Francis held her in his arms and brushed the hair back from her face, and asked, “Are you hungry?”
However, Scarlett didn’t answer him. It turned out that she had fallen asleep again.
Francis just breathed a deep sigh. All said and done, he felt relieved. Scarlett was pregnant with their baby, not suffering from any life-threatening disease that might kill her. The pregnancy signaled joy and hope for the future. Now, with another baby on the way, she would be compelled to stay with him and bring the child up with all the love and compassion she had in her heart.
Francis bent his head down and kissed her cheek gently. He whispered, “I’m sorry, Scarlett. I’m sorry for everything. I hope you know that I love you more than anyone in this world. I’ll keep you safe no matter what.
Francis wasn’t able to see Scarlett off at the airport because of his injured leg. As a result, Chuck took on this honorable mission to go to France with Scarlett and help her arrange for a new apartment.Coincidentally, Eve had gone back to France as well. Although Scarlett had no idea about how she convinced Damon to let her go, she was still pleased about this news.Chuck arranged for Scarlett to live in a small but exquisite building. It was a nice neighborhood with many cute cafes and bistros, and there was hardly any crime in the area either. Since the place was out in a first-tier suburb, however, Chuck had to figure out how to get Scarlett a chauffeur who could take her back and forth from school.“I’m fine taking public transport, Chuck. It’s not that long of a ride, and the scenery
As expected, Francis was delighted, and Scarlett felt he was overwhelmed by happiness.“Francis, I have to remind you that raising a girl comes with all kinds of costs… clothes and accessories….” Scarlett added.Francis just laughed loudly and said, “Of course. I will give my girls the best in the world!”Then, in a more serious tone, Scarlett said, “But Francis, I’m also serious. Besides dresses and jewelry and whatnot, it’s difficult to raise girls in this cruel world. Are you really ready for that?”Francis kissed Scarlett’s cheek and said, “I’m ready for any challenge as long as you’re by my side.”After that, Scarlett just said, &
Francis frowned, “What’s that supposed to mean anyway? I was young once too, you know. I went to college, and graduated, and-““No, no, you’re missing the point, Francis,” Scarlett said, interrupting him. “You just don’t look… I don’t know, distinguished, I guess. You’re not like Damon, Eve’s boyfriend. He has a certain… a refinement to him. You know what I mean?”“So you like Damon?” Francis said, full of jealousy.Scarlett nodded readily and said, “Yeah, I’m just saying I like his temperament. It’s much better than yours.”Francis suddenly took out his cellphone, and Scarlett stared at him in confusion. Then she realized what was going on: Fra
And then she saw a beautiful diamond ring on the white plate. It was shiny and magnificent, releasing its charm with panache.Scarlett looked up at Francis in astonishment. Francis was smiling and looking at her affectionately.Francis stood up from his chair and began to say, “Scarlett...”Scarlett leaned back against the chair and clenched her fists. Her heart started beating very fast; she felt overwhelmed by such a huge surprise.Right then, one of the waiters came out of the shadows and gave Francis a big bunch of roses. Francis grabbed it and went down on one knee.“I once proposed to you when we got a divorce because I decided to let you go. This time, I’m more sincere than las
As soon as the exchange program was over, Francis booked Scarlett’s flight back to America.Being six months pregnant, the intercontinental flight was no easy feat for Scarlett. She felt uncomfortable on the plane because she felt a searing pain in her back and waist no matter what posture she found. She had to keep getting up to go pee too. Overall, she suffered a lot on the plane.The stewardess came to ask her several times whether she was doing okay, and although Scarlett was chronically uncomfortable, she did not tell the stewardess anything about her discomfort. Instead, with a bright smile on her face, she said she was doing just fine. Scarlett took a deep breath and covered herself with the blanket. She turned her head to look out the window at ten thousand meters above the air.When the plane landed,
As Francis walked in, Scarlett lowered her head to stroke her belly, and a while later, she saw a familiar figure sitting down next to her.“I’m fine now. Are you scared?” she asked smilingly; although her small face looked pale, her eyes were still bright.Francis held her hand and said, “Scarlett, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault, if not because of me, you would not suffer so much like this...”He opened his arms and embraced her, and said, “I’m so sorry that I can’t feel your pain.”Scarlett was about to make fun of him, but before she could do that, he just kissed her face and said, “Scarlett, don’t be afraid. I will protect you, so don’t be afraid...”
He looked very serious, and his look was so scary that Carlos was practically moved to tears. When Scarlett saw that, she said, “Let me do it. You are scaring him now!”Francis shook his head and handed the spoon a little closer to him. Carlos’s eyes were becoming watery with tears because of the wrath of his father.“Carlos, you eat yourself, or I feed you? You are a little man now, and you shouldn’t cry so easily.”Scarlett coaxed him and said, “Oh, my sweetheart, you eat yourself; when you finish, I will tell you a story.” Scarlett held back her anger and put on a smile, and continued, “How about the story of the Three Little Pigs? That's your favorite story, right?”Carlos was interested, and then Francis pu
In order to keep her figure, Scarlett had devised a brand new diet aimed at reducing her belly fat. She had constructed it after doing hours of research on the Internet and consulting with multiple nutritionists. As a result, Scarlett ate her meals separately from everyone else in the household. While they feasted on barbecued meats, lavish cheeses from the south of France, and freshly baked loaves of bread, she ate only the low carb stuff. She made it a point to consume lots of vegetables, especially leafy greens, whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, millet, and beans, and lean meats like organic chicken and fish.Scarlett’s favorite snack to eat was her homemade makizushi– or rolled sushi. She made hers with brown rice, avocado, carrot, and cucumber as the main ingredients. On rare occasions, she might add a dollop of cream cheese, but she knew that the cream cheese wouldn’t do her any
When Scarlett woke up, it was eight o’clock in the morning. She rolled around in bed for a few moments before sitting up. Her head felt heavy.“You’re awake!” Francis said as he walked into the bedroom from the balcony. He smiled at her. “I thought you’d be out for hours. Aren’t you jetlagged? How long was the flight from Lisbon to Irving anyway? And didn’t you have a stopover in Dallas?”Scarlett rested her head on Francis’s shoulder and said, “Well, I wanted to go to bed early last night. No thanks to you, we ended up staying up so late! I barely got enough sleep. You’re exhausting me, Francis!”“Oh? Am I? I’m so sorry, Scarlett.” Francis teased. He kissed her neck and tousled her hair.
“Don’t you miss me?” Scarlett laughed on the other side. Her hair was wet, and she was wearing a champagne-colored nightgown. She looked as pretty as ever.“Of course I miss you, but I can’t do anything about it, right? I can’t cry on daddy’s shoulder as Brittany did.” Francis said. He came to the balcony and lit up a cigarette and felt a little relaxed.“Brittany cried?” Scarlett asked in surprise.“Yep, she cried for over an hour,” he said as he breathed out a plume of thick smoke.Upon hearing that, Scarlett felt kind of guilty. Was she selfish? Was she a bad mother, a bad wife?“Francis, do you resent me?” Scarlett asked as she Skyped with
As Carlos grew up, he learned the fact that his father was very powerful. But he couldn’t tell his mother what to do.“I gotta fly to Portugal for business... I’ll be gone for a month,” Scarlett said one evening.“Why do you have to be gone for such a long time? Can’t you just get one of your associates to go instead? What’s going to happen to us while you’re gone? At least try to see if you can come back sooner….” Francis moaned unhappily. He hated being away from his wife.“Carlos will take care of his sisters, and besides, Brittany and Shannon are very good kids.” Scarlett comforted gently. “You don’t have to worry about anything.”“I’m not talking about them. I&rsqu
Francis suddenly grabbed Scarlett in the crowd, who walked next to Eve and then tightened his grip around her waist. He pinned her against the pillar and gazed at her without looking away.“What are you doing?” she blushed as she noticed that he was staring at her.Francis moved his hand from her hip to her waist. He was turned on by her sexy figure– as always.After that, he kissed her fiercely– just like he was kissing her for the very first time in his life.Scarlett was taken by surprise and kissed him back passionately as the fireworks blazed on.They parted breathlessly and stared at each other with lust in their eyes.“I hope you’re glad
Scarlett looked up at Skyler. He smiled at her and said, “I’m very relieved that you’re gonna get married to Francis. So now you don’t need to worry about anything in the world.”“You’d better be quick. I will open the door now!” Eve said with her hand on the handrail.Scarlett and Skyler smiled at each other and felt that there was indeed nothing to be scared of anymore. They had, after all, suffered deeply for two decades. Now that was all over. They couldn’t dwell on the past; it was time to step into the future and embrace happiness.“Go ahead, I’m ready!” she smiled, readying herself for the walk down the aisle.As the door opened, Scarlett walked out with Skyler gripping her arm. He was smiling
There was a minute of silence over the phone– Francis and Scarlett said nothing to one another. Scarlett pouted and asked, “Wait a minute… are you laughing at me? You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”“No, I’m the same as you. I feel nervous,” he said in a low voice.“What?” Scarlett asked curiously.Francis was standing in front of the window of his study room with his hands in his pocket, looking out at the vast, blue sea outside.He took a deep breath and smiled, “I said, I’m much more nervous than you are. I’m sure of it. You have no idea how nervous I’m feeling right now.”Scarlett laughed gleefully. Hearing that Francis was
Scarlett was about to drink up from her can of beer, but on the command of Eve, she was made to down an entire bottle of whiskey instead.“For our lovely and beautiful bride!” Eve said.With that, they blasted some tunes and began dancing wildly. Eve approached Scarlett and said something in her ear.“Say it again! I can’t hear you!” Scarlett shouted loudly.“I’m saying, don’t be a housewife! Live for yourself now and forever.” Eve shouted loudly.Scarlett just laughed and had a drink with her.“Cheers!” she said.The party didn’t come to a close until 4 am the fol
At this moment, Carlos took Shannon by the hand and walked in slowly, and said, “Brittany, mommy is tired. Please go play by yourself.”But Brittany just ignored him and took Scarlett to jump on the balcony. She was excited about the big blue swimming pool in front of them and said, “Mommy, I want to swim. Mommy, please go swimming with me.”The setting sun shone on the swimming pool; it was very quiet.“My sweetheart, could you ask daddy to go swimming with you a while later?” Scarlett said as she touched her head.Though Brittany was unhappy about this, she was not a stubborn kid; after that, she turned around to go look for Francis. Carlos was a little worried about her, so he instantly followed her.
Eve was pissed off and almost fainted from how angry and frustrated she was feeling right then.Damon immediately held her around her waist and said smilingly, “It’s our wedding day, Eve! I know you’re stressed out and panicking about this whole pregnancy thing, but this is actually good. You’re not pregnant! We’re in the clear! So let’s just try to enjoy this day now, why don’t we? What do you think?”As the guests left, Eve and Damon checked into the presidential suite at the hotel. When they got in the room, Damon suddenly realized that Eve was on the first night of her period. She may not be interested in having sex with him.“You know I don’t mind that you’re bleeding down there at all, right? A real man braves the red tide.”