I guess Charlotte doesn't care about "being seen" by others quite so much anymore.
Which, means now it's just the ML who's falling into that age-old
"I'm going to unilaterally decide that the gorgeous-lady-who-I'm-too-dense-to-realize-likes me should not be seen with me in public by anyone who might know someone who knows us, because I've decided that such an event would irreparably harm her social standing among our peers and I am far too feeble to just ignore any rumors that come our way and so I'd rather stick her in the rejected zone and potentially cause issues for our relationship down the line simply because I think it's the correct call even though I never actually asked her opinion on this, and I care more about what I perceive as her image and status than I do her actual feelings or agency"
pattern of behavior that is so prevalent to these sorts of stories.
Which, I knew would happen, but it definitely gets old after awhile.