Chapter 143: A Pang Of Jealous
Over the weekend, Francis decided to take Scarlett to the stables despite her lukewarm reaction during their conversation earlier.
“Wait, what? What are we doing here anyway? I thought I already told you that I don’t want to ride any horses.” Scarlett said angrily. She looked at Francis with a death stare, her hands deep inside her pockets. She was wearing grey joggers and a form-fitting black shirt. As always, she looked lovely. Her hair was tied up, so, from a distance, one could easily mistake her for a charming young man.
“Go and change your clothes!” Francis hollered at her.
Scarlett angrily stomped and yelled out, “Why the hell did you ask me to ride here so early in the morning? Why can’t you just leave me alone and sleep in on the weekends for once? I don’t wanna ride any horses! Why can’t you understand that?”This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .
The staff at the stables all knew Francis, so they felt awkward seeing him get into an argument with his new, young wife.
“Scarlett, wasn’t it you who was complaining about being cooped up at home all the time? Didn’t you say that you find it boring to have to sit at home all day long?” Francis said nicely.
“Yes, that’s true. But we don’t need to be riding horses. That’s the kind of thing I hate! I’ll be so exhausted, and my body will be sore after this nonsense.” Scarlett said unhappily, stomping across the lawn.
Without uttering another word, Francis walked towards the cloakroom and dragged Scarlett along with him. Although Scarlett had a bad temper, the staff was careful to serve her as best as possible. After all, she was Francis’s company.
After Scarlett put on riding clothes, she did a little twirl and realized that the clothes were way too big for her petite frame. She came out to speak with the staff. “Do you have any smaller sizes? These seem a little bit big for me.”
The particular staff member responded politely, “I’m sorry, ma’am, the size you have right now is the smallest one that we have.” She was stuttering a little bit.
Scarlett laughed lightly and said, “Why are you so nervous? I don’t bite, I promise. You don’t have to be afraid of me.”
“I’m sorry!” The staff was apologetic, afraid of inciting Scarlett’s bad temper.
“Do I look like a bad guy? I have noticed that everyone here is trying to avoid eye contact with me for some reason. Why is that? Can you explain to me what’s going on?” She asked in doubt as she tapped her feet impatiently.
The staff member seemed like a young college girl to Scarlett; this was probably just a part-time gig to her. As the staff member realized that Scarlett wasn’t so mean, after all, she felt relieved. She smiled brightly and said, “They just happened to see that you treated Mr. Sandler sort of badly… so I think they might be afraid of you. That’s all.”
“Well, I’m just mad at him, and that has nothing to do with you guys. So don’t worry about me getting angry with your staff people.” Scarlett said.
Although the staff person wanted to ask Scarlett many questions about her relationship with Francis, she refrained from doing so. It was, after all, against the rules for her to be asking clients questions about their personal matters. In other words, she was forbidden from knowing more.
“When you are ready, please do it this way! Mr. Sandler is waiting outside at the door.” She said.
“Okay, I got it,” Scarlett said.
As Scarlett came out wearing clothes appropriate for riding horses, she saw Francis talking to an acquaintance. Seeing this, she felt a pang of jealousy inside. How come he always seemed to be meeting people he knew here and there?
“Come here!” Francis waved at Scarlett as he saw her.
Scarlett walked towards the pair slowly and said, “What’s up?”
The man standing in front of Francis was about the same age as Francis. Scarlett instantly noticed that he was rather good-looking– dark eyes, a rakish smile, and salt and pepper hair like George Clooney.
“This is my best friend, Damon Kent. Damon, this is Scarlett, my wife.” Francis proclaimed.
Damon was clearly a successful businessman, just like Francis. Just a cursory glance would make that obvious: his shiny cuff-links, sharp suit, and polished shoes. They all screamed wealth.
“Scarlett? Then, do you know Eve Crawford? Damon suddenly asked her.
“Yes, I do, she is my friend!” Scarlett nodded and said.
Damon smiled. This time, it wasn’t the kind of fake smile you would flash a casual acquaintance. Instead, it was a sincere smile. “Oh, so it really is you. I was hesitant at first, but I’m glad you’ve confirmed it.”
“Oh, you were hesitant? Why’s that?” Scarlett wondered what kind of relationship Damon had with Eve. Why was he acting so strange? She couldn’t decode his behavior.
Damon pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and said, “Well… how do I say this? I’ll just come right out and admit it. Eve is my ex-wife. Yes, Eve and I were once married to one another.”
“Wait, what?” Scarlett was shocked by this revelation.
“Yes, we got married overseas. It was a whirlwind romance… I won’t bore you with the details. I suppose she didn’t think it was important enough to mention to her friends…” Damon mused, looking slightly hurt.
“Oh… yeah…I’m not sure why Eve didn’t tell me….” Scarlett said, embarrassed that she had unwittingly offended Damon.
“Well, perhaps she still hates me… after all, she still owes me a million dollars….” Damon said calmly.
“Are we talking about the same Eve? Are you really her ex-husband? Is this all for real? Are you sure we’re not confusing two different people?” Scarlett asked seriously after she looked at Damon up and down.
“She has a young sister, Tiffany Crawford, who once was engaged to Chuck.” Damon smiled wryly and said.
Upon hearing that, Scarlett scratched her head. “I suppose we have the same Eve in mind, then…” She murmured. Scarlett was sure that Eve had never mentioned anything about her husband to her. Scarlett made up her mind to give Eve a call and clear everything up as soon as she could.
“You guys go ahead. I’m just gonna hang out here for a moment and make a quick call, alright? Don’t worry about me.” Scarlett said as she scurried away.
As soon as she got out of earshot, Scarlett whipped her phone out of her pocket and dialed Eve’s number. She knew it by heart, of course.