Caroline’s POV:
I furtively scanned the crowd for Charles, but I couldn’t see him anywhere.
My hesitation lasted for seconds before I gave in and finally answered the call.
"Hello."
No one answered.
Heavy breathing was the only thing I heard, the sound ensnaring my senses in its trap.
Thousands of words welled up in my heart.
In the end, all I asked was, "Charles, what can I do for you?"
"Sorry, wrong number."
The asinine reply was all I got after several seconds of silence.
Disappointed, I muttered, "In that case, bye."
"Bye," he answered.
For a small eternity, I waited with bated breath for him to say something, but when I realized he had no
intention of speaking, I hung up and walked out of the banquet hall.
I was so lost in my jumbled thoughts that I failed to watch where I was going and bumped into a waiter
who happened to be carrying several glasses of wine.
The tray in his hand fell and all the glasses of wine toppled over, drenching my dress.
"I’m sorry, Miss.Are you okay?" the waiter asked anxiously.
"I am fine." I replied quickly, quelling his stream of apologies.
My cheeks heated with embarrassment as I accepted a tissue from him and began wiping the wine
stain.
The commotion we made drew Simon’s attention.
He excused himself from the group he was in and hurried over to me.
"Are you hurt?" he asked with concern..
"No, it’s just that my dress is stained.I have a spare one. Don’t worry."
The waiter then led me into a room I could change in after I fetched my spare dress in the car.
The room was awash in darkness and I was unable to find the light switch anywhere.
With a soft click, the door closed behind me and I abandoned my search for the light switch in favor of
getting out of my wet dress.
Just then, there was a slight rustling sound from somewhere behind me.
Was there anyone else in this room? Lips pursing, I turned around slowly with a frown, but I couldn’t
see anything.
However, I had definitely heard a sound that could only have been made by another human.
"Who is there?" I asked cautiously
There was no verbal answer to my question, but I was able to make out the shape of a man smoking a
cigarette on the sofa in the corner.
The cigarette burn was bright in the darkness.I nearly smacked myself in the head for my carelessness.
In my haste to get out of the dress, I hadn’t bothered to make sure the room was empty before
disrobing.
The man in the corner stayed silent and continued smoking, but suddenly the light came on.
My eyes had gotten used to the darkness of the room and the sudden brightness blinded me for a
second.
Out of habit, I squinted until my eyes had once again adjusted to the light.
Now able to see properly, I turned to the figure on the sofa and I was left speechless at the man’s
identity.
My initial thought was that it was some playboy but I was wrong.
The man smoking in the dark turned out to be none other than Charles.I continued staring at him in
shocked silence.
Through the clouds of smoke he puffed up, Charles stared back at me.
It was impossible to put to words the myriad of thoughts flashing through our eyes.
The smoke from Charles’ cigarette filled the air.
Finally, he broke the silence.
"Are you not cold?"
His question snapped me back to attention and that was when I realized that I was standing in front of
him half naked.
My face flamed and I hastily grabbed at the rest of my dress, trying to cover myself.
Frantically, I scanned the room and couldn’t find even a cubicle I could change in.
Damn it! Eventually, I had no choice but to turn to Charles awkwardly.
"Please turn around." He said nothing for a while and simply stared at me.
After a few seconds of tense silence, he stood up and went out to the balcony.
The moon reflected starkly on his figure.
He stood still, his back straight.
For a while, I did nothing but stare at him, lost in my thoughts.
Eventually, I was able to snap out of it and returned my attention to what I should be doing.
As quickly as possible, I changed from my wet dress to my spare one.
But my bout of embarrassing episodes were not over yet.
The new dress was strapless and was meant to be laced up on the back.
The dress was designed in such a way that the person wearing the dress would need someone else to
lace them up.
It was an unfortunate predicament I discovered only after I had put on the dress.
So now, I was stuck in a dilemma.I couldn’t go out half naked, but I didn’t have anyone I could ask for
help….
"Do you need any help?"
Charles’ low and seductive baritone purred from behind me.
I shook my head in denial.
"No, thanks." Charles ignored my refusal of his help.
He put out the cigarette and walked towards me.His long legs ate up the distance between us in a few
steps.
I could do nothing but stare up at him.
The room was well lit and nothing was in the dark.
But then Charles stalked closer to me and his body loomed over me, his shadow blocking out the light.
Our bodies were so close that our breaths intertwined and each time I inhaled, I breathed in the scent
of nicotine.
Breathing the same air was a very alluring and powerful aphrodisiac.
"Turn around," Charles ordered gruffly.
Dazed, all I could do was blink up at him.
Charles took matters into his own hands and turned me around by the shoulders.
Slowly, Charles gathered my hair and pushed it over my shoulder so he could have a clear view of my
back.
Long fingers swept over my skin, and the heat made me tremble.
Subconsciously, I turned away from his touch but he held both of my hands captive.
He pushed me against the wall and dragged both of my hands above my head.
My face was flush against the wall and Charles’ body heat directly behind me.
Something about being trapped in this position made me feel nervous.I struggled to get free but
Charles wouldn’t let me go
"Do you feel good?"
Charles’ seductive purr drawled right inside my ear and I shivered.His voice was hoarse and deep, and
I could tell just from the tenor that Charles was feeling as conflicted as I was.
A frown marred my face as I cocked my head in confusion.
"What?" Charles let go of my hands and turned me to face him.
This position was even more intimate as Charles’ hand encircled my lower back, pushing me deeper
into him.
The heat of his palm made my legs feel a little weak.
My face flamed a deep red and I couldn’t help but shout, "Charles!"
My mind went blank.I couldn’t think of anything else, so I could only call his name again and again.
Charles pinched my chin, using his hold on me to stop my flow of words.
He swallowed hard.
After a beat of silence, he asked hoarsely, "Do you feel good when I dance with other women?"
Why was he asking me such a question? He wasn’t trying to rub it in, was he? I was stunned.
Hot tears rushed to my eyes at his question.I twisted my head to the side so he wouldn’t see how his
words affected me.
But Charles didn’t let go of my chin.
He looked into my eyes and said, "I… I feel terrible."
Again, I was left floored by his words.
But before I could say anything, he continued, "You shouldn’t have come to me holding Simon’s hand!"
I bit my lip, not knowing what to say.
The blatant anguish in his eyes made my heart twinge with a corresponding pain.
A good-looking man would always get more sympathy.
Clenching my fists tightly, I tried to suppress the urge to smooth out his frown.
"That statement is out of line, Charles."
"Of course it is.I know we are divorced, so I don’t have the right to demand anything from you," Charles
snapped in a tight tone, his eyes turning forlorn.
It was hard to imagine that such a high-spirited and charming man could also become so frustrated and
incapable of forming the right words to express himself.
I was touched, but I tried to be rational.
"Since you know it, you should let go of me now."
I had no choice but to make myself as indifferent as possible and rational when I faced him.
However, my rationality went out the window when he suddenly kissed me.
I trembled.
Instinctively, I took a step back from his kiss.
But with my back against the wall, there was nowhere could go.
The best I could do was to turn my head to avoid the kiss.
If I was firing on all cylinders, then I would have remembered to push him away from me.
But I couldn’t do it.
He didn’t flinch when he failed to kiss me.
Instead, he bent over and tried to kiss me again.
This kiss was not urgent.
On the contrary, it was more like a test.He seemed to be observing my reaction.
I found myself unable to dodge at all.I tilted my head and tried to avoid him, but his lips followed mine
closely.
He kissed me and sucked my lips.
Again, I dodged him.
But this time it didn’t look like I was trying to hide from him anymore, but more like I was playing a
flirting game with him.
We panted loudly, our breaths unsteady.
"Caroline, are you here?"
Simon’s voice suddenly called from outside the room, startling the both of us.
A short knock followed his words.
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