Chapter Five: Trapped by Alexander

"We finally meet Miss Brooks," Sebastian said with a grin on his face as he watched the colour drain from Charlotte's face.

Her reaction to finding out that he was Sebastian Gerano was priceless.

"Y-you are Sebastian Gerano," Charlotte said in horror. What kind of luck did she have?

The man whose car she crashed into was the same man she was to get married to.

She should have known from his arrogant nature that he wasn't an ordinary person.

Charlotte felt a little bit afraid of what would happen to her. She had challenged Sebastian to do his worst after crashing into his car.

He had threatened to make her pay for what she did to him and now her marriage had been arranged with him.

Wouldn't Sebastian take advantage of that opportunity to make her life miserable? After all, he was known for his unforgiving nature.

"Yes I am," Sebastian answered. "So do you still not care about who I am?" Sebastian asked with an expressionless face; his black cold eyes starring at Charlotte so intently that it made the latter shift uncomfortably.

Despite the fact that Sebastian had no expression on his face, Charlotte could tell that he was mocking her.

She remembered when they first met, she had told him that she didn't care who he was and Sebastian was using her own words against her.

"Sebastian, Charlotte, please come over so people can see you," Alexander said before she could say anything.

Charlotte was grateful to Alexander for disrupting their conversation on one hand, but she wasn't happy that he had called them to the center of the stage.

Sebastian started walking towards his father and since he was holding her hand firmly, Charlotte had no choice but to follow suit.

"Welcome to the family," Alexander said with a huge smile on his face. He felt a little guilty when he saw the sad look on Charlotte's face. Everything was happening so fast for her.

First, she found out about the contract between her father and him and he announced to the whole world that she is to be his daughter in law without her agreeing to the marriage.

He knew his method was sly but he didn't regret it for a single moment. He had regarded Charlotte as his daughter in law from the first time he carried her in his arms.

Charlotte was dumbfounded and so she was having trouble speaking.

She simply nodded to Alexander and smiled awkwardly at Victoria. People started coming up to congratulate her and Sebastian.

However, Charlotte wasn't interested in any of that.

All she wanted was to find her family and get the hell out of the party.

She suddenly saw Alexia and Henry. They were talking to another couple. "Excuse me," Charlotte said to the man and woman who was talking to Sebastian.

She smiled and left without waiting for their response. She walked over to where her brother and sister in law were standing.

"Charlotte," Alexia said with a smile as she saw her. "We have a lot to talk about."

"Well well well, if it isn't the newest member of the Gerano family," the man who was talking to her said.

"Could you please excuse us?" Charlotte requested ignoring what the man said. "Sure," the man said. He grabbed his partner and the two of them excused Charlotte.

"Wow, why didn't you tell us that you accepted the marriage proposal? You haven't gotten married yet and you've already forgotten about your sister in law," Alexia scolded.

"I never accepted the marriage proposal...."

"What?!" Alexia silently screamed as she didn't want to create a scene.

"What do you mean?" Henry asked with a frown on his face.

"I asked mom to inform the Geranos that I rejected the marriage but she didn't apparently, she spoke to Sebastian and she likes him so she wants me to get married to him," Charlotte explained and glanced at Sebastian. He was talking with his father.

Her mom may have been fooled by his charms but she wasn't. There was no way he would be ever be an ideal husband to her. The man was an arrogant scumbag!

"But I thought you talked to Sebastian about your marriage. I mean I asked mom where you were and she said you were with Sebastian," Henry said, still confused by what was happening.

"Yes I was with Sebastian but I had no idea who he was. It was when his father made the announcement that I discovered who he was. He has already accepted the marriage but I haven't so why did Mr Gerano have to announce that we're getting married? " Charlotte asked in despair.

She didn't still understand why Alexander made the announcement but Henry immediately understood what Alexander was playing at.

He had to give accolades to Alexander. He had made a really smart move. "He purposely announced to everyone so you wouldn't be able to reject the marriage."

"Think about it, if you call the marriage off, people are going to come after you, blaming you plus, the family business will suffer as well. He has trapped you between a rock and a hard place."

"Oh," Charlotte simply said. She finally understood what Alexander did. She was disliking the Gerano family more and more.

Alexander wanted her to be his daughter in law so bad that he didn't mind dragging her family into the matter.

"What should I do brother?"

Henry shrugged causally. "That's up to you. You should talk to Sebastian first before deciding. I'll support your decision no matter what it is."

He wasn't worried about what would happen if his sister rejected the marriage.

Sure the company would suffer a few setbacks but they would bounce back stronger. After all, his family commanded the same respect as the Gerano family.

"We have to go now. Peter is all alone with the babysitter," Alexia said.

"Yeah you two should get going. Give my nephew a kiss on my behalf," said Charlotte.

"Aren't you coming back to the mansion?" Alexia asked.

"No I'm not. I do not want to see mom right now. I'll sleep at my place."

Alexia patted Charlotte's shoulder and said, "Let us know your decision as soon as possible so we will be able to decide the next step."

"Ok Alexia," Charlotte said and waved Alexia and Henry goodbye.

She turned to go and meet Sebastian but she bumped into Amy instead. This night couldn't get worse.

"Well, if it isn't the future wife of Sebastian Gerano. Where's your fiance? Has he left you already?"

Charlotte rubbed her temples as she was starting to get a headache. "When are you going to stop all this Amy? I'm not like you and so I will never stoop to your level. Just leave me alone, I'm not in the mood to listen to your taunts."

Normally, Charlotte always endured Amy's insults without saying a word but not today. She had been really stressed out and it was starting to take a toil on her her.

Amy gripped the glass she was holding tightly in anger. She would have broken it if she wasn't in public. "How dare you?!" Amy silently screamed.

"What's going on here?" A male voice suddenly asked.

Charlotte turned and saw a man walking towards her with a frown on his face. She noticed that he looked a lot like Sebastian.

She immediately recognized him. He was Diego Gerano; Sebastian's brother and the youngest child of the Gerano family.

Diego unlike his brother was very popular and well known as he was an easy going person.

He was always trending everyday for one reason or the other and therefore, it was impossible for Charlotte not to recognize him.

"I asked you something Amy, what's going on here?!" Diego asked sharply.

"I was just having a conversation with Charlotte. Do you have a problem with that?!" Amy also asked sharply as she glared at Diego.

It was no secret that the two loathed each other ever since they first met each other. Diego could see through right through her act and that was why she hated him.

He was not as gullible as his brother. He had tried countless times to end her secret 'friendship' with Sebastian.

She was grateful that Sebastian had managed to keep their relationship well hidden even from Diego.

Diego laughed mockingly. "There's always a problem everywhere you are,nlAmy. Could you please keep your distance away from my sister in law. I wouldn't want your bad luck to rub off on her."

Even though his brother was smarter than him when he came to business related matters, he was a total dimwit when it came to women.

Otherwise, he would have been able to see through Amy's lies long ago. It was obvious this woman was not as she appeared to be and he tried to explain this to Sebastian but he had never believed him.

"Why are you always so rude to me Diego? I have never offended you so why do you hate me," Amy asked pretending to be hurt by what Diego said.

The truth was that she couldn't care less about what he said or thought about her l, after all, it was the truth.

As long as Sebastian didn't listen to him, she was safe.

"It's because I know who you really are. I can see the real face behind the mask you carry around," Diego answered.

"I'm not going to ask you again to keep your distance away from my sister in law. Now leave!" Diego ordered.

Seeing that Diego was angry, Amy turned and left without a word. She knew Diego well enough know that he had a terrible anger one she wasn't willing to mess with at least not for now.

"I'm sorry for whatever trouble she might have caused you," Diego said to Charlotte who had silently been watching the face off between Diego and Amy.

"It's okay, it's not the first time and it definitely won't be the last time," Charlotte replied.

"I haven't introduced myself properly. I am Diego Gerano, Sebastian's brother and your brother in law. Welcome to the family," Diego said with a smile on his face as he stretched his hand towards Charlotte.

Charlotte smiled back and shaked to his hand. "Nice to meet you Diego."

"Do you know what the best part about you becoming a part of our family is?" Diego asked out of the blue.

"Yes, I would very much like to know," Charlotte answered nervously.

Diego leaned in closer not wanting anyone to hear his answer. It didn't matter though as there weren't a lot of people left at the party.

"I won't be the youngest in the family anymore as I'm a few months older than you," Diego said in a serious tone.

This made Charlotte laugh. The internet was right, Diego was a funny person.

"I'm being serious with you and you're laughing. I would have taught you a lesson if not for the fact that you're my brother's fiancee."

"I'd like to see you try to teach me a lesson. You seem to be forgetting who my family is," Charlotte retorted.

"Oh hello, my family is more powerful than yours."

"Keep dreaming dummy," Charlotte mocked and Diego burst into laughter.

"I like you," he said. Diego could easily tell when a person was faking or not and Charlotte was not. Even though the marriage was arranged, she was perfect for his brother.

"Thank you," Charlotte said. She was liking Diego more and more.

"You're really nice while my brother is the rudest and cruelest person I know. You two are perfect for each other," Diego said.

"Oh really?" Sebastian said from behind Diego making the latter jump in fear.

"B-brother when did you get here?" Diego asked nervously hoping Sebastian did not overhear him.

"Would you like me to show you how cruel I can be?" Sebastian asked ignoring Diego's question.

Diego gulped in fear.

Shit! Sebastian had overheard him.

"Umm, would you look the time? I'm late for an appointment," Diego said and quickly left not wanting to face Sebastian's wrath.

Charlotte turned her attention to Sebastian after Diego was out of sight. "We need to talk about this marriage... "