Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Marriage Or Body ‘Is this for real?‘ Scarlett thought. ‘Or am I dreaming? This is Kaleb Wright. He may very well be the most eligible bachelor in the city and he suggested to be the right person for me?’
Sure, she admitted to having noticed him hit on her, and of course, she just could not believe it was happening
Scarlett did not know for how long she contemplated, but her senses soon returned to her when Kaleb asked, “Not obvious enough?”
She cleared her thought and suggested, “You can be really funny.”
“I wasn’t being funny.” Kaleb answered. He adjusted his frame so his body was facing her completely. He sincerely studied her face and then he claimed, “In fact, I want you to marry me.”
“Ma-Marry you? Why?” She asked outright, her voice could not help but raise. This was literally her second proposal that week, and she found it rather very overwhelming.
“De-despite what you know of me and what you may deal with Luca, should I accept your proposal?” She asked, not sure what was going on in Kaleb‘s head.
“Okay, first of all. Luca is nothing compared to me. He may have connections in the supreme court and other law firms, but he is beneath me. I am Kaleb Wright. Our family is the richest in the city, one of the richest in the country. We have business investments in all of Americas, in Europe and in Asia too,” Kaleb defended. “Someone like Luca James does not scare me, not for one bit.”
“I can deal with him and put him in his place should he ever try to suppress you again –”
“So... you know?” She sought. Her brows met with the realization that Kaleb knew more than she thought.
“Of course,” he admitted. “You did not get to take the bar exams and you could not get a decent job because of him.”
Scarlett sighed dramatically. Her eyes shut with the memory of her hardship over the past year.
“I promise, I‘ll have the supreme court dismiss the accusations against you. That way, you can take the next board examination. As for getting a job? I‘ll connect you with the law firm that we work with, or you can simply focus on studying for the next licensure exam,” Kaleb suggested swiftly, barely giving her a chance to react.
“Wait. Wait.” Putting a hand on her chest, she replied, “This is going too fast. First, you asked me to marry you. You did not even tell me why and now, you are telling me to take the board exams.”
Raising both her hands, she asked, “Why, Kaleb? Why are you doing this for me?”
In response, Kaleb said, “For one, you brought Liam home and I can see that you sincerely like my son”
“So you want me to marry you because you feel like you owe me? And You.” Scarlett was unsure why, but her mind got lost for a second, her eyes wandered to his godly frame and she said, “You want to pay me back with your body?”
Silence fell upon them, but eventually Kaleb smirked, and Scarlett flushed.
“I‘m sorry, I did not mean it that way,” Scarlett said, her hand covering her mouth as giggles left her lips.” Haha! It‘s because.” She gestured with her hands, suggesting she was looking at his bare chest, but she dismissed it, saying, “Nevermind.”
“And you don’t owe me. I think anybody would do the right thing and help a missing child return to his father,” Scarlett insisted. “So you don’t have to marry me because of that.”
“What if I want more than just to repay you?” Kaleb answered, his eyes intensely looking at her.
Once against, Scarlett felt her ears bun. She tried avoiding his stares as she asked, “What do you mean?”
I mean, I like you. I like you, Scarlett. From the day I saw you at the Herbal Twist Restaurant, from the day I called you Beauty and I like you, even more, seeing you spend time with my son,” Kaleb explained. “More than anything more than just repaying a favor, I sincerely like you too, Scarlett Barnes. And yes, despite your complex past that led to your viral video, I want to be with you.”
Scarlett felt her chest congesting her forehead forming beads of sweat. She puffed her cheeks and let out a heavy sigh, saying, 7 can’t believe this is happening. Kaleb, we don’t even know each other well.”
“Then let’s get to know each other,” Kaleb suggested, “Ask anything you want to know about me.”
“Okay. She pursed her lips before finally realizing how she wanted to know about Liam. Where is Liam’s mother?
There was a good second of dead air before Kaleb answered, “She left him. She ditched him, but I never told Liam the whole truth. I hope you don‘t mind keeping it from him.”
Wow. that’s sad. Of course, Scarlett knew exactly what it felt like to be abandoned, for she was not only deserted by her biological parents but also by the mother that she grew up to know – Courtney’s real mother, Analisa Rivera.
Her adoptive mother never gave her the affection of a parent. So when she learned she was switched by mistake as a baby, she hoped her real parents, Cindy and Philip Barnes, would give her the love that she had long hoped for, but, alas, her real parents deprived her of love too.
Hearing about Liam‘s mother, she remarked, “Liam is such a sweet boy. It‘s her loss.”
“Definitely,” Kaleb acknowledged.
“So tell me more about your relationship with Liam‘s mother?” Scarlett sought.
Kaleb took a deep breath before telling, “We were together for eight months when she told me she was three months pregnant. Our relationship became strained following a promise of marriage, but that too did not happen because I learned she betrayed me.”
A sneer formed on her face when she said, “Oh, sorry. How could anyone betray you?”
“She was an actress. Actresses tend to sleep around,” Kaleb revealed, giving Scarlett a better view of what happened. I
“Damn. Was she… beautiful, too? Does she have green eyes like Liam?” Scarlett asked, curious if Kaleb‘s exes were over the top gorgeous. She always thought of herself as someone ordinary, not like some supermodel or an actress.
Kaleb groaned. He leaned back in his seat, his eyes closed as his head rested on the sofa. He said, “If you delve deeper into Liam‘s mother, you‘d really have to marry me.”
Scarlett snorted. She smacked Kaleb’s arm and said, “What? How is that related?”
There are things about Liam that I am not ready to share yet, not unless you commit your life for me and him, till the very end,” Kaleb said. “And I‘m doing this not because I don‘t trust you enough, but because I don’t want to hurt my son.“ Content © NôvelDrama.Org.
“Do you understand me, Scarlett? If you marry me, I‘ll tell you everything you need to know about Liam and his mother,” Kaleb suggested.
Scarlett’s mouth fell open. If this proposal came a year or eight months earlier, she probably said yes outright, but considering how she was over the heartbreak, and she earnestly liked Liam, she did not want
to make drastic decisions. She responded, “I think… this is just too fast. We should start out as friends and let’s see where we can take it from there.”
Kaleb tried to argue, saying he was already in his prime, ready to settle down, but Scarlett said, “But I‘m not, and while I don‘t mind being in a relationship, I really value your friendship and my fondness over Liam. I just don‘t want to rush into things that I might regret one day… Please… give me time?”
“So you are okay with being in a relationship? Does that mean you are mine now?” He asked before a smirk formed on his face.
Scarlett could not help but gasp at his assumption. She laughed and replied, “No, I‘m not ready to be in a relationship either. I want.. to get to know you and Liam more… Luca hurt me so badly, I just don’t know if I can freely give my heart away... Will you, Kaleb, give me some time?”
A hiss left Kaleb‘s lips, but he knew well the reason for her reluctance. He also recognized how he may have also acted out of his desires for her.
Yes, he was having manly desires for Scarlett, especially since she wore his favorite sleeping shirt. Kaleb thought Scarlett looked incredibly sexy in it, especially with how the shirt made it appear she wasn’t wearing anything down there.
More than that, he understood how she was guarding her heart. It was the same way when he also warded off other women.
With a heavy heart, Kaleb sucked in a breath and agreed to her plans. He understood now, he had to woo her before their relationship could even begin.
Ending their chat, Kaleb guided Scarlett back to Liam‘s bed, but before he took his leave, he suggested,” You know, Scarlett.”
“Hmm?” She asked, raising both her brows.
Kaleb stated, “Earlier when you said – when you thought I was going to repay you with my body.”
“Oh, god.” Scarlett covered her face at his words, thinking, ‘Why is he bringing it up?‘
“You know with what happened to Liam, I have sworn not to have sex before marriage, but with you, I’m willing to make an exception,” Kaleb resumed, shocking Scarlett altogether.
“I just want to make it clear, since you showed an interest in my body,” he added.
Scarlett,“...”
“Scarlett,” he finally said. “You don‘t need to accept my marriage proposal... to have my body.” ‘Oh, my god!‘ Scarlett felt her core tingle at his suggestion.