Chapter 47: You Don’t Really Want To Be My Woman?
Scarlett was still stunned, and she tried to make the whole situation less serious than it felt. “Hey, aren’t you asking for too much interest on the debt I owe you?” Francis remained solemn, “I’m not joking with you. By the way, is Skyler going to Britain?”
“Yeah, but why?” Scarlett looked at him, alert. She couldn’t figure out why he had just mentioned her brother. “If you stay with me, I will pay Skyler’s tuition fees and living expenses, as well as take charge of his safety abroad. Very cost-effective deal for you, isn’t it?” Francis hardly revealed any emotions from his words.
Scarlett sat up straight as well, and her face had now grown serious. “I don’t need your money. Do you think you can just buy me like that?” She paused for a while and took a deep breath. “I don’t sell myself.” Her voice was shaking, either because of uncontrollable anger or fear, or perhaps both.
“So, are you rejecting me?” Scarlett gritted her teeth and asked, “Why should I accept? Do you think Skyler would be happy to accept your money? It’s you who once taught me to think deeply about Skyler’s perspective instead of my own all the time, don’t you remember?”
Scarlett was really disappointed. Francis had taught her many lessons and guided her step by step when she had lost her way. He had been her mentor as well as a friend. Everything had, of course, changed when they kissed at Chuck’s birthday party, but she hadn’t expected things to turn out like this in the end.
“Could you drop me off? I don’t want to hear these insulting words again!” Scarlett tried to suppress her fury. Francis didn’t reject her request, and the car soon pulled up along the street. Scarlett reached out to open the door.
“You know me well, Scarlett.” She froze there. Francis still sat there, calm and domineering as always. He did not ask her to stay, nor did he attempt to say anything comforting. He only reminded her that he could easily ruin her life.
Scarlett began trembling all over. She couldn’t believe that the man she had always felt so grateful towards and even greatly admired was actually such a shameless person. She wanted to claw at the slick leather seats with her fingernails.
Francis turned his head and said, “You took the initiative to enter this game. When I had not bothered to notice you and didn’t have the time of day for you, it was you who rudely intruded upon my life! Now I am interested in you, and you think you can just get away from me? Just like that?”
Scarlett really wanted to punch him, but her hands were shaking, and her palms were drenched with sweat. She knew the power of his words, and she didn’t dare to get out of the car. Even though she didn’t care for herself, she had to consider Skyler’s safety.
Francis’s big hand covered Scarlett’s left hand and rubbed her thumb. “Get out of the car or be my woman. Choose one.” Scarlett blinked hard as tears fell from her eyes.
Over the past eleven years, Scarlett had always been eager to make quick money so that she could sustain both herself and her brother, Skyler. But, even in the face of harsh circumstances, she had always insisted on living a dignified and righteous life. She wasn’t afraid of those false rumors because she knew that she had never done anything immoral.
But she knew well that Francis could destroy everything she had been working so hard for with the greatest of ease. Yes, he was right. It was she who had first intruded upon his life and unsettled his heart. But things just happened regardless of her own will.
As for their first encounter, she was sent to Francis’s house by Chuck. That was not her fault. She had been hammered from all the drinking and could hardly have decided what to do with herself at that moment. As far as the following encounters went, at the company office, the police station, and the hotel in Hong Kong, Scarlett hadn’t planned anything out. She had not been trying to run into Francis– he had just appeared unexpectedly each time.
Scarlett had always been respectful towards and even a bit afraid of Francis and had tried to stay away from him as much as possible. She knew she had done something inappropriate at Chuck’s birthday party, but it was also alcohol-driven. She always kept it in mind that dealing with Francis was a zero-sum game.
All the memories with Francis replayed in her mind, and she felt so aggrieved and hopeless. She burst out crying without any reservations.
Francis didn’t expect that the girl who was so righteous and tough-minded just now would suddenly turn into a miserable, crying little doll. His heart sank when he looked at that pitiful face. He couldn’t help but reach out his hand to wipe the tears from her face.
“You really don’t want to be my woman, huh?” Scarlett didn’t reply but kept crying, and her eyes were full of tears that she could not see Francis’s face clearly. On the one hand, she was planning on crying a little longer in the hopes that her brain could figure out a solution for her difficult circumstances. On the other hand, she thought she should adopt every possible means to ease the situation. If acting tough didn’t work, then what about acting pitiful and pleading with Francis?
It turned out that the second strategy worked much better. To see Scarlett crying like that was killing Francis, and every tear she shed seemed to sting his heart. His originally imposing manner was now turned into distress and heartache.Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.
“Don’t cry, babe…it’s not a thing to cry for anyway! Is it really that miserable to be my woman?” Francis started to doubt himself. Was he so unattractive as to make a woman cry? Scarlett was the first woman he had met who didn’t want to get into a relationship with him.