Bye, My Irresistible Love

Chapter 152: Scheme           

Scarlett’s POV:

After a vigorous and wild sex, we lay in bed, enjoying the intimate moment.

“Did Rita bribe the person who conducted the test?” I nestled in Charles’ embrace and fiddled with his fingers.

“She did,” he replied nonchalantly as he twirled my hair with his fingers.

“What a cheater!” I grunted.

“But, how did you know that the laboratory staff had been bought off?” I asked.

“Well, just to be sure, I divided the water test into two parts at the beginning and sent them to different testing agents,” Charles explained.

Upon hearing his explanation, my eyes lit up as I looked at him with excitement. But shortly afterwards, I felt upset. “That’s a big thing! How could you keep that from me?”

After I said that, I was about to get up, but Charles held me tightly within his arms.

“I do regret that I didn’t tell you about it sooner, and it caused you to overthink.”

Having said that, Charles glanced at my belly, seemingly annoyed.

“If you dare hide something this big from me again, don’t ever expect me to forgive you!”

“Charles Moore, I’ll have you know that men and women are equal. If you want me to be honest with you, you have to do the same.”

“Deal!”

At the moment, my heart was filled with happiness.

******

The following morning, I met Rita as soon as I arrived at the company.

“You’re really something, Scarlett. You managed to force me out of the entertainment industry. And now, I have to settle for the second best option and be your colleague in the TV station.” Rita eyed me up and down, casting hateful words at me with sarcasm.

“I’m not as capable as you are. Killing isn’t even hard for you,” I countered, scoffing at her.

“The stock price of the Lively Group has been plummeting for the entire week,” Rita grunted, clenching her fists.

“Is that so? Well, congratulations!” I grinned at her just to infuriate her even more.

And I could tell by the look on Rita’s face that it worked.

Ignoring her, I checked my phone while waiting for the elevator to arrive.

“Good morning, Scarlett.” I heard Nina’s voice coming from behind.

Thus, I turned around and replied, “Well, good morning to you, too, beautiful!”

“Ding!” The elevator door finally opened. I held onto Nina’s arm and entered the elevator with her. Rita followed behind us.

Once we were inside, Nina looked at Rita from head to toe, cleared her throat and asked, “Have you finally gotten the test result from that glass of water?”

“Oh, yes!” I nodded at once.

“The results showed that the water was indeed spiked with abortients.”

“Scarlett, don’t spout nonsense. Show me a concrete evidence to prove your claims. Otherwise, I’m going to sue you for slander!” Rita cast me a disdainful glance.

“Go ahead. Sue me. It’ll save me some energy,” I said, not giving a damn about what she said.

Based on the look in Rita’s eyes, I could tell that she was panicking.

“Do you really think you could fool me with that stupid lie?”

Gathering her composure, Rita sneered at me.

“Well, you’re a master of lies and deceit. Of course, you’d know about it!” I said, smirking at her.

“I’ve already told you time and time again; I didn’t put drugs in the water!” Rita clenched her fists once more. But her explanation was futile.

“Ding!”

The elevator door opened again. I took Nina’s arm and walked out with her, completely ignoring Rita.

“I’d say we spread the news and make a big deal of it. By then, those who actually committed a crime will be punished,” Nina suggested in a loud voice.

I smiled at her and said nothing.

Rita’s POV:

After getting out of the elevator, I hurried to my office and dialed a number.

“You imbecile! You can’t even do something so trivial properly,” I growled, venting my rage. Afterwards, I hung up the phone and smashed it onto the table.

Not long after, Charles crossed my mind. I decided to pick up the phone and call him.

“Charles, listen to me. I really have no clue what happened to that glass of water. I swear, I didn’t do anything. Someone must be trying to frame me!” I explained in a hurried voice.

“Rita, I want to see you,” Charles replied.

“Really? Sure!” I answered with glee.

‘‘Charles just asked me out! Has he finally realized that Scarlett isn’t good enough for him? Is he coming back to me? That must be it!’’ I exclaimed inwardly.

“Two o’clock in the afternoon, at Stranger Cafe,” Charles stated before he hung up the phone momentarily.

My bad mood had been swept away in an instant. As I sat in front of the dressing mirror, putting on my makeup, I hummed a song.

Suddenly, I thought of Scarlett. Out of the goodness of my heart, I sent her a message and asked her to follow me to bear witness.

Around one in the afternoon, I arrived at the cafe that Charles had appointed.I waited in there for almost an hour.

Finally, Charles arrived with a face devoid of emotion.

“Charles,” I muttered in a choked voice. I quickly stood up, looking at him with pleading eyes.

Charles sat down before me, placing a stack of photos and a flash drive on the table.

I picked up the photos and reviewed them. Not a minute later, I broke into cold sweat.

“These are photos and recordings of how you bribed one of the laboratory staff. So, what else do you have to say for yourself?” There was no trace of emotion in Charles’ voice.

I grabbed the hem of my clothes, agitated and flustered.

“Resign from the TV station. I do not wish for Scarlett to get upset because of your presence.” Charles’ words were cold, and deeply hurtful to me.

“Charles, I love you. In fact, I love you so damn much that I’m willing to die for you!” I tried to grab his hand, but he frowned at me and dodged.

“Have you forgotten? Back when we were together, we…”

“There are things that should be left unsaid. And you already know that well, don’t you? So, don’t bother us anymore. I’d rather not embarrass everyone in the end.” Charles cast a cold glance at me and interrupted me.

“But, Charles, … I can’t live without you! You’re the only man I could ever love.” I began to sob and tried to beg him incessantly, trying to ignite at least a cinder of hope that he still loved me, too.

“I already told you to leave the TV station, didn’t I? Frankly, I hope you resign as soon as you get out of here,” Charles stated.

“But… you used to say that you didn’t love Scarlett. You won’t be happy with her!” I wiped the tears from my face, staring at him with a forlorn expression.

“Like you’ve already said, it’s all in the past.”

With that, Charles stood up and left.

I watched him walk away, feeling despair and sorrow. I could tell that he truly had made up his mind this time.

Thus, I sat on the chair alone for a long time. I stared out the window, watching the cars pass by as my heart was filled with sadness.

Then, I took out my phone and sent Richard a message. I told him that from now on, I would stay away from Scarlett. I also asked him to trust me once again.

It had been a long time since I sent him that message, but there was no response. Gradually, my heart sank to rock bottom.

I wondered if Richard would leave me, too.

After having sat at the cafe for a long time, I saw Liam’s name in my contact list.

After a moment of contemplation, I decided to call him. Têxt belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

“Liam, do you have time to meet me?” I said, trying to sound sweet.

“Of course. It’ll be my pleasure to go out with you, Miss Lively. Name the time and place, I’ll be there.”

The sadness in my heart was swept away, and my mood became lighter.

‘Scarlett, you ruined my chance at happiness. I will never forgive you!’