Scarlett's POV:
"Let me go," I said and bit my lip.
"You've been telling me that a lot lately,"
Charles backfired and flicked me on the forehead with his finger.
"Ouch! That hurt!" I whined.
It really did hurt.
He had used a lot of strength.
"As it should.If it didn't, you wouldn't learn your lesson at all.I take my eye off you for half a day, and
you take up day drinking.You haven't even fully recovered from your last bad hangover, and you're
already messing around.What's wrong with you?"
Charles flicked me again, venting his annoyance.
This time, he only exerted a little strength.His fingers touched my forehead gently like a feather.
"What do you care?"
I murmured as the back of my eyes stung.
Rita's words kept echoing in my mind, and they sank my heart deeper and deeper.
"You're not a child anymore, but you're acting like some rebellious brat who always makes me worry."
Charles pinched my cheek and squinted at me.
"This is your last warning, Scarlett.No more drinking, you hear me?"
Once again, I was stunned by the look of genuine concern in Charles's face despite the pointedness of
his words.
"Then promise me one thing first,"
I started and raised my head to meet his gaze.
"No.You don't get to bargain here,"
Charles replied without hesitation.
The soft, gentle expression he just wore moments ago was suddenly replaced by that annoying smirk
that made me want to beat the hell out of him.
I shot him a furious glance.
What was wrong with him? Why was he so supercilious? What was worse, I did not hate him at all.
Damn it! There was nobody in the world that I despised more than myself for that.
Seeing that I fell silent, Charles loosened his grip on my hand and said, "Fine.What do you want?
Maybe I'll agree to it if I feel like it."
After thinking for a while, I lowered my head and straightened my dress.
"Let's be brother and sister from now on.I'll be a good sister to you, and you'll be a good brother to me."
"I beg your pardon?"
Charles asked, gloom suddenly twisting his handsome face.
I stole a glance at him and pressed, "I think it will be good for both of us to have that kind of
relationship.That way, we'll still be in each other's lives without the complications."
"That's the worst idea I've ever heard,"
Charles laughed mirthlessly.Then, he added, "You better not mention that in front of Grandma, or we
will have a whole new thing to fight about."
After that, Charles got out of the car.He slammed the door shut on me.
"Hey! Wait for me!"
I screamed after him and jumped out of the car.I ran after him, hoping to catch him before he entered
the mansion.
He was going to marry another woman.
The only way I could stay in his life without messing everything up was to be a sister to him.I panted as
I struggled to fall into step beside Charles.
Those long, slender legs of his made him move like a gazelle.
Looking at him now, I thought that my idea of us being siblings to each other was a stroke of brilliance.
"Hello, Mrs.Moore.Welcome back."
The mansion's middle-aged gardener put down his gardening shears and greeted me when we passed
by him.
"Good afternoon," I replied with a smile.
At the moment, I felt extremely happy.I felt like I finally won against Charles this time, and I did not care
if our little fight was pointless and silly.
The rose bushes in the mansion's garden were in full bloom, and I thought that they were the most
beautiful flowers I had ever seen planted in someone's residence.
In the living room, Christine was cutting and arranging some flowers on a small table.
They were champagne roses, which were just air freighted from Germany, and they exuded a fresh and
clean fragrance.
Charles sat on the sofa on the other side and drank the coffee that one of the servants brought him.
Seeing me come in, he shot me a cold stare.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
It did not matter whether or not he was in a good mood.I walked into the room leisurely.
"Hello, dear.Come sit with me," Christine said, smiling at me, and patted the chair beside her.I walked
over and took the seat.
Then, I said, "Grandma, Charles and I have just made a decision."
"You have just made a decision.I didn't agree to it," Charles interjected.
I ignored him and held Christine's hand.
"I will take Charles as my brother.That way, I'll still be your granddaughter."
"Okay," Christine nodded.
Then, she put down the roses and poured a cup of tea for me from the ceramic teapot.
There was a meaningful look on her benign face.
She winked at me and seemed to understand what I meant.
Charles snorted derisively.
There went his superior aura again.
No wonder his employees were terrified of him.
But I was not because Christine was here to back me up.
Charles would never show his dissatisfaction in front of his grandmother.
"Right, Charles? My dear brother?" I raised my voice on purpose and smirked at Charles.
It felt so good to provoke an arrogant man like him.
"Scarlett! What happened to your neck? Is that a mosquito bite?"
Grandma suddenly exclaimed and looked closely at my neck.
I almost rose from my seat in a fit of panic.I was so focused on wanting to piss off Charles that I had
been careless.
Before entering the mansion's front door, I coiled up my hair and forgot all about the hickey on my
neck.
"But this looks like a little reddish bruise.Are you all right? Does it hurt?"
Christine asked and then gestured to one of the servants to bring a healing ointment.
"I'm okay, Grandma.It's nothing.It's just a little scratch.No need for ointments or anything like that.It'll
clear up in a few days,"
I explained as blood rushed to my face.I looked at Charles and saw him enjoying my little mishap that I
had to wriggle out of with an unimpressive lie.
I glared at him.
The hickey was his doing, and I was the one paying for it.
At this time, a servant brought a plate of cherries from the kitchen.
To take away the attention from my neck, I took the plate and brought it to Christine.
"Would you like some cherries, Grandma?"
I offered, desperate to change the subject.
"No, thank you, dear.I'm still full.Why don't you give some to Charles?"
Grandma patted me on the arm and went back to her flower arranging.After hesitating for a bit, I rose
from my seat and sat beside Charles on the sofa.
"Cherries?"
"Really? Is that how you offer your 'dear brother' some cherries?" Charles said without looking up from
his phone.
"My dear brother, would you like some cherries?"
I let my voice drip with sarcasm as I put the plate of cherries in front of him.
‘'Take it or leave it!'’ I thought to myself.
"Feed me."
He put down his phone and turned to look at me.
"Have you no shame?"
I tried my best to keep my voice down so that Christine would not hear me.However, Charles did not
seem to hear what I just said.He folded his arms over his chest and flashed me a challenging stare.
"Feed me," he repeated, raising his eyebrows defiantly.
He knew that with Christine here, I would not dare to make a scene.
Before I knew it, I was backed into a corner.
I sighed in exasperation, picked up a partly rotten cherry, and put it into his mouth.
The warmth of his lips felt so nice against my fingertips.
I quickly withdrew my hand before he got the wrong idea.
"Do you want more, my dear brother?" I asked through gritted teeth, trying my best to stay calm.
"Yes, please."
As soon as he finished speaking, Charles grabbed my wrist and sat me on his lap.
He planted a soft kiss on my lips, which made my entire world spin.
Then, he pushed the cherry that I just fed him into my mouth, and its sweetness and fragrance instantly
washed over my tongue.
He kissed me passionately for a few moments after that and then nibbled on my lower lip.
Finally, he let go and looked straight into my eyes.
"So, so sweet."
"You..."
Stunned, I covered my mouth.
There I was again, helpless under his spell that almost always caught me off guard.
Others would definitely not think that we were brother and sister.
"Eat the cherry, my dear sister,"
Charles said and pressed me on the sofa.
He added, "What's the matter? Don't you like it when I call you dear sister? Isn't that what you want?"
I glared at him and kept the cherry in my mouth.
"Stop looking at me like that, Scarlett.You're only making me want to kiss you again and never let go,"
Charles whispered and blew gently on my face.
"You little..."
I was so angry that I almost bit my tongue.
Enraged and alarmed, I raised my hands and shoved him away.
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