Chapter 9 Lingering Shadows

"I promised to protect you." Charlotte shook her head. "No need to worry about him." "I just don't want you to get hurt." Charlotte felt a warm feeling. "I've dealt with many like him. I'm fine." Luke, looking a bit sorry, checked his watch. "Time to head back. I'll take you home." Charlotte felt a rush of emotions. It had been so long since someone offered to take her home. "I guess I should get ready." "No need." Luke opened the car door for her. "I've got everything set. Just come with me." Charlotte nodded and joined Luke in the car to his parents' house. On their way, Charlotte called Andy. "I won't be home for dinner, but I'll be back soon." Andy was okay with it after her promise. Lilya missed her mother and was trying hard not to cry. But once Andy hung up, she couldn't hold back her tears. Andy quickly went to comfort her. Charlotte had a nanny taking care of her kids. The nanny, Carol Poernomo, was really good at her job and kept an eye on them. During the drive, Luke kept the conversation going to entertain Charlotte. When they reached Luke's parents' house, Charlotte was surprised to find Frank and Lorraine there too. She figured out from talking to Luke's mother that they had invited Frank and his wife. Luke's parents, thrilled about Luke bringing his girlfriend over, thought it would be fun to invite another young couple to make the gathering livelier and avoid any awkwardness. This, however, led to an unexpected and awkward encounter for Charlotte with Frank. As soon as Lorraine saw Charlotte, she greeted her warmly. "I had no idea you were Luke's girlfriend. That's such a coincidence! No wonder you were with him at that dinner. Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Charlotte gave a small, forced smile. "We planned to tell you later. I didn't expect to bump into you here today." Lorraine took Charlotte's hand and introduced her to Linda. "Charlotte is the new designer at Luke's company. She designed this ring I'm wearing." Lorraine showed off the ring to Linda. Linda admired the ring. "You can really see the care and effort in this ring. Luke always said you were super talented, and he's definitely right." "You're too generous, Mrs. Allen. I'm not as amazing as they make me out to be." Frank stood nearby, clearly upset. He hadn't expected Luke to bring Charlotte to his home. "Are you actually serious this time, Luke?" He sounded sarcastic. "I'm always serious about relationships. Do you think I'm like you?" "But my divorce wasn't entirely my fault." Luke glanced at Frank dispassionately and then walked away to the dining room. He was worried about Charlotte feeling out of place, especially since she was there to pretend to be his girlfriend. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. Charlotte, seated at the dining table, was answering questions from everyone, feeling a bit overwhelmed. She was relieved when she saw Luke come in. "What's everyone chatting about?" Luke sat down next to Charlotte. Linda said, "Just some work talk. Now that she's working at your company, you'll need to take good care of her." Luke nodded. "Got it." Linda looked at Charlotte with increasing fondness, almost wishing they could get married right then. Frank, however, maintained a cold demeanor throughout. He thought, 'Now that Luke has brought her home, she still denies any relationship with him. That's hard to believe!' Linda asked, "How long have you guys been dating?" Luke answered right away, "About six months. Charlotte is kind of shy, so we kept our relationship quiet." Linda said, "Got it. Hey, if this guy ever does you wrong, you just let me know." Charlotte said, "No worries, Mrs. Allen. Luke has been awesome. It was my idea to keep it a secret, so it's a bit my fault too." Linda reassured her, "It's okay for a girl to be shy. Now, you two don't need to hide anymore. Young folks shouldn't care too much about what other people think." Charlotte agreed, "Absolutely. I'll remember that." While everyone was chatting happily, Frank abruptly said, "Ms. Hall's ring design is pretty, but doesn't it look a little like something from the SaintLuxe brand?" Charlotte, feeling slightly guilty, lowered her head. Seeing her reaction, Frank mistakenly thought she had copied the design and felt a bit smug. His comment suddenly made the atmosphere in the dining room a bit tense. Luke, however, didn't seem bothered. "It's common for designs to look alike. With so many styles out there, it's bound to happen." Charlotte, seeking to put an end to the discussion, shared a revealing fact. "I was contracted with that brand during my college years. I designed some of their pieces." Frank was shocked, his eyes wide with disbelief. They had been together for a considerable time, yet he had never heard Charlotte mention this. He looked at her disdainfully. "You can't just make such claims. Where's your proof?" Charlotte had experienced the risks of being a designer firsthand. Since then, she had meticulously saved all her contracts and design drafts in cloud storage. Calmly, she opened her phone and displayed the contract and her design drafts for everyone to see. She understood Frank's malicious intent; he was attempting to label her as a copycat. Charlotte confronted him. "Are you questioning my career history, Mr. Allen?" Charlotte realized Frank's intentions were clear: he wanted her to lose her job, become ostracized, and ultimately leave the city. He probably believed that her departure would eliminate any threat to him, allowing him to live without constant fear. Luke was astonished by Charlotte's revelation. 'Her resume didn't include all of her experiences. What else don't I know about her?'