Charles' POV:
Standing by the window quietly, I watched Scarlett leave.I could tell that she was still mad at me
because I had not helped her father.
Thinking about it, I found myself drowning in regret.
Why hadn't I helped him back then? If I hadn't turned a blind eye to her father's dilemma, then there
would not have been as many obstacles in my relationship with her.
Clenching my fists tightly, I made up my mind.I was determined to make her come back to me one day.
Scarlett's POV:
I got home, but I could not fall asleep at all, despite the fact that I was tired.
Whenever I closed my eyes, I ended up thinking of Charles.
The next day, I went to the TV station, but I was absent-minded all day long, and when someone
suddenly bumped into me from behind, 1 almost tripped and fell.
Nina, who was standing beside me, caught me right in time as she looked at me with a frown, feeling
worried.
"Scarlett, are you okay?" I nodded in reply.
I then saw a woman rushing away, stomping her foot as though she was enraged.
"Who is she?" I asked Nina.
After looking at the woman for a while, Nina replied, "It's Emily."
"What happened to her?"
"She was supposed to host a program with Lucia, but…"
Nina clicked her tongue and hesitated for a moment before she continued, "I don't know what tricks
Lucia played to get the sponsorship from Charles.Ever since she did that, Emily has been cast aside."
Her words felt like heavy stones pressing on my heart.
Although money was not omnipotent, it was indeed impossible to do anything without it.
It could easily change things for people who are trying to climb their career ladder.
Money made it easier for some people and harder for others.
Emily's case was a good example of how money could affect one's career.
The thing that seemed more ridiculous was the fact that it was Charles, who sponsored Lucia.
Several days passed since.
Charles seemed to have disappeared because he had not contacted me since then.
He only sent me a text a day before he was supposed to play tennis with Henri, reminding me of the
time and place.
However, his words felt a little cold and brief.
So, I didn't reply to him.
But since I had already promised him, I did not want to go back on my word.
“The next morning, I woke up earlier than usual and freshened up.I put on my wedding ring right before
I left my house.”
The diamond glowed in the sun, dazzling me.
Charles was waiting outside for me.
He was dressed casually, which made him look youthful, and handsome.
The rising sun cast a golden glow on the horizon, but Charles looked more dazzling than the sun.
After getting in the car, neither of us said a word.
The gap between us wouldn't disappear so easily.
Besides, there was no point in talking too much.
The car stopped at the tennis courts, and wanting to catch a breath of fresh air, 1 quickly got off.
"Scarlett." I turned around, and saw Armelle and Henri walking towards me.
They were dressed in sportswear.
They already seemed to have finished warming up, and their foreheads had tiny beads of sweat.
But they smiled and were quite active.
Charles and I, on the other hand, were not as energetic as them.
Suddenly, Charles intertwined his fingers with mine, and I looked into his eyes, surprised.
At first, my heart skipped a beat, but then it began to race so fast.
"You came so early!"
Holding my hand, Charles walked to them to greet them.
"Let's play doubles."
Henri seemed to be very enthusiastic.
He picked up the racket and took Armelle to the court, leaving no chance for me to refuse.
Charles looked at me and said in a seemingly considerate yet cold tone, "You don't want to be my
partner? If that's the case, then I can play on my own."
I was stunned for a second, but I picked up the racket.
"I can play doubles with you."
Now we were on the court, ready to begin the match.
Although I made many mistakes, there was an inexplicable strange feeling in my heart.
At least for now, Charles and I were together, as a team.
We worked hard for the common goal, made up for each other, and fought together.
Thinking of that, tears welled up in my eyes.
It was undeniable that I really wanted to be happy with him, but it was harder than it seemed.
And for some reason, I was a little distracted.
When I finally came back to my senses, I saw the ball flying towards me.
Just when I was frozen, I felt a tall figure appear in front of me.
It was Charles! With a wave of his hand, he hit the ball with his racket.
He then dropped his racket to the ground, grabbed me by the shoulder, and examined me nervously.
"Scarlett, are you okay?" I looked at him blankly.
My throat was completely parched.
"I… I'm fine."
Henri and Armelle also rushed to my side, looking worried.
"I'm sorry that you almost got hit by the ball.I was so excited that I accidentally used too much force
when I hit the ball," Henri said guiltily, looking at me.
"Thank God, Charles was there to protect her just in time!" Armelle said as she pinched Henri's arm.
Henri looked at her with a grin.
"Ouch! Baby, please be gentle!"
"It was not your fault.I was the one that was distracted," I comforted Henri.
"Take a rest."
Saying that, Charles dragged me away from the court and made me sit on a bench.He then continued
to play with Henri, while Armelle sat down with me and talked.
Time passed quickly, and soon, it was noon.Armelle held my hand all of a sudden.
"It's too early to go home.My friend is hosting an art exhibition.Why don't we go there this afternoon?"
We all agreed, so after having lunch, we went to the art exhibition.
Armelle was holding her husband's arm intimately and talking to him sweetly while we were at the
exhibition.
I looked down at my hand and saw that Charles was holding my hand tightly, but since my palms were
a little sweaty, I pulled my hand out, feeling a little uneasy.
"My hand is sweaty," I explained.
Hearing that, his expression turned cold and he pursed his lips.
There was a strange coldness between us.
After we were done watching the art exhibit, I let out a sigh of relief.
We all had dinner together, and Charles drank a lot.
On our way back, I turned to the driver and said, "Go to the Garden Street."
Charles glanced at me and remained silent.Soon, we arrived at the destination.
I opened the door and got out of the car, but the next second, he pulled me back inside.I turned to look
at him in confusion.
"Anything else?"
Charles lowered his head and touched my hand softly, his slender fingers scratching my skin.
His fingers brushed over my wedding ring.
"Are you going to take off your ring after you get home?"
I don't know why he asked that, but I nodded in reply.
Seeing that, he took off the wedding ring from my finger.
"What are you doing?" I asked in surprise.
Charles looked at me with a deep gaze that made my heart ache.
"I will be keeping the ring from now on."
Upon hearing that, I did not know what to say, so I looked at him in silence.
Actually, the ring was not too expensive.
I had purchased our wedding rings from a small independent brand back then, and even though it was
not from a luxury brand, Charles seemed to cherish our rings a lot.
While I was lost in thought, he leaned in and kissed me on the lips.
He put his arms around my waist and pulled me closer with great force as though he was trying to
embed me into his body, but his kiss was very gentle.
He then licked my lips before he finally let me go.
Even though I did not drink a lot.
I still felt drunk after that.
And if he had not hugged me like that, I would have fallen down to the floor.
Somehow, tears rolled down my cheeks.
Charles narrowed his eyes at me, tempting me and pulling me into a dark abyss.
I suddenly felt like the whole world had gone silent, and the sound of our kiss was the only thing that
could be heard.
Charles pressed his forehead against mine with a cold look in his eyes.
"Scarlett, you will regret your decision, sooner or later."
"You are drunk."
"If I was drunk, then I would have carried you upstairs to have sex,"
Charles sneered and loosened his grip on me.
I took two steps back and saw him turn around.
He got in the car, and slammed the door shut loudly, making me shudder.
Confusion filled my heart as I watched him leave.
It was indeed hard for me to read Charles' mind now.
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