Chapter 23: Chapter 23



Annabelle's POV

Oh, the look on his face was priceless.

I knew that I could replay that look for the rest of my life and never get bored.

"Annabelle?" He asked, shock and disbelief plastered on his face.

"Hey, Charles." I rasped, waiting for him to say something, maybe acknowledge my presence even. But when he just sat there staring at me, I decided to break the awkward silence. "Can I join you guys?" I asked sweetly, directing the question to no one in particular. Surprisingly, it helped to ease up the tension that had broken out moments after I had arrived.

"Yeah, yeah take a seat," Charles said in a rush. He looked as if he'd just been jutted awake from an intense dream or something, and I knew I was the 'or something' he was flushed about. I took the seat he offered and settled between him and Paul. Yeah, I had done my homework.

"Guys, this is Annabelle, Annabelle, these are my best friends, Eric and Paul."

"We are your only friends, Charles." Eric snickered as he folded his legs and reclined on the couch, obviously enjoying the show. I had to rein in my laughter as I saw Charles sending him a saucy look.

"Don't mind him, Annabelle, we have heard a lot about you," Paul said as he signalled for a waiter.

"Really?" I asked, eyebrows raised. "What exactly have you heard?" I inquired, glancing at Charles briefly to see the look on his face, and it was petrified.

Before Paul could give me all the juicy details, Charles intervened, "What exactly are you doing here Annabelle?"

I turned to him then. I had been expecting that question from the moment I showed up. It was long overdue. Typical of him to use it as a division tactic.

"I came for a charity ball that's to take place tomorrow."

"Oh, " he muttered. "But how did you know I was here?" He asked.

"Oh, I didn't know you were here. I was bored at my hotel, so I looked up a cool place to chill on the internet, and this place came up. I had come here to relax, only to bump into you again." I finished with a chuckle.

Charles smiled. "At least this time, you did the bumping, not me."

I laughed at his antics, finally glad that he was warming up to me.

"Which foundation is anchoring this event?" Eric suddenly asked, cutting short my laughter. I felt Charles tense up beside me with an uncomfortable look on his face. It seems Charles didn't trust Eric with women. Neither did I.

"The Harrell's Foundation," I answered innocently. There was a slight mood swap because Paul suddenly sat forward and Eric began to chuckle. Only Charles was still, almost as still as a statue. I was sure they hadn't expected that bit of information, and by the looks on their faces, I could see that they had fallen for my ploy.

"What's going on?" I asked, making sure to inject curiosity into my voice.

"Oh, it's nothing----" Paul started explaining, but he didn't get far because Eric broke in.

"What a huge coincidence, Annabelle. We are also going to be attending that ball, right Charles?" Eric asked, sending Charles a sinful smirk.

Charles grunted, a sore look on his face. "Yeah, we were to go but--"

"I'm sure it won't be a bad idea for both of you to go together. That way, neither of you has to go alone." Eric interrupted, the adds, "Right Paul?" The guy was up to no good, but it was the kind of bad I needed. He was making my work a whole lot easier.

"Hmm, yeah?" Paul answers, sounding confused. As the whole scenario played out in front of me, I couldn't help to smile. His friends thought they were doing what was best for him, which only showed how much they cared. He didn't even know how lucky he was. If the circumstances had been different...

"Look I don't think--" Charles started.

"It is a good idea," I cut in, "I was actually worried about a plus one but now that I have you, I think it's a win-win. What do you think?" I asked, sending him my sweetest smile.

"Yeah, I think it's a well thought out plan."  He groaned, clearly defeated. But that didn't stop him from sending a death glare to Eric.

I silently giggled. This show was fucking epic.

"Now that it's settled, can we order a drink for the lady?" Eric barked, a little too excitedly, and Paul scoffed. Obviously not fazed about the whole drama.

In another time, Eric and I would have been great friends, but sadly, we were in the now, and in the now, he was just an acquaintance to a job I needed to complete.

And complete I must.

********"""""********

Charles POV.

I stepped into the foyer with a splitting headache in tow. How I had even managed to drive myself down here was a miracle in itself.

After Annabelle left. I couldn't help but berate Eric for the stunt he had pulled on me. The only thing that had kept me from strangling his neck was brotherly love. And even with that, I had been greatly tempted to damn all consequence and fuck him up.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the man, but sometimes all I wanted to do was kill him. The moment Annabelle had arrived, I had seen the wicked glint in his eyes and I immediately knew he was gonna be trouble, but not the kind of trouble I had expected. The bastard had not only set me up with Annabelle, but he had also coerced me into attending my family's charity ball. He knew very well that I avoided anything that had to do with my dad, his company, or his name. But Eric was insisting I attend this particular event nonetheless.

You see, Eric was okay with me not taking over my father's legacy. But, he had this notion that I could take advantage of my family's connection and name to build my own company. I disagreed of course, but apparently, the bastard was desperate enough to use an innocent woman to achieve his self-righteous goal.

As I made my way up the stairs, I began to hear shouts coming from my mother's room. Oh, beautiful, they were at it again. I had planned to ignore them as I normally did, but a string of words caught my attention.

"Not only had you spewed that thing, you now want me to give her my company? My legacy?" I heard my father bark in anger. At first, I had thought they were talking about me, but at the mention of her, I knew something else was going on.

"That's not what I'm saying Edward," my mother wined, "I'm saying you should let me acknowledge her. Let me tell her the truth."

"The truth? What truth? The one that involved your betrayal?" He fired, pain lacing his thick voice. This was the first time I had ever heard my father show any true emotion towards my mother. I stepped closer to the door and listened in.

"Oh don't act like you are a saint, Edward. You broke us first remember?" She wailed, turning the accusation board back to my father. Typical of her.

"So you had to put the icing on the cake. Instead of salvaging your marriage, you decided to--" he began accusing. But as usual, mum didn't let him finish.

"She's coming to the ball and that's final. You can do whatever you like then."

I could hear the finality in her voice as she said it. There was nothing my father was going to say, that would make her change her mind. She was going to get her way.

I quickly rushed into my room when I heard footsteps approaching the door. As I got in, I couldn't help but wonder who the fuck they were talking about and why I hadn't heard of her before.