Scarlett's POV:
Unexpectedly, Charles grabbed me by the waist before lifting me off his lap. Then, he stood in front of
me.
My gaze crossed his shoulder, meeting Rita's resentful glare.
Rita demanded angrily, "Scarlett! Were you the one who instigated Lily to destroy the Lively Group?!"
"Hey! Who let this crazy woman in? Where are the bodyguards? Drive her out!" Vivian immediately
jumped to my defense, and stormed over with the fury of a scorned woman.
But Rita suddenly brandished a large knife and began waving it threateningly at Vivian. Her eyes
burned with manic ferocity. She seemed to breathe fire as she hissed, "Come at me if you have the
guts!"
"Vivian, get away from her!" Spencer stepped forward in a flash, holding Vivian protectively in his arms
to shield her.
Icey screamed, horrified.
Rita's expression was twisted as she aimed the sharp end of the knife at me. She no longer looked
sane. "Answer me, Scarlett! Answer me, or else...!"
I glared back at Rita, my lips a disdainful sneer. "Hey, Rita. Have you ever considered the
consequences of your actions?"
As I spoke, I felt a comforting warmth on the back of my hand. Charles was holding my hand firmly,
with his other hand set behind his back. Just like that, a strong sense of security engulfed my heart. I
felt fearless.
Charles hardened his voice as he ordered, "Rita, put down the knife."
Rita's lips trembled, and she frowned. She stared piteously at him, tears of anguish streaming down
her face like a broken faucet. "Charles, do you know what Scarlett had done to me? Do you have any
idea?!"
"Rita, you need to calm down. You can't blame Scarlett for everything. She's innocent, and she's done
nothing wrong!" Spencer said earnestly, trying to reason with Rita.
Unfortunately, his attempt was in vain. His words infuriated Rita even more, and her hands trembled
violently as she gripped her knife. "Liar! Liar, liar, liar! Scarlett's done so many awful things to me! Why
the hell are you all speaking for her?! I'm the one who got hurt! I lost everything! I'm the most innocent
person here! You're all deceived by her. She's tricked all of you! She deserves to die!"
The more Rita spoke, the more emotional she became. She seemed to have no control of herself or
her words, screaming at the top of her lungs. She started swinging the knife wildly as she approached
me, eager to hurt me.
All of a sudden, Charles let go of my hand. Subconsciously, I moved forward, wanting to pull him back
to safety. But he went too fast and my fingers only brushed against the hem of his clothes.
Without caring for anything else, Charles lunged forward and grabbed the knife in Rita's hand. The
blade dug into his flesh, causing a torrent of red to flow out. The gushing blood stung my eyes, filling
my heart with horror.
"Charles...!" Spencer and David screamed in unison, appalled.
Rita stared wide-eyed at Charles's hand around her knife, astonished. For a moment, she was
stunned. Then she let out a shrill scream, withdrew her hand, and retreated in horror.
However, Charles remained rooted to the sport, stubbornly keeping his grip on the knife.
I was trembling all over, shock and fear reaching into my bones. Unable to stop myself, tears fell from
my eyes.
How could Charles do such a thing? How could he be so reckless as to grab the knife with his bare
hand?
My heart ached in dull agony. I rushed to check his hand, which was now badly mutilated. The terrible
sight sent shivers down my spine.
"Vivian! Charles needs help! Hurry!" I shouted, panic lacing my voice.
Vivian was quick on the uptake. She grabbed the first aid kit and treated Charles's wound in record
time.
I marched angrily toward Rita, my every step filled with burning wrath. Without an ounce of hesitation, I
raised my hand and gave Rita's face the hardest slap I could muster. The crisp sound echoed in the air,
loud and deafening, soon followed by Rita's agonized scream.
And then, the room fell into pin-drop silence.
For a long time, it remained that way. Then, slowly, Charles called me worriedly. "Scarlett…"
Memories of his gentleness and coldness from the past flooded my mind like an unstoppable tidal
wave. The pain and suffering between us were all caused by Rita!
Anger surged in me once more, snatching away my rationale. I lost control of myself and pounced on
Rita like a hungry tiger. Grabbing her neck, I screamed
myself hoarse, "You deserve it! You had it coming! Your lies and schemes almost took away everything
I had. Now you've lost everything, and it couldn't happen to a better person! You deserve all this! You
were never an innocent victim, Rita! And you never should've hurt Charles!"
Rita struggled free and stood up breathlessly. Despite that, she still maintained a defiant glare at me
and snapped stubbornly, "Hah! Scarlett, can you swear that you didn't plan all this in secret? You said
you hated me and my father! You wanted to destroy the Lively Group the most, don't you? I'm right,
aren't I?!"
"More than anything, I wanted you and your father to suffer ten thousand times more than I did!" I
snarled. I looked down at her, just like how one looked down at an overconfident ant. She was
revolting, pathetic, a sore sight that stung my eyes.
"Even if you die ten thousand times, Rita, it's not enough to atone for the sins that you and your evil
father had committed! If you don't provoke me anymore, I'll let you go this time. If you dare to provoke
me again in the future, who do you think Charles will protect this time?! Huh?!"
Rita was stunned silly, not knowing what to say. Slowly, her eyes fell on Charles.
I tried to calm myself and press down my anger, and followed her line of sight.
Charles's wound had been bandaged properly courtesy of Vivian, but the gauze was stained red with
blood. The sight still horrified me, even though I knew he was out of danger.
Charles looked at me with a warm, loving smile. "Of course I'll protect my beloved, Scarlett."
My heart was touched, and all the fury in me disappeared in an instant, leaving only feelings of
tenderness.
"I love you too, Charles," I blurted out despite myself.
"C-Charles!" Rita shouted in disbelief, her face filled with pain. "I once blocked a knife for you, Charles!
I saved your life! How could you be so cruel to me? Why are you doing this to me? Why?!"
However, Charles replied to her with a cold glare. "I've already paid you back for that, Rita. Besides, I
already knew that you protected me at that time because you saw that my bodyguards have arrived.
You knew it wouldn't be a life-threatening situation. That's why you risked it."
His retort rendered Rita completely speechless.
"You're just a vile and greedy woman," Charles sneered hatefully, disgust oozing out of his every pore.
Vivian, who was watching Charles's wound, furrowed her eyebrows. Frowning, she said to me,
"Scarlett, the cut seems quite deep. The wound's been bandaged, but I still need to treat it properly. We
have to go to the infirmary as soon as possible."
"Right. Let's go now." I nodded at her and held Charles's injured hand carefully. Both of us walked out.
Yet, Rita dashed forward and tried to block our path.
By this point, I didn't want to waste any more time on her and pushed her away decisively. With one
swing of my hand, she fell to the floor and lay there in an awkward position.
However, no one paid any attention to her.
We then hurried to the infirmary.
Vivian went to find everything she needed, while I helped Charles lie on the bed.
Charles smiled, but his lips were frighteningly pale. "Don't pull a long face, Scarlett. Smile."
"I can't possibly smile right now..." I looked at him worriedly, concern coloring my gaze.
"I want you to apply medicine to my wound."
"Me...?" I looked at Vivian for approval.
"Sure, you can apply it on him. Open the lid and spray the powder on the wound. It's easy." Vivian
handed me the bottle. "I'll go out first. Call me if you need anything."
I sat down next to Charles, carefully unwrapped the gauze, and applied medical powder to his wound
as gently as I could.
As I looked at the bloody wound, a single tear fell from my eyes and dropped on the back of my hand.
"Don't cry..." Charles caressed my face with his uninjured hand, wiping my tears gently. "Are you
worried about me, Scarlett?"
I didn't want to cry, but before I knew it, my voice was choked with sobs. "What's wrong with you?! You
could've grabbed Rita's hand. Why did you grab the knife instead?"
Charles leaned over and kissed my lashes. His low and hoarse voice was full of love. "Because... my
wife doesn't like me touching other women's hands."
His words stunned me, and I stopped bandaging his wound. I turned to stare at him in disbelief, but as I
did so, I met his sincere eyes.
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