"You know what?" She sighed heavily and rubbed her eyes with her hand. "It's fine, Forest. You can go with Lauren to the banquet. It's become very clear to me by now that no matter what I do, no matter how much I try to prove my worth to you, I just can't measure up to the woman WHO CONSTANTLY ACTS LIKE A FUCKING CHILD!" She started screaming.
She tried leaving, but I grabbed her waist and dragged her back to me until her body was pressed against mine.
"I'm only going with her because I promised her a very long time ago." I explained for the hundredth time. "She's already bought her dress and everything. Charlie, I promise you it's just two friends going to an event together. It's no big deal."
She tried pushing me away, but I held firmly onto her. She wasn't going anywhere.
"Everyone is waiting to see who you bring, Lucas!" She screamed at me. "If you bring her, you're announcing to the world that she's the future Mrs Greyson!"
She kept trying to punch my chest and tried to push me away.
The screaming and hitting me wasn't what hurt me. It was her calling me by my name that hurt. She only ever calls me Lucas when she's really hurt.
"You're the future Mrs Greyson." I tried kissing her, but she bit my lips.
"Get off of me!" She screamed and tussled against me until I finally decided to let her go. I wasn't winning this fight today.
"I said it's fine, didn't I?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "You can go with Lauren. Make her feel like a true Cinderella. Plenty of people have asked to be my date, including Connor."
"You're not going with fucking Connor." I growled at her. "I'd much rather you not go at all than go with a man who always looks at you like he's undressing you!"
"I'm the city's lead counsel." She said in a sudden cold and calm tone. "I have to go and just like you, everyone is waiting to see who I bring."
"You know what I should do?" She sneered at me. "After the banquet, I should bring Connor to my place so he can sleep there, eat there and make it his home! He can keep me warm on the nights Lauren keeps you busy."
She reached for the door in my suite but I slammed it shut as she tried to open it.
"I will fucking kill Connor if he shows up at the banquet with you!" I said a mere inches from her face. "I will kill him and I won't even go to jail for it. I have enough money to make the authorities look the other way."
"And I have enough skill and influence to make them take another look." She snapped right back.
We were both glaring at one another, unwilling to back down.
"I need some space." She took a deep breath and took a few steps away from me. "This," she pointed at the pace between the two of us, "is not how I thought it would be."
I slammed her waist against me again and made her look up at me with those light brown eyes of hers.
I can't lose her again. No matter what happens, I can't lose this woman again.
She has tried really hard to get along with Lauren, just like she said she would.
Lauren has started getting her panic attacks again and Charlie has never blown a fuse when Lauren calls for me, which she does a lot. When Lauren starts crying for a reason I know Charlie regards as nonsensical, Charlie even tries to help her stop crying.
She has reigned in her usual wrath towards Lauren and I know she's doing it for me.
The past month with her at the mansion brought about so many changes around the house that Christian, Lauren and I never thought were even necessary. The three of us grew up with servants doing everything for us and just assumed they know how to take care of a house.
However, Charlotte showed me that's not necessarily the case.
The house was clean before, but now because of her it's clean in a way I never thought possible. She spent an entire weekend showing the staff how to deep clean the house and showing them and us which products are best for cleaning certain types of surfaces.
The entire house staff is more attentive because of this woman. There are flowers in almost every room, I have a packed lunch everyday and the garden, tennis courts and all outside entertainment areas are always in spectacular condition.
Charlotte has turned my house into a home.
Even Christian is more optimistic about his exams and it's all thanks to her. She sits and studies with him, calls him while she's at work to make sure he's making progress and quizzes him. He didn't used to get excited talking about his exams, but now he's always talking about how he's going to ace them. And a bit of that hunger and tenacity that he used to have back in the day seems to also be returning.
She's so close to moving in with me. There's just one problem - Lauren living with me.
I'm in the process of figuring out how I can tell Lauren that her sleeping here is just not feasible anymore, but it's easier said than done. This has become her home and I'll be taking it away. However, as unfair as that may be, it's more unfair to expect Charlie to live here while a woman who has feelings for me is sleeping down the hall.
"You're not allowed to leave me." I whispered against her lips. "You promised. Asking for space is how people start making an exit out of a relationship. I'm not letting you do that to me ever again, Charlie."
"I'm not leaving you." She muttered against my lips. "I just need to think some things through."
She tried pushing me away again. It was more gentle this time, but I didn't let her create the distance she wanted. I held her close with an arm wrapped around her waist and the other on her back so she had no chance of escape.
"You're mine Charlotte Ericsson." I nibbled her lower lip. "All of you belongs to me. You're not getting any space. You're staying right here."
I kept trying to kiss her until she let me.
She resisted at first, but soon she was moaning and her fingers were caressing my hair while I groaned into her mouth. "I love you." I told her when we broke our kiss. "I've never loved anyone as much as I love you, Charlie."
"I love you too." She breathed against my mouth. "But I can't keep doing this. You know how possessive I am. You're just as possessive; if not more. And yet you keep humiliating me by having another woman in your home. A home you also want me to call mine. I can't, Forest. I'm not some teenage girl who has to fight for a boy's attention. I'm an adult woman and I'm old enough to read between the lines."
"There's nothing to read between the lines." I pleaded with her. "I'm going to tell her to move out. You just have to give me some time. As for the banquet...it's a stupid event for the stakeholders in this merger. It's not as big of a deal as you're making it out to be."
She sighed, closed her eyes while her hand caressed my cheeck and shook her head. "You love her." She said softly. "I may be yours, Lucas, but you don't belong to me anymore."
There it was again - Lucas.
"Forest." I gritted my teeth while she struggled and tried to free herself. "You can only ever call me Forest. I am your Forest. Always."
She smiled sadly at me. "I should go, Forest." She stopped struggling in my arms. "I need to get a few things for your mom and Annabelle."
I kissed her again. Harder and longer this time. I couldn't lose her. Only an idiot would let a woman like Charlotte Ericsson slip through their fingers twice.
When I finally let her go, she seemed...better. Her eyes weren't filled with hurt and anger anymore. She looked ...tired.
Her words, the hurt in her words drained me of all my strength. I'm not in love with Lauren. I'm not. I love Charlotte Ericsson.
I will only ever love Charlotte Ericsson.
"Hey man," Christian knocked at my door and then opened it, "we should get going or else we'll be late picking up mom and Annabelle."
I grabbed my jacket and headed out.
Mom and Annabelle are here for the banquet. If they had a choice, they would have both said no to attending, but all major shareholders must attend it and that includes them. They initially insisted that they'd arrive on the day of the banquet so they could make their trip as short as possible.
However, after hearing that Charlie and I are back together, they both said they want to come two weeks in advance and spend some time with her.
We'll all be under one roof for the entire two weeks. It's something I've wanted for a long time and I get to have that because of Charlie. Mom and Annabelle would never have agreed to staying this long in New York if it weren't for her. They hate the city.
Christian and Annabelle will fight like they usually do. They're always at each other's throats. I just chucked it up to being a twin thing. Mom and Annabelle will probably be all over Charlotte and will be throwing question after question at her.
It will leave Lauren feeling left out. I should be on the look out for that.
"My babies!" Mom squealed and held out both hands as soon as she saw us. "Come here!"
I gave her a hug, but Christian had to complain about it first.
"Look at you boys all grown up!" She inspected us right at the airport.
"Anyone going to help me with the bags?" Annabelle came walking with their luggage.
She cut her long, black hair into a cute little bob that made her look even more like a kindergarten teacher.
"Come here, little Belle." I gave her a huge smile and an even bigger hug to go with it before taking their luggage.
She hugged me right back while Christian waited for his turn.
She looks just like the girl version of Christian. They both have pitch black hair and light brown eyes. However, looks is as far as it goes when it comes to them being alike. Their personalities are complete polar opposites. Annabelle is as delicate as a flower and Christian is like an angry bull most of the time. He's actually more similar to Charlotte, except she's more tactical with her anger; whereas his tends to be misdirected and all over the place.
"Hey, Forest." She gave me that beautiful smile of hers. "You know I'm not so little anymore, right? I might even be getting engaged one of these days."
"To Roger?" Christian tried pushing me away when he heard this. "You can do better than Roger, Belle!"
"I can do better than a paediatrician who adores me?" She asked annoyed. "Just give me a hug Chrissie!" She huffed and he complied, but still complained about the nickname she used.
Almost everyone back home calls me Forest because Charlotte's nickname for me caught on. When I saw her for the first time after an entire five years, I lied and told her no one uses that name anymore. Truth is, it's only Christian and Lauren who refuse to call me Forest. However, mom and Annabelle have no problem with that name and when they feel like teasing Christian, they call him "Chrissie" like Charlotte does. He thinks the name immasculates him.
"Where's Charlie?" Mom got right to the point as soon as we got inside the car. "You said you two finally made up so where is my girl?"
"Yea." Annabelle chimed in. "I finally stood up to the girl who started teaching the five year olds and it's all becauseof Charlie. I want to tell her about it in person."
"You haven't seen or talked to her in five years." Christian sounded irritated. "She had nothing to do with your sudden moment of courage."
"That's what you think." Annabelle mumbled under her breath.
"What do you mean by that?" I snapped my back at her.
"She means just because Charlie has been out of your life for the past few years, doesn't mean she's been out of our lives as well." Mom answered for her. "Charlie is family. You know that."
"She dumped him and didn't even give him a reason!" Christian growled from the front of the car. "He almost failed his degree, mom."
Mom gulped and pursed her lips into a tight line.
I still remember the days that followed after Charlotte broke up with me. I flew back home at some point. I was going to drop out and just drink until I died. Christian and Lauren flew back with me. They refused to let me leave alone.
When we got home everyone did all they could to help me sober up and get back to school. Through it all, Lauren and Christian sore at Charlotte all day and all night. Mom and Annabelle never uttered a single bad word about her. Not ever. They cried with me, put me back together, but they never said a single bad thing about Charlie.
"All that matters is that she's back." Mom held my hand. "I've only ever seen two other people who love each other as much as you and Charlie do, Forest and that is me and your father. That kind of love that makes you want to live for someone else is something very few people get to experience, sweetheart. Don't let the past get in the way of that."
I squeezed her hand.
Christian and Lauren may think that I'm an idiot for letting Charlie back into my life, but they don't get it. That woman is my heart. I hang on her every word. I live to make her happy.
She's mine. All mine and I can't lose her again.
My name has always intimidated people, but never her. She's sworn at me, screamed at me, called me out on my bullshit and told me right to my face when I was acting like a pompous rich jerk. Not many people can do that.
"She's kind of angry at me right now." I confessed. "I'm hoping you and Annabelle can help me out."