Chapter 28: Forest's POV

"So she really did drop out." I muttered to myself while I read the report. "Right after I left her campus ... actually precisely one day after I left."

Joshua still refused to take a seat despite me offering it to him more than once. He nodded his head and placed another document in my hand.

"She dropped out for four months." He started explaining. "I'm still trying to find out what led to her dropping out. What we do know is that your mother is the reason she was able to return to school. Without her, Ms Ericsson would have had no other option but to reapply and hope the university admitted her again. Also," he almost smirked, "I can confirm that there was no other man. As you already suspected, Ms Ericsson doesn't like other men touching her, not even if it's only a hug. I've only seen her hug you, Mr Jona Nolan and a Mr Nigel Bloom."

I paged through his report some more.

"When did she meet Jona?" I asked him. "And why is he so adamant about staying by her side? I've offered him five times what an assistant makes and even offered him benefits that executives get, but he refuses to come work for me permanently. Why? It can't just be because they're friends."

He tensed up a bit, but quickly composed himself while I read his report.

Jona is the only assistant that's ever been able to keep up with my workload. The man is so good and efficient at his job that sometimes I think he's reading my mind. Nothing gets passed him and no one is faster than that man. He actually reminds me a lot of Charlotte. Their work ethic is unlike anything I've ever seen and they both have that glint in their eyes right before an opponent goes down. I've received emails and work that he's completed at 3am in the morning. He also seems to lose track of time when he's working; just like Charlotte.

Once she starts working, she has to be dragged away or else she'll work until she collapses. The only thing that's slowed her down is mom and Annabelle being here. We're both in the middle of wrapping up this merger, but she insisted that we take leave from work so we could spend time with them.

"That information is set out towards the end of the report." He replied stiffly before finally taking a seat like I asked him to.

The man is too rigid sometimes.

"In short", he pursed his lips, "Jona Anderson is Ms Ericsson's half brother. She doesn't know that though." He added quickly. "He's gone through great lengths to hide this information from her. I was able to find this out because of my contacts."

My jaw hit the floor.

Charlotte has a brother... What the hell..

He continued talking, but I could hardly focus on his voice.

Charlotte has a brother.

"Mr Greyson." He was suddenly standing right infront of me.

I blinked a few times to bring my attention back to him.

"I'm listening." I cleared my throat and tried not to look too shocked. "Go on, Joshua."

He took a step backwards and continued.

"Ms Ericsson's mother, Charlene Ericsson, had a child with someone else before she had her. She left that child with his father once she met Ms Ericsson's father. Unfortunately, that child's father passed away when he was thirteen years old, resulting in the child going into the system."

I started rubbing my temples out of sheer frustration.

All I wanted to do was to find out what the hell made her break up with me because it's become very clear that she will never tell me about it. I thought I'd find out that someone threatened her to stay away from me or maybe even paid her to stay away, but I never thought I'd find out she has a brother.

It was only after taking over the company that I realised just how desperate people can be to have me in their pocket. When Charlotte and I were dating, that never occurred to me so I never took measures to protect her in case someone wanted to use her to get to me.

Over the years, people have pretended to befriend Christian and Annabelle just so they could get close to me, friends have been bought off in exchange for our secrets and too many people have tried to force me into some sort of contract marriage with their daughters.

It never stops and it's resulted in me and my siblings having little to no friends.

"Things were much tougher for Mr Nolan though." He spoke again when I remained silent. "Your mother did her best to protect Ms Ericsson where she could, but Mr Nolan didn't have anyone looking out for him. It's a miracle he was able to achieve all the things he's accomplished so far."

Charlotte has a bother. Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

"Are you going to tell her?" He asked me.

...

"No." I finally replied. "Charlotte likes doing things herself. She has to find this out on her own or he has to tell her...unless", I took a few seconds to think about this.

"Does Jona harbour some kind of resentment towards her?" I asked. "Did he get close to Charlie to punish her for their mother abandoning him?"

"No, no, no." He shook his head quickly. "From what I've gathered, Mr Nolan has taken it upon himself to protect Ms Ericsson at all cost. I don't know why he hasn't told her who he is to her, but ...", he stopped talking and seemed to be searching for the right words, "he acts as some kind of guard for Ms Ericsson." He managed to say.

"As you know, he's been after Ms Mitchell ever since he joined your company. However, after the 'incident' involving Ms Mitchell and Ms Ericsson, he has been relentless in his pursuit to take down Ms Mitchell. In addition to the investigation he's currently conducting, I believe there are other things he's doing to make Ms Mitchell's life as uncomfortable as possible."

I groaned at all the euphemisms he was using.

Jona is like a relentless hound and Lauren is without doubt the bone he's after. He started his whole investigation into Lauren way before asking permission to do so. He doesn't just want her out of the company; he wants her to be unemployable and shunned by every major family in this country.

"So he's the perfect big brother?" I asked him and he nodded his head.

"Yes and that's been the case ever since he's entered her life. The man is smart enough to run his own companies, but he's choosing to stay by his sister's side and help her. As soon as I find out how they met, I'll make sure to report it to you."

"Thanks." I muttered.

Charlotte has a brother.

If I'm the one who tells her this, she'll feel betrayed by Jona. Knowing her, she'll push him away and won't want to trust him again.

"Fuck!" I shouted into the air.

He's just like her. Always keeping secrets instead of just being honest.

"I don't want her knowing about this." I ordered him. "For now, let's keep a close eye on Jona. I doubt he would hurt her, but you can never be too careful."

He nodded his head slightly and let me read the rest of the document.

"Uhm." He cleared his throat while I read.

I looked up to find him with that usual serious expression on his face and gestured for him to speak.

"If Ms Ericsson finds out you tricked her into making me her driver," he took a deep breath, "I fear that she will feel betrayed by both you and me, Mr Greyson. She doesn't trust easily and from what I've observed, she's always on alert, expecting people to come for her or to hurt her. If she finds out about this, I don't think she'll forgive either of us."

I could tell he was uncomfortable telling me this. I could also tell that he values the fact that Charlie trusts him. She has a way of creeping into people's hearts without realising it because as much as she wants people to believe she's cold, heartless and ruthless, she's one of the kindest people out there. She tries to hide it, but she can never really hide it for long.

She's only been here for two months, but my house staff already prefer her over me.

I sat and thought about what he said. I've considered this before. I've also considered these concerns before.

I chose Joshua to drive me to go see her that night because of his expertise in other fields and because deep down in my heart, I knew she and I would get back together. Once that happened, I had to be sure that I could still trust her. As much as I love her, five years is a very long time; long enough for people to change.

Her wanting Joshua to be her driver was expected. I put him under her nose precisely because I knew she'd want him.

"Then make sure she doesn't find out." I replied dryly. "Charlotte is good at sniffing out people who have something to hide, but you have years of professional experience that gives you the upper hand. You're not just a driver, Joshua." I threw one of his reports in his direction. "That's why I chose you to drive me the day I met with her. I knew she'd like you once she met you. You focus on doing your job and leave the rest to me."

He stifled whatever he was going to say next and just headed to the door instead.

I could call this whole thing off and hope that one day Charlotte will let me in and trust me with her secrets, but that's unlikely to happen.

She came back into my life with two huge scars on her body. She punched Lauren and when Lisa mentioned that she dropped out, I saw her go pale. And she cried. Charlotte never cries.

I can't wait for her to open up to me. I just can't. I promised her I would let go of what happened five years ago and move forward, but this is one promise I need to break. It just so happens that I'm finding out other secrets along the way.

I heard Joshua open the door to leave, but instead of stepping outside, he closed it and turned to face me again.

"I didn't put this in the report," he said nervously, "but I trust you know the Mitchells are coming after Ms Ericsson ... including Ms Lauren Mitchell. "

I sighed.

Lauren really is putting me in a difficult position.

"Yes." I packed up everything he gave me and put it away in one of my secret drawers. "Charlotte can deal with Lauren and her sister. If I meddle, she'll know I'm onto her and she'll bite off my head for not letting her deal with it on her own."

"What if they hurt her?" He asked before I was barely even done speaking. "The Mitchells are not good people, Mr Greyson. Lisa Mitchell is already trying to stop Ms Ericsson's promotion and she's planned something very juvenile for tonight's banquet. I fear-"

I held up my hand for him to stop talking.

I know all about Lisa Mitchell. Years of people trembling at the mention of her family's name has led her to believe she's better than she actually is.

"Joshua, trust me." I looked into his grey eyes. "Charlotte can deal with the Mitchells and if she can't, then I will deal with them. Lisa is the one who should be scared."

He smiled and as much as he tried to hide it, I heard him give a sigh of relief.

"In the meantime," I stood from my chair, "you and I will keep up all pretenses. I'll keep asking about how Charlotte's treating you and if you're happy with her and so on."

He opened the door and we both headed down stairs to find mom and Christian already dressed for the banquet.

Mom looked beautiful, as always.

She was wearing a long black dress that seemed to shimmer with every step she took. The neckline wasn't too low and it had long sleeves that wrapped themselves around her arms just like the rest of the dress wrapped itself around her body. I thought she would wear her hair down like she usually does, but she tied her long black hair into a low bun with intricate braids in it that I'm sure Charlotte helped her with.

"You're not even going to compliment your own mother?" She reprimanded me once I reached them.

"I'm sorry." I stopped and took a proper look at her. "You look beautiful, mom." I gave her a kiss on the cheeck.

"And so do you." She chuckled.

Joshua had slipped out of the house and somehow managed to go unseen by mom and Christian.

"Can I have my phone back now?" Christian rolled his eyes. "I'm done with my exams and we're not on holiday anymore."

Mom gave me a knowing look before turning her attention back to him.

She was right to put some distance between him and Lauren. It's only been two weeks, but he's already more bearable. He wrote his exams a week ago and unlike the first time he wrote, he was genuinely happy about it. He even thanked Charlotte for helping him to study and while on holiday not once was he rude to her. He tried to get along with her.

"I'll give it to you when Annabelle and I leave." Mom snapped at him. "I know you're going to call Lauren as soon as I give it to you."

"And what's wrong with that?" He asked. "She's my friend, mom."

"I know." She answered him, but still looked at me. "And I know she was there for you when you needed a friend, Forest."

"But?" Christian interjected.

"But nothing." She smiled and took out his phone out of her purse. "I think my mom brain is working over time. I just worry about you two boys because you live so far away from me."

Christian took his phone, but just like me, he could tell that she was was holding back. She wasn't telling us something.

"Come on, mom." He held her hand. "Out with it."

She tried her best to smile, but she wasn't fooling anyone.

"I think Lauren is a very sweet girl...", she squeezed his hand a bit, "but ... she likes being the shy and awkward girl who gets picked on, a bit too much."

Christian was about to interrupt her, but I held up a finger so he knew to keep quiet.

"Go on, mom." I told her after making sure Christian wouldn't butt in.

"She ... lied about getting picked on while she was in Highschool." She said awkwardly. "All of her accusations were later proven to be false, but I genuinely think in her mind she was a victim. Even when her father destroyed the families whose kids reportedly picked on her, she had no remorse because she believes that people who don't do what she wants or who don't give her what she wants, are the bad guys. She needs that to be true so that she can go on with her life while her father destroys other people's lives."

"Mom..." Christian started to complain.

"You're a grown man, Chrissie." She sighed again. "I just want you to be careful. Lauren is the kind of person to think you pushed her when all you did was walk passed her."

There wasn't any time for me to say anything because right at the top of the stairs, stood the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life. And my sister was standing right next to her.