Chapter 54 His Concealment
Rita's POV:
In the ward, I greeted Scarlett with the sweetest smile I could muster. She, however, just looked at me warily as if wondering what tricks I had up my sleeve.
I then poured her a glass of water, held her hand, and looked at her up and down. "How have you been these past few days?" I asked with concern. "What do you want?" Scarlett coldly replied. I could not help but notice that her tone was similar to Charles's.
Just as I was about to pull her to a chair, I saw that there were hickeys on her neck. My eyes glinted in anger, but I quickly adjusted my mood. Instead, I gave her the glass and timidly said, "We haven't seen each other for a long time. I just want us to have a little chat."
Scarlett's eyes narrowed, probably in disdain, but no emotion could be seen on her face.
I smoothed my long hair and decided to go straight to the point. "I was the one who had ordered someone to throw paint on you."
It was only then that she reacted. However, her reaction was far from what I had anticipated. She looked at me and calmly replied, "Yeah, I figured."
"You figured? Didn't Charles tell you that? Oh no. I'm so stupid!" I exclaimed with feigned guilt.
"Scarlett, please don't be mad at Charles. He only did that to protect me. Please forgive me. It's just that jealousy got the best of me. Don't worry. Everything will be fine once Charles and I get married. We'll have your blessing, right?" I asked with doe eyes.
"Are you done?" Scarlett put the glass on the table and left without waiting for my reply.
With a triumphant smile, I picked up the glass of water and slowly watered the flowers. 'How do you think you'll win against me? By your beauty? Or perhaps your place in Charles's heart? Oh, please. You will never win.'
Once Scarlett was gone, Richard walked up to me and draped a thin coat over my shoulders. "Honey, why did you let Scarlett go so easily?" he asked with a frown.
"Don't worry. Sometimes, just one word is enough to win a battle." I rolled my eyes at him. This is why I detested Richard. He would easily lose his composure. How pathetic.
At that moment, I turned around and touched his face with the tip of my fingers. But in my mind, it was Charles, who was in front of me. "Now, Scarlett knows that Charles hid the truth from her. I'm sure that tha would be her last straw. Her beloved man always defends another woman. She must be very sad."
Meanwhile, Richard swallowed hard. Unable to resist my flirtation, he lowered his head and kissed me on the neck.
All of a sudden, Scarlett's hickeys crossed my mind. Disgusted, I pushed Richard away from me, clenched the glass in my hand, and bellowed, "Bitch! Charles has never kissed me. Humph! That bitch must've enjoyed it!"
'Why is it that Scarlett gets whatever she wants without breaking a sweat while I can't? Even though I've done so much for Charles, he still doesn't love me.'
Jealousy fogged my mind. The next thing I knew, I had smashed the glass on the floor, where it broke into a million pieces. I clenched my hands into fists, and my carefully manicured nails dug into my palm. "Why is Scarlett still alive? I wish she were dead!"
Scarlett's POV:
I ran out of the hospital as fast as I could as if a beast was chasing after me. I did not stop until I had run out of breath.
'Rita had insulted me, and yet Charles still defended her. How much does she mean to him? I knew it. I should've just given up. What was I expecting?'
Rita's words were like a bucket of cold water pouring all over me. It woke me up in an instant. My body could not stop trembling. And somehow, it was difficult for me to breathe. I had never been humiliated like this before. My mind was in a mess. I wanted to flee, but I had no idea where to go.
After pondering for a moment, my gaze fell on the convenience store not far away. Without thinking, I bought two bottles of wine for myself.
Today was a sunny day, but my world was overcast. Even the cold and strong breeze could not blow away my dejection.
I sat on the curb and drank by myself. Meanwhile, a homeless man a few yards away strummed his guitar and sang Yesterday Once More.
"When they got to the part where he's breaking her heart, it can really make me cry..."
As the man hummed quietly, I broke into tears.
I was immersed in my thoughts.
The lyrics in that song just summed up my life. Before I knew it, tears were welling up in my eyes.
"Miss, are you okay?" the homeless man asked. I was so sad that I did not notice he had stopped singing.
I shook my head and handed him the other bottle of wine. "Sir, you sang well," I praised with a forced smile.
"Thank you! God bless you!" The homeless man seemed happy with the little gift I had given to him. He took the bottle of wine and sang another classic song. The sun shone on him. And for a fleeting moment, I felt his joy.
It was getting late now. Grandma must be waiting for me in the hospital. With that, I threw the empty bottle into the trash bin and returned to the hospital.
The moment I reached the entrance, I happened to see Charles helping Christine out.
Grandma's face lit up in delight when she saw me. She waved at me and asked Charles to pick me up across the road.
He obediently did as told. He jogged towards me and held my hand when he got close. I wanted to push him away. Unfortunately, I could not do that in front of Grandma.
As Charles saw that I was rather obedient, he gently squeezed my hand with a smile. He seemed to be in a good mood. Little did he know that I was glaring at him from the corner of my eye.
In order to stay away from him, I walked into the car first and sat beside Grandma.
"Grandma, I miss you so much." I leaned on Grandma's shoulder and acted like a spoiled child. Only when I was with her did I feel at ease.
Grandma patted my hand and said, "Good girl, I miss you too."
"Sit on the passenger seat," Charles ordered while standing by the door of the car.
"I want to sit beside Grandma," I groaned. I looked around and noticed that the driver did not come today. It seemed that Charles was the one who drove.
"Grandma needs to rest. You'll just disturb her," he reasoned out.
I could not refute that. Albeit reluctant, I had no choice but to sit on the passenger seat.
While I was fastening my seatbelt, Charles leaned over and took a whiff of me. "Did you drink?" he asked with a frown.
Damn Charles!
I wish I could beat him up right then and there. I turned my head away and admitted, "Just a little."
"Why did drink so early in the day? Drinking is bad for your health. Don't drink again, please?" Grandma persuaded.
"Okay, Grandma. If you say so. I won't drink anymore," I reassured. Grandma would only rest assured if I guaranteed to do what she asked.
Charles raised his eyebrows and eyed me with suspicion. But I did not want to talk to him anymore, so I lowered my head and mumbled, "Dogs indeed have a keen sense of smell."
We arrived at the villa not long after. Grandma got out of the car first with the help of the housekeeper. While I was unbuckling my seatbelt, I suddenly heard a sharp click. It turned out that Charles had locked the door.
I looked at him with a frown.
"What the hell are you doing? We don't need to talk about the details of the divorce procedure again." I put my bag on my knees, ready to argue.
I could not figure out what Charles was thinking. He was more unpredictable than ever.
Without a word, he unbuckled his seatbelt and, to my surprise, loosened the top button of his shirt, revealing his well-sculpted collarbone.
How could he make such a simple action appear so attractive?
"What... what do you want to do? Just say it. There's no need to unbutton your clothes," I stammered.
Charles ignored my words. All of a sudden, he grabbed my wrist and stared at me with his deep eyes. His intense gaze stupefied me. Nervous, I clenched my fists and stared back at him.
Our argument had not yet begun, but my defense had already started to crumble.