A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for waiting for this next upload. I had some computer problems last week, specifically on my word processor, so I was stalled for a few days but here you go. This is a scene that had people probably wondering whether it was ever going to happen or not. While this is at the very crux of the story, it isn't the entire story so while I had to have it happen, it's something that had to come after the more essential parts of the story.

If the formatting is a little weird, forgive me. It's just the new word processor I'm using. I'll try to fix it but you never know. Thank you! =)

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After an amazing and highly successful weekend, the Teaser grossing a seven-digit number in auction proceeds, Martin threw a small but extravagant lunch to celebrate.

Our friends from Cobalt Bay, having been acquainted with the old man as well for years, were invited to make it their last stop before they returned to California.

Of course, no one could say no to Martin.

The entire family came and close friends joined in.

Despite Brandon's reservations, I persuaded Nicole to attend with Zach.

Actually, I brought up the idea but didn't really think she would take me up on it. She caught me off guard when she contemplated for a long moment and suddenly said yes—but without Zach.

"I want to make sure I can trust Francis," was the reason she gave me, adding, "He's suddenly so adamant about being a part of our lives. I don't want to find out he just wants to take our son away to get back at me."

Things were still muddled between the two that Francis's motives were like mud on dirt. Good luck telling one from the other.

After I dragged Nicole away from that ugly confrontation with Francis, I'd tried asking her what he had demanded.

All that she'd told me was that there was mostly a lot of yelling about everything that had happened between them more than two years ago and all that she'd really understood from him so far was that he now wanted to claim his right to them.

She didn't trust him but as much as Nicole didn't want to admit it, I could tell that she clung to a small hope that Francis, for all the vile things he'd done to her and Zach in the past, was redeemable.

Fair enough, right? We love the savages despite their wildness because we hope that we can someday tame them. They can either leave us bleeding or beloved.

If Nicole's presence bothered Francis, when he arrived and saw her perched on a couch talking with Tessa, he didn't show.

He gave her a slight, courteous nod before glancing back and forth between me and Brandon, his expression inscrutable.

The others didn't really know Nicole except for the Maxfield sisters who vaguely recognized her, and Jake who used to hang out with her when she still ran in the same circles he and Brandon did.

I introduced her as a good friend of mine and Brandon's and if anyone thought it was strange that I dragged her along, no one said anything about it.

"Something going on that you want to tell me about?" Jake said when he came up to me at the wet bar where a variety of non-alcoholic mixed drinks were also served. "I haven't seen Nicole in years and the last time I did, she and Francis weren't so enthralled with each other."

I smiled, sneaking a glance over my shoulder to check on Nicole who was now in a small group with Tessa, Cassandra, Felicity and Aimee.

They were all listening with rapt attention to something Rose was animatedly telling them about.

Jake and I were in a quiet corner at the fringes of the group that no one was really paying us any attention.

"It's not my story to tell but I hope things will come to light pretty soon," I told Jake. "Speaking of things coming to light, have you had any progress with your lady love?"

If the word love bothered Jake, I couldn't tell because he merely rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I've never met a more stubborn girl. For the first time in my life, I let myself suffer the indignity of calling a girl and leaving a billion messages on her phone only to hear nothing back except for one polite voicemail saying I hope you've cured your guilt now. Have a good life, Jake."

I barely suppressed a chuckle. "Message-bombing someone may not be the best way to win them over. I thought you were smoother than that, Jake."

"I was," he said with a withering stare. "I've tried all the moves I know—flowers, chocolates, a casual invitation to coffee, a dinner date, a movie, a walk to the park—and I'm out of ideas. I'm trying so hard but nothing seems to have worked."

I refilled my glass with some fizzy cranberry drink and turned to look at Jake in thought. "Maybe that's the problem—you're trying too hard. Based on the message she left you, she might think you're desperate to apologize or make up for what she thinks you might consider as a terrible mistake. She might think you need to assuage your guilt asap so you could feel better and move on, and despite her nonchalance, that probably stings."

Jake gave me a bewildered look. "Maybe she should stop assuming how I really feel and give me a fair chance, don't you think?"

"Indignant, I see," I teased, wrinkling my nose at him before speaking in an overly dramatic distressed female voice, touching a hand to my forehead. "Oh, fate, what do I do? This man who has broken oh-so-many hearts and not lost any sleep over it, pleads that I trust him with mine! Oh, fate! Why is it so hard?"

Jake scowled at me for a good five seconds before his face broke out in a grin. "I get it, I get it."

We laughed for a moment before the humor in Jake's eyes faded into an expression of restless turmoil. He glanced in Tessa's direction and caught her eye for a second before she quickly looked away.

"I'm fresh out of ideas, Char," he murmured with a heavy sigh as he turned back to me with a weak smile. "For a moment, I convinced myself that maybe this was for the best—that maybe neither of us should take it farther—but that resolution lasted about ten seconds before I started thinking about her again. I've got to get through to her and I don't know how."

I put a hand on Jake's shoulder. "Maybe just ask her to talk—without a major production or any kind of expectation. No smooth-talk or grand gestures or the slick, heartbreaky-Jakey style-seduction."

He cast me a dubious look. "Do you think she'll take me up on it?"

"You won't know till you try and at this point, you don't have much to lose," I told him with a smile.

That got him to brighten up a bit, his eyes lighting up with inspiration. "A bullshit-free conversation. I see where this could be convincing."

"You two seem as thick as thieves, plotting the next big heist in history."

Jake and I looked up to find Brandon coming up to us, his brows furrowed in amused curiosity. "What's the big secret?"

The story of your best friend and baby sister having a one-night-stand isn't one you'd want to hear, I answered in my mind even though I flashed my husband a broad smile and shook my head quickly, mentally groping for some plausible excuse to give. "Nothing. We're just talking about one of Jake's, um, love interests."

Jake gave me a sideways glance before straightening up and shrugging casually. "Same, old boring stuff you don't really want me to tell you, Brand."

Brandon raised a brow at him. "You don't think I should hear it but you're telling it to my wife who's as innocent as a lamb?"

"Hey, I'm not innocent and definitely not wooly!" I protested with a weak laugh, smacking Brandon on the arm. "Besides, Jake's stories are simply for my amusement and educational purposes."

I didn't like lying, despite how good I got at it, and while I wasn't exactly lying outright to Brandon, I was certainly doing my best to avoid giving him an honest answer.

I caught sight of Tessa's slight frown over her brother's shoulder and my stomach churned slightly.

Since Jake and I got substantially louder when Brandon came, the way it happened every time people were caught off guard doing something they shouldn't be doing, she probably overheard our thoughtless dialog.

The last thing she needed right now was more proof that Jake was just as indifferent about women and relationships as he'd been his whole life.

White lies—a pristine backdrop where you could start bleeding when you hit a snag and tear the truth open.

In this case, a white lie was a risk I was willing to take over an assuredly bloody spectacle if Brandon learned the truth about Jake and Tessa's not-so-platonic status.

"I think I'll take full accountability of my wife's education about these things, Jake," Brandon said with a mock-glare as he put an arm around me possessively. "Don't let her curiosity slow you down from all that love you're spreading around."

I could see Tessa's expression tighten and I wanted to smack Brandon in the head for unwittingly making the situation worse.

She was clearly paying attention to us now and she wasn't liking anything she'd heard so far.

I caught Jake's eye and from the flicker of panic in his gaze, I knew he realized the same thing.

Slipping an arm around Brandon's waist, I expertly turned him around, signalling Jake with a discreet look to get away as I went. "Sorry to abandon you, Jake, but now that Brandon has made it clear he intends to look after my education, I'm assuming he's now willing to tell me all of his naughty past escapades."

"I said nothing about telling you any of that," Brandon argued with a laugh, oblivious to my steering as I guided us away from Jake who now had to figure out a way to dig himself out of that hole we just pushed him in head first.

I'd throw him a shovel later when Brandon wasn't around to pack the dirt in around him.

Brandon and I were intercepted by Vivienne and Oliver who swiftly solicited a promise out of us to come and join this big New Year's party that Vivienne was organizing for family and good friends.

While I heartily enjoyed participating in that conversation, I kept watch of Jake and Tessa in the corner of my eye, internally relieved when Jake finally managed to approach her as she got up to head out to the back porch.

The temperature was a little brisk today that most people were inside so when the two came back in fifteen minutes later, infinitely warmer toward each other based on the small, shy smile Tessa gave Jake before they parted ways, I mentally fist-pumped our swift recovery from that disastrous stumble off the track.

Things were going so well I was beaming and humming all to myself when I came down the stairs after checking in on Rose. She was now in one of the guest bedrooms upstairs after she drifted off on Brandon's shoulder when the adults had sat around for some after-lunch tea in the rec room.

Aimee was winning an intense game of billiards with Jake, Vivienne and Sebastian so I took the liberty of making sure the exhausted little girl was still napping soundly.

When I came back to the rec room, the game was still playing out with everyone seated around the billiards table, observing intently as Vivienne took her position.

Smiling, I stopped by the side table and was pouring myself a cup of tea when a tall figure loomed over me.

I looked up and found Francis glowering.

I picked up my cup and sighed. "What is it? I can think of so many reasons why you'd be giving me that look so you're going to have to help me narrow it down to a specific one."

"Nicole left. Brandon just hurried after her."

I choked on the warm liquid and spat some out back into my cup which I quickly lowered in hope to save myself and Francis some healthy anti-oxidant bath.

I swiped the back of my hand over my lips before narrowing my eyes at him, my anger instantly spurred. "And why would she do that when she was having such a good time ten minutes ago? I can think of only one reason and he's standing right in front of me, looking ridiculously righteous."

Francis's jaw tightened. "I was only asking to see Zach. I don't see anything unreasonable about that. He's my son."

"Being a sperm-donor doesn't make a man a father, you know?" I said acidly, my hands curling into tight fists at the truth of my own words, not just from Zach's perspective but from my own as well.

Fathers are supposed to care for you, protect you, teach you about life and the world. They're there to teach you how to ride a bike and how to pick yourself up when you fall. They're not supposed to neglect you or decorate your face and body with bruises and broken bones.

"Abandoning your child is the work of a coward, not a parent deserving of the privilege of being one. Just because you wish to be a father now doesn't mean you can just erase the years you weren't one to your son."

"I know that, Charlotte," he grated. "As unfortunate as that may be, it's a truth I can't change. But it won't stop me from doing what I need to do now and you have no right to get in my way. You can't rub my sins in my face when you're neck-deep in your own."

A short, sharp laugh of disbelief escaped my lips. "Oh, so because I'm not a saint myself, I don't get to do the right thing and protect the mother and son you left vulnerable when they inconvenienced you? What should I do instead? Sit back and enjoy the heartless-gutless-excuse-of-a-father-who-now-wants-to-be-the-world's-best-daddy show?"

No one saved me early enough. Even though I survived, I will always know the difference. Zach doesn't have to.

His blue eyes flared with a furious fire. "I doubt that my storyline would be half as entertaining as yours and Brandon's when the world finds out that the great, infallible Maxfield heir paid an ambitious yet penniless diner girl a million dollars to marry him and play house for a year. I still have your contract burning a hole through my desk, thanks to your housekeeper whose loyalties you should've paid extra for when you had the chance. The new yet highly-celebrated Mrs. Maxfield is no one special—just an extremely expensive, long-lease hooker."

Blood pounded in my ears and probably flooded my eyes because all I could see was red for a long time as I stood perfectly still, summoning all my will power not to land my fists on Francis's flushed face.

It was only when he broke his gaze from mine and looked around, the color draining from his face, that I realized the room had actually fallen silent despite the roaring in my ears.

With a suddenly dry throat, I blinked and slowly turned around, finding nearly a dozen pairs of eyes staring at me, rounded with shock.

If I ever had a moment when I wished the ground would open up and swallow me whole, this would be it.

I suddenly felt so sick to my stomach, the sharp, bitter acid of both my lunch and lies surging up my throat.

I opened my mouth to speak but the only sound that emerged was a shaky gasp as my heart recovered from its momentary paralysis and started hammering against my ribcage as eager as I was to get away from this all.

My eyes darted around until they locked with a pair of bright blue ones, with corners that wrinkled with time and laugh lines—except that he wasn't laughing now.

Martin. He knows now. He knows what a scam you are.

My vision suddenly watered but I quickly blinked the moisture away, opening my mouth at another attempt to speak again but I was interrupted by the slow swish of a door closing.

"What's going on?" Brandon's voice rang out clear in the dead-silent room.

I turned my head toward him and my heart took a dive straight into my gut where the guilt was slowly burning me from the inside.

He can't be a part of this. All these people love and respect him. He's got so much to lose while I had none to begin with.

"Francis just said that... that you paid Charlotte a million dollars," Anna answered slowly, her beautiful face creasing into a confused frown."You paid her to be your wife. I mean... I... What's he talking about, Brand?"

Brandon blanched as his gaze swung back to me, his hazel eyes alarmed, and took a step toward me.

"No." The word was loud yet hollow as it left my lips but it effectively stopped Brandon in his tracks.

"Why don't we ask Francis to expound on his statement," Martin spoke up in a soft, even voice that arrested everyone's attention. "Francis?"

The man beside me snapped out of his frozen state and I could hear his ragged breathing as he took a long moment before speaking.

"I have in my possession a contract that states a business arrangement between Brandon and Charlotte worth about a million dollars in payout," Francis explained, surprising me when he sounded pained, like a man who was shooting his foot with every word that left his mouth.

I glanced at him and realized that he was actually not enjoying a single moment of this.

Apparently, Francis doesn't like playing Judas. I mean, he hung himself to death later in the story, didn't he?

"The terms are for them to join in marital union for a year, each clause in the contract summing up to what is essentially a marriage in name only," Francis continued and I could see Brandon flushing so deep a shade of red, he was going to catch fire any second. "At the conclusion of a year, the two parties are going to dissolve the marriage, Charlotte walking away with a million dollars total after four quarterly pay-installments and Brandon a free man once again, his fortune intact due to a pre-nup."

The cold, business-like nature of my marriage with Brandon sounded like fingernails on the chalkboard but they were the black and white facts no amount of gray area was ever going to completely cover for good.

The more complicated the lie, the harder it was to untangle your way out of it.

"But why the hell would they do something like that?" Jake demanded. "People don't just strike up a bargain to get hitched for a year for no particular reason."

Brandon came forward. "I can explain—"

"No, I'll explain," I interrupted, swallowing the lump in my throat and thrusting my chin up to face up to the truth we could no longer run away from.

"Martin gave Brandon an ultimatum—marry me or give up the CEO position to Francis," I confessed, glancing at the old man whose expression betrayed nothing despite the collective gasps in the room.

"I'm not sure why I was picked the candidate or why Martin came up with the idea but Brandon's initial offer had been simple—that I convince Martin to change his mind," I continued, ignoring the voice in my head warning me that to tell another half-truth, half-lie concoction to get out of another lie wasn't going to get me ahead at all.

Forgive me, Brand, but I can't cost you every person in the world you care for. You can't be the bad guy. Too many people need you to be the hero.

He must've understood what I was trying to do because he suddenly looked stricken and reached out as if to grab me."Charlotte, no. Don't—"