On Christmas night, Francis paid a visit to his parents, and Scarlett invited Skyler to have dinner with her. They had not made a reservation in advance, so it was really hard to find a good restaurant that was not yet fully reserved. They wandered in the streets for a long time, and they finally walked into a small and poorly furnished Brazilian restaurant. It wasn’t a fancy restaurant or anything, but the food tasted surprisingly good. They were already happy and satisfied, for they didn’t expect much of Christmas. After their mom had passed away, Christmas did not have any real meaning to them.
There were very few people on the street since everyone was at home. Everybody was with their families sharing food, unwrapping gifts, and enjoying the warmth of their homes. Scarlett and Skyler were simply poor exceptions, walking around in the blustery, cold weather. They walked and talked about wha
Scarlett got up and was about to leave.“Believe me or not, things will happen, and you will come to me again. See you then.” The woman said slowly, with a mysterious smile on her face.Scarlett walked out of the hall without listening to the woman. She just wanted to leave that place as soon as possible.“Child,” A voice that haunted the room stopped Scarlett from walking out of the shop.“A kind warning to your marriage. To start when there should be a start; to end when there should be an end. What brings you here is what leads you there.” Scarlett was completely puzzled, and the weird fragrance made her dizzy. She rushed out of the shop and took a deep breath.“Where are you?&rdqu
“Fuck! Don’t get me involved in this shit! I’m not going to your house. Let me go! I don’t wanna be a part of your plan!” Scarlett couldn’t be more regretful. She wished she hadn’t helped him out at all. All she wanted to do now was get out of the car and leave.But it was all too late. Chuck’s Adlington supercar was already well on its way to Sandler’s villa.Before Chuck and Scarlett arrived, Francis and the other family members had already finished eating dinner. Francis was in the hall talking to his father and elder brother, George.“I heard that your company recently nailed down a government project in Riverside City.” The old Sandler took a sip of tea and talked to Francis.Francis was clearly not p
George, Francis, and the old Sandler finished their conversation and came out from the hall. At the same time, Chuck’s mother, Victoria Livingston, also walked downstairs from her room. She was wearing a long green silk dress, with her blonde hair hung loose down her back.Scarlett was amazed by her beauty. In return, Victoria was also impressed by Scarlett at first sight. She was about to ask who the girl was, but another voice came ahead of hers.“When did you come here?”Francis recognized the familiar figure sitting next to his mother as soon as he walked out of the hall. He was struck by a complex feeling: a combination of shock, delight, and anger. He was directing his query at Scarlett, and now everyone had fixed their gaze on the fresh visitor amongst them.
As soon as the holiday season was over, Skyler was about to embark on his adventure to Britain to pursue his studies. Scarlett had been busy as a bee trying to get everything in order so he could leave without a care in the world. Almost every single day, she would peer at Skyler’s luggage and keep adding more stuff.Two days before departure, Scarlett visited Skyler’s hostel again.“I think I’ve finished with all the packing,” said Skyler.“Oh, okay. Let me double-check the list for you, though. C’mon, hand it over.” Scarlett offered.“Did you pack your down jackets and windbreakers?”“Yeah, but just one overcoat. It’ll be too heavy otherwise. I’ll
One man was seemingly checking if the two persons in the flesh matched with the photo on his phone. After he had double-checked with careful scans, the two men walked a few steps toward Skyler and Scarlett. One of them said respectfully, “Good evening, Mr. and Miss. Morris. Welcome to London! Mr. Sandler sent us to pick you up. The car’s ready for you there.”Skyler thought they were some scammers or con artists in the first place until he heard the familiar name “Sandler.” Scarlett was unexpectedly calm, and she declined the kind offer politely, “Thank you, sir. But don’t bother, we can take a taxi.” Scarlett turned around and was about the leave. The man stopped her by saying, “Sorry, Miss. Morris. Can you wait for a second? Could you just hold on for a moment?”The other man quickly dialed a number
Francis seemed to be attending a meeting. He interrupted the presenter and walked out of the meeting room.“Listen, Scarlett. Two other Cambridge students rented the house, which means Skyler will actually have two roommates. I’ve investigated their backgrounds, and they just seem like regular kids. You don’t have anything to worry about.” Francis explained to her patiently.“But…but you didn’t even ask me before you made these decisions? I am his sister!”Francis leaned against the wall and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I didn’t ask you because you didn’t want to talk to me.”Scarlett was stunned and couldn’t find the words to argue with Francis at all. But obviously, Francis didn&
Scarlett was made sober by his words. She urged, “What do I have to be afraid of anyway? I have not done anything wrong!”She sat up straight when she yelled at Francis, but Francis wore a gentle and affectionate smile on his face. Scarlett had not looked at him, so from such close quarters in over a month, his elegance and charm caught her off guard. So, she kept staring at him and couldn’t move her eyes away.Francis leaned on the bedside; he touched Scarlett’s face gently and cautiously. “I’m so sorry for what I said that day, babe.” His voice was low and a bit hoarse. Scarlett could practically hear the guilt dripping from his words. She felt that his gentle touch and soft voice had almost healed her wounds. But she pinched her own thigh to warn herself to remain reasonable and remember the deep pain he had caused h
(Warning: This chapter contains a sexual scene. If you're not comfortable reading it kindly skip it and move to another chapter)In the morning, when the sun was warm, and the yellow glow shone through the tulle curtains into the room, the two shook off their slumbers at the same time.“I want to sleep!” Scarlett was alert to Francis’s movement and pulled the quilt to cover her head. Francis stretched out his hand and moved from Scarlett’s back to her waist, soft and gentle.“No way!” Scarlett buried herself in the bed. Francis pulled her into his arms and caressed her gently. “You’ll sleep even better after great sex, babe.” He whispered into her ear, trying to seduce her.Francis had, after all, been celibate for mo
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.”