Charles's POV:
Standing outside the door was the annoying Abner.
He had been pestering Scarlett all day long.
I tried to bite down my annoyance, but it surged out from the bottom of my heart.
The moment Scarlett opened the door and I saw Abner, I took Scarlett's hand and turned her to me.I
kissed her deeply in front of Abner.
Her lips tasted so sweet.
They were like some sort of drug that I was totally addicted to.
I still could not believe how infatuated I was with her.
All of a sudden, Scarlett bit my lower lip.
Startled, I instantly let go.
She stared at me with sharp, furious eyes, like a wild animal ready to fight.
Even though I knew that she was trying to threaten me, I could not help smiling.
The more she tried to push me away, the more I wanted her.
I wanted her so much that I wanted to hide her from the rest of the world so that no other man could
see her.
"Why are you in such a hurry, honey? You've just recovered.Abner can wait.Right, Abner?"
I held Scarlett in my arms and smirked at Abner.
Scarlett shook off my grip and snapped, "Stop it, Charles!"
I ran my thumb through her cheek and cooed, "You're so cute."
Then, I added deliberately, "You bit me so hard last night, too.Be gentle next time, or your dear
husband will die young."
Scarlett bit my lip last night as well.It was not a big deal, but I was sure that it would piss off Abner, so I
brought it up.
"Shut up!" Scarlett rolled her eyes at me.
"What? I don't need to be so serious in front of my wife, do I?"
I flashed her a grave look.
Ignoring me, Scarlett turned to Abner and said, "I'm sorry.Will you give me a few minutes? I just need to
change."
Then, she turned around and stepped on my foot, but it did not hurt at all.
I shrugged at Abner as Scarlett walked away.
Abner looked like he was trying really hard to keep his opinions to himself, which almost made me
laugh out loud.
He was wearing a white shirt, and his hair was combed up neatly.
After Scarlett was gone, he finally flashed me a polite smile and said good morning by way of greeting.
But I was not in the mood to exchange pleasantries with him.
I folded my arms across my chest and looked at him up and down.
He was obviously trying to woo Scarlett by coming so early in the morning and bringing some little
brown paper bag of breakfast.
I sneered, "Scarlett only eats breakfast that I make.Don't bother buying her breakfast next time."
"Why? Because you'll be here cooking breakfast for her? That's odd, considering she's divorcing you
soon.But don't worry.Once you're gone, I'll be there for Scarlett when she needs a friend.And you?
Well, you'll be her ex-husband, and once you're her ex, she won't want anything to do with you for the
rest of her life."
Abner's polite smile slowly faded away.
I stepped forward and looked down at him.
It was then that I realized that he was half a head shorter than I was.
I flicked his collar and said casually, "But we're not yet divorced, aren't we? She still belongs to me.I'm
still her husband.So you have no business coming here and picking up the pieces of her heart before
it's even broken.She's still mine, and you should back off."
Abner's jaw instantly tightened, and the civil look on his face melted away.
Fury twisted his face, but he still kept his cool, which I found admirable.
He said through clenched teeth, "Scarlett is a good woman, Charles.She deserves to spend the rest of
her life with a man who's loyal to her."
"And you think you're that man? Please.You're not good enough for her," I leered.
After that, Abner did not say anything more.
He just turned around and left.
Who did he think he was? Did he think that he could just waltz in here and take my woman away? A
few moments after Abner walked away, Scarlett returned.
She had changed into a simple white dress, which made her look gentle and lovely.
Abner was in white, and now so was she.
Did she dress like that on purpose? Did she want herself and Abner to look like they were a couple
wearing matching clothes? I stopped her and dragged her back.
"Change into something else.I don't like white."
"Let go of me, Charles! Where is Abner? Did you drive him away? Why are you being such a jerk?"
Scarlett punched me in the arm twice, her cheeks bulging with anger.
"I didn't drive him away.He left by himself.I was kind enough not to ask him to fuck off," I backfired.
Why should I be civil to someone who was trying to steal my wife?
Scarlett stopped struggling all of a sudden and stared at me with wide eyes.
"You're making trouble out of thin air.Here's a new rule for you.Respect my friends, or..."
"Or what? You're angry with me now because of some other guy? And since when is Abner your
friend? When did you lower yourself to make friends with someone like him? I forbid you to go out with
him anymore."
My eyelids twitched.
I really did not believe that friendship was all Abner wanted with Scarlett.I was still Scarlett's husband.I
was still obligated to protect her from men like Abner.
Scarlett snapped, "Keep your nose out of my business,Charles! Just go to your Rita and take care of
her! Leave me alone!"
After that, she grabbed her handbag from the sofa and marched toward the door.
I frowned and reached out to stop her.
"I made breakfast for you.Eat first."
"You just pissed me off and now you want me to eat your food? Forget it!"
After saying that, Scarlett stormed out.
But after a few steps, she turned around and said, "I promised Grandma that I would pick her up from
the hospital.Don't follow me."
She left after that, and I just stood there by the door.
Once again, she abandoned me, and no matter how many times she did that, I would never get used to
it.
After hesitating for a while, I decided to follow her, and on the way, all I could think about was how to
punish her for leaving me.
When I arrived downstairs, Abner was opening the car door for Scarlett.
She got into his car with a big smile on her face.
Dissatisfaction coursed and burned through my veins like venom.
It seemed that the punishment I doled last night was too light.
Scarlett's POV:
Sitting in Abner's car, I felt a little embarrassed.
I did not know what exactly Charles told him earlier while I was changing, but I was sure that it could
not be good.
I took a bite of the toast Abner gave me, which was smeared with mango and hazelnut spread.
Then, I took a sip of the hot latte.
Abner focused on driving at first but finally broke the silence.
"Are you feeling better today?"
"Yes, much better, thanks."
I cleared my throat and added, "About Charles...I didn't know he would be like that today.I'm so sorry."
Abner's mouth twitched, but he kept his eyes on the road.
"I understand."
"And I apologize if he was rude to you while I was gone."
Abner half-smiled and turned to look at me.
"Charles cares about you a lot.Would you like to know what he said to me earlier?"
"What did he say?"
I asked, a little bit nervous to find out the answer.
Charles was such a proud man.How could he care about me? Abner touched his nose and said, "He
said that you belonged to him, that no one could take you away from him."
I was stunned for a moment.When I came back to my senses, I felt humiliated and a little enraged.
"I'm an independent individual.I don't belong to anyone."
Even as the words left my lips, I did not believe them.
Whatever I said only got crushed under the weight of Charles's domineering behavior.
Abner just nodded with a smile and did not say anything more.
When we arrived at the gate of the hospital and were about to get out of the car, Abner looked at me
and asked, "Didn't you like the mango spread? Do you prefer blueberry?"
I looked at him with wide eyes and then darted my eyes on the small paper bag that contained the
breakfast that he brought me.
With one hand on the steering wheel, Abner said, "You only had one bite of the toast."
I pursed my lips and swallowed.
"If I eat too much mangoes, I will get an allergic reaction."
"Oh.I didn't know that.Thanks for letting me know.Consider it noted."
Hearing that, Abner flashed me a regretful expression and immediately handed me a box of cooling
patches.
"I wish you a fast and consistent recovery."
"Thank you, Abner.I really appreciate it."
After saying goodbye to Abner, I walked into the hospital and made my way to the elevator.
On the way, I thought of ways to deal with Charles and our divorce, but I was all out of ideas.
"Miss Riley."
As soon as I walked out of the elevator, a burly figure stopped me.
I instantly recognized him.
His name was Richard, and he was one of Rita's bodyguards.
I eyed him carefully and thought to myself, ‘Rita is truly unlike any other critically ill patient.
For someone who's terminal, she has a lot of energy to waste on looking for me this early in the day"
"Yes?"
"Miss Lively wants to see you."
As expected, Rita wanted to stir things up with me again.
"And if I don't want to come see her?" I questioned.
"Please just come.Don't make this difficult for either of us." Richard looked tough and strong.
In fact, he looked like he would heave me up over his shoulder and take me to Rita’s ward if I refused
to come with him peacefully.
So I was surprised to hear him talk to me in a civil tone.I pressed my lips together and nodded.
"Fine.Lead the way."
Soon, we were outside Rita's ward.
Before opening the door, Richard turned to me and started, "Miss Riley..."
"What's wrong?"
He hesitated and avoided eye contact with me.
"Would you like to cover the hickey on your neck first?"
I touched my neck and felt my cheeks burn.I suddenly remembered what Charles did yesterday.
"I have nothing to cover it with."
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