Charles's POV:
At half past five, I drove to the TV station to pick up Scarlett so that we could go to the hospital together
to visit Grandma.I had been waiting for twenty minutes, but she still had not come out.
Thankfully, I saw one of her colleagues, Nina.
I asked her where Scarlett was, and she told me that Scarlett left a long time ago.I took out my phone
and tried to call Scarlett, but she did not answer.
Then, Grandma called.
"Where are you? Scarlett hasn't had dinner yet.Come to the hospital and take her out to eat."
After hanging up the phone, I pinched the bridge of my nose and heaved a sigh.
Scarlett avoided me on purpose.
This morning, I had told her that I would pick her up after work and then we would come to see
Grandma together.
Obviously, she turned a deaf ear to me and went to visit Grandma on her own.
On my way to the hospital, all I could think about was venting my anger on her.
But when I arrived at the ward, I could not believe what I saw.
Scarlett was gone.
"I don't understand why you won't just listen to me, Charles.Now you have to suffer the consequences,"
Grandma said sarcastically, looking at my disappointed face.
I stood beside her bed, struggling to school my features into neutrality.I was so angry at Scarlett that I
thought about all the ways I could punish her.But I was afraid to show Grandma how I really felt
because she would definitely laugh at me.
"Why didn't you make her stay, Grandma?"
I whined, and I instantly regretted it.
"She insisted on leaving when she heard that you were coming.Did you expect me to tackle her and pin
her down?"
Grandma backfired.
I could tell that she wanted to tell me off about Scarlett again, but this time, she bit down her tongue.
"Someone threatened her yesterday by trashing her place with paint.I think she could be in real
danger."
"Then get out of here and find her.No.Call her first.Find out where she is."
After I told her that Scarlett could be in danger, Grandma immediately urged me to call her and locate
her.
I hesitated.I had already called her many times when I was waiting for her at the TV station and on my
way to the hospital earlier.
She had not answered any of my calls.
I dialed again now, and the result was the same.I wanted to be furious, but dejectedness got to me first.
Seeing that I was not getting through, Grandma picked up her phone and tried calling Scarlett herself.
Scarlett answered on the first ring, which pissed me off and saddened me at the same time.
Obviously, Scarlett did not want to talk to me.
Glancing at me with disdainful eyes, Grandma put her phone on speaker and spoke gently.
"Scarlett, dear, where are you? Are you okay? I'm worried."
"I'm all right, Grandma.I'm home.I want to clean the mess up while I have time."
As soon as I heard that she was at home, I turned around and left.I did not bother to look back and
check if Grandma was glaring at me.
Twenty minutes later, I arrived at the place where Scarlett lived.
The smell of paint in the air was not completely gone, which made me wrinkle my nose.
I covered my mouth and nose with my forearm and pushed the doorbell.I had to ring several times
because no one was coming to answer the door.
Scarlett must still be pretty shaken from the attack.
"Scarlett! It's me! Open the door!"
I yelled to assure her that I was not a threat.
After a few moments, the door swung open, and the strong smell of paint hit me in the face like a brick.
The place was a mess, almost like a colorful garbage dump.
Scarlett stood at the door and stared me down.
She was wearing an apron and rubber gloves, and she was all sweaty and panting.
She must have been cleaning for a long time.
"Let's go," I ordered with a frown.
"What? Where?" She looked at me in confusion.
"You're not going to live here anymore.You're moving into my house."
"No.I want to live here.This is my home."
She stepped back and looked at me warily as if she was afraid that I would drag her out and away.
Seeing this, I decided to play my cards a different way.
Maybe being gentle and patient would convince her to leave.
"Scarlett, look at this place.It's ruined, and it smells toxic.It's not safe for you to live here."
Scarlett's POV:
I was in the middle of cleaning my house when Charles showed up.
Seeing him standing at the door, I immediately thought that he had come to forcibly remove me from
my home like I was a wanted fugitive or something.
"Well, I think your home isn't safe for me either," I snapped.
In the blink of an eye, Charles put on that frosty expression with which he liked to scare people.
"Do you think I will do something to you?"
I was too annoyed to dignify that with a response, so I turned on my heel and went back to cleaning.
Charles followed me in and shut the door behind him.
His eyes were starting to water from the fumes and smell.
"It's awful in here.Just come home with me."
"I didn't ask you to come here, Charles.Just leave.This is none of your business anyway."
"Don't you dare say that again!" Charles threatened.
I ignored him and continued cleaning up the house.Next thing I knew, my vision was turning upside
down.
Charles had grabbed me by the legs and heaved me up on his shoulder like a sack of rice.
As my feet dangled in the air, I struggled to hold on to something to keep my balance.
But before I could grab on to Charles's shirt, he slapped me on the buttocks.
My mind instantly went blank.
It took me a long time to process what just happened, and when I finally realized it, I felt my cheeks
burn with utter embarrassment.
It was the first time that I had been spanked by a man and in such a posture! How embarrassed! I
could not believe Charles just did that.
How could he carry me on his shoulder and then spank me like I was a misbehaved child? : He carried
me like that to his car, and I wished that the ground had split and swallowed us both.
"You left me no choice.You were being so difficult, so I had to treat you like a hardheaded little girl."
After he shoved me into his car, he flashed me that annoying smug smile of his.
I could only gnash my teeth together in anger.
Before long, I was assaulting him with my words.
"Can you explain something to me, Charles? Why are you always getting out of your way to be with
me? Wherever I am, you're always there.It's like you're so in love with me that you can't be apart from
me."
"I'm so in love with you?"
Charles scoffed and then continued solemnly, "Scarlett, it's a good thing to be confident, but your
confidence can sometimes be a little too much."
"Then why are you constantly interfering with my life?"
I screamed in frustration.
"Do you think I want to interfere? I only came here because Grandma was worried about you.She's ill.I
don't want her stressing herself out because of you."
The smugness had gone from Charles's face before he could finish his last remark.
He stared at me with furious eyes, and I stared right back.
Next thing I knew, the locks on the doors were clicking, and I realized that I had missed my chance to
break out of the car and go back to cleaning my messed-up house.
Soon, we pulled up at Charles's place.
I fought and fought Charles, but he still succeeded in heaving me over his shoulder once again and
carrying me to the bathroom like an oversized, squirmy pet.
He threw me into the half-full bathtub fully clothed and then went in after me.
The bathtub was big enough to accommodate two people, and there was plenty of room for me to swat
off Charles's hands as he attempted to undress me.
With one swift movement, he was able to pin me down on the sloped edge of the tub.
He started unbuttoning my shirt.
Fear began to cloud my judgment, and I flailed around like I was drowning just to keep his hands off of
me.
But Charles was too strong.
I was no match for him.I stifled my sobs as I kept fighting him off.
"Charles!"
I screamed helplessly as tears rolled down the side of my face and into my ears.
Hearing my broken voice, he suddenly stopped.
He looked like he just snapped out of a trance.He let me go and slowly backed away.
I read chagrin in his eyes before he stood up and stepped out of the bathtub.
He looked down at me as he wrung some of the water out of his shirt.
"Do you dare to challenge me next time?"
I laid still in the bathtub and tried to catch my breath.I just shook my head as a response to his
question, scared to death that he would jump on me again and rip off my clothes.
"Clean yourself up now.Can you do it yourself or do you want me to help you?"
Charles swept his eyes over me, and I pretended not to notice.
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