rich, devastatingly gorgeous, emotionally unavailable Charles Williams?"

Charlotte sighed, rubbing her temples. "You're making it sound way more dramatic than it is."

"Girl, I am dramatic." Lena smirked. "And you live with a man who looks like a Greek god but acts like a grumpy old man. Please tell me you have, like, a secret steamy romance going on."

Charlotte choked on her water. "Absolutely not."

Lena narrowed her eyes. "You hesitated."

"No, I didn't!"

Lena leaned in, grinning like she had uncovered the biggest scandal of the century. "Oh my god. You like him."

Charlotte nearly fell out of her chair. "What?! No!"

Lena smirked. "That was way too defensive. You totally have a crush."

"I do not!"

"Liar."

Before Charlotte could dig herself into a deeper hole, someone dropped into the seat beside her.

"Ladies, am I interrupting something scandalous?"

Charlotte turned and found herself staring into the annoyingly charming face of Ethan Hayes, the guy who had been trying to flirt with her since orientation. He was tall, effortlessly attractive, and had the kind of confident smirk that suggested he had never been rejected in his life.

"Ethan." Lena wiggled her eyebrows at Charlotte. "Perfect timing. We were just talking about her secret romance."

Charlotte gave her a death glare. "We were not."

Ethan leaned on the desk, flashing Charlotte a grin. "Now I definitely need to hear this."

Charlotte groaned. "I hate both of you."

Ethan chuckled. "I take that as an invitation to keep bothering you."

Lena nodded approvingly. "I like this one. He's got potential."

Charlotte wanted to crawl under the desk.

—Meanwhile, at Charles's Office—

Charles was supposed to be reviewing reports. Instead, he found himself staring at his phone, his fingers hovering over Charlotte's contact.

She hadn't texted him all day.

It was ridiculous. She was an adult. She had things to do. But still, the thought of her at university, surrounded by young men, irritated him more than he cared to admit.

"Stop thinking about it," he muttered to himself.

"Thinking about what?"

He looked up to see Isabella standing in his doorway, her arms crossed, smirking.

"Nothing."

She raised an eyebrow. "Ohhh, let me guess. Charlotte? How's she doing? Making any new friends?"

Charles glared at her. "Get out."

Isabella just laughed.

—Back at University—

Charlotte thought she had survived the worst of the day.

Then, she bumped into Victoria Lancaster.

The moment Victoria saw her, her lips curled into a smirk. "Oh, it's you. Charles's little pet."

Charlotte forced a polite smile. "Nice to see you too, Miss Lancaster."

Victoria's eyes flicked over her, judgmental and sharp. "I'm surprised Charles is still entertaining this little arrangement. I always assumed he had more… sophisticated tastes."

Charlotte clenched her fists. She wanted to snap back, to say something witty, but she reminded herself—she had a secret to keep.

She couldn't let people like Victoria suspect the truth.

That she was hopelessly, stupidly, and irreversibly in love with Charles Williams.

And he could never know.