Chapter 192: We Shouldn’t Be Doing This
“Thank you, sir! I’ll definitely work on revisions and get them to you as soon as I can. I really appreciate you taking the time out to offer me such detailed feedback.”
“Scarlett, are you really okay? I notice that you’ve looked at your watch about eight times in the past ten minutes.”
Scarlett felt awkward and explained, “Well, my family came here to see me, so I want to go back to see them as soon as possible…”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. Your parents must be so pleased.”
Scarlett smiled, “Not my parents, it’s my son. He is just over a year old, a very smart little kid.”
The professor was clearly surprised, but he did his best not to look at it.
“I see. Well, as long as you get your edits to me within the next couple of weeks, we’re good to go. You can head off. Thanks for your time, Scarlett. Next time, please be on time, too.”
Scarlett nodded and thanked the professor profusely. Because she was desperate to go spend more time with Carlos, she rushed out of the professor’s office without wasting another precious second.
As Scarlett approached the swanky Sky Hotel, she noticed the remarkably sleek architecture. The concierge was beautiful, too, full of white marble imported from Italy. Of course, given Francis’s status, this was the most appropriate dwelling.
Carlos was playing with blocks on the crimson carpet in the hotel room. When the doorbell rang, he instantly turned to look at the door. Francis went to open the door, and it was the waiter delivering their room service orders. When Carlos saw that it was not Scarlett as he had hoped, he felt disappointed and angrily threw one green block at the waitstaff.
Francis apologized with an embarrassed smile and tipped the waiter handsomely to make up for Carlos’s indiscretion. He knew that Carlos was feeling sad, so he decided not to scold him this time around. As Francis flipped through a portfolio that had been given to him ahead of a meeting later that week, he heard the sound of footsteps outside.
Carlos walked over to Francis and took the folder from his hands, so Francis asked, “What’s wrong?”
Carlos pointed outside. It was getting dark. He grumbled, “Mommy…”
“Well, mommy has something else to do, and she will come here very soon. You can build a house while you’re waiting for her.”
Carlos was annoyed by his father’s reaction, so he just growled and seemed on the verge of throwing a huge tantrum.
Francis took his phone out and said, “Let’s call mommy and ask her where she is.”
Right then, the doorbell rang again. Francis opened up the door to find Scarlett standing before him.
When Scarlett and Carlos saw each other, they were very excited. They ignored Francis completely. “Mommy got you some delicious pudding. Would you like to have a taste?” Scarlett smiled as she presented a little box to Carlos.
Francis walked over slowly and said, “He can’t eat pudding. He’s not good with those kinds of textures yet, he might choke.”
“Really?”
However, Carlos urged Scarlett to open the box when he saw her stop. Scarlett explained patiently, “Let’s have dinner first, okay?”
Carlos stared at her in doubt because he didn’t know why she changed her mind so quickly.
Standing behind Carlos, Francis just lifted him up with his hands and said to Scarlett, “Dinner’s here.”
Although there were only three of them, dinner was still quite elaborate.
Unlike other kids, Carlos didn’t need any nanny to feed him or coax him to eat; instead, he knew how to enjoy food, and his chubby face was evidence of that.
Scarlett didn’t have an appetite, but she felt herself grow full and warm inside when she saw her son eating happily.
“How long will you stay here?” Scarlett asked.
“Four days. I have a meeting tomorrow, so I need you to take care of Carlos. Is that okay?” Francis said as he sipped his wine.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.
“Of course,” Scarlett answered happily.
They were talking and laughing and putting more and more food on Carlos’s plate with glee. They weren’t behaving like a divorced couple at all.
***
After Carlos became full, he wanted to go to sleep, so Francis took him to the bathroom and gave him a bath. When he took him out of the bathroom, Scarlett had a towel in her hand and took Carlos from Francis. Carlos became very sleepy as she dressed him and fell fast asleep while holding his mother’s hand.
Scarlett put him on the bed and lay down next to him, staring at him smilingly. Like a sneeze, sleep was contagious, so Scarlett stared at him and felt sleepy herself. The day had been exhausting.
Francis had gotten wet himself while he had been giving Carlos a bath, so he hopped into the shower to get cleaned up. As he walked out of the bathroom, he saw Carlos and Scarlett sleeping together. Under the yellow light, the two people he loved the most in the world shone like angels. They looked so pure and innocent to Francis. There they were, right in front of him, filled with a deep sense of joy.
Perhaps feeling Francis’s gaze on her, Scarlett woke up. She rubbed her eyes and noticed a tall figure pressed up against her.
Within seconds, Francis held her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. Scarlett responded by kissing him back passionately. She felt reckless. It had been so long since they had had a steamy rendezvous. She had missed the feeling of his lips on hers.
Francis hoisted Scarlett up and took her to his bedroom. He tossed her on his bed and started undressing. Quickly, he began disrobing Scarlett as well. He kissed her everywhere, from her inner thighs to her perky nipples.
Scarlett was enjoying herself, but she suddenly realized that it was messed up for them to be behaving this way since they were still divorced for all intents and purposes. For a moment, she felt sick to her stomach and tried to stop Francis. “Francis, we shouldn’t be doing this… it’s fucked up. We’re divorced….”
But Francis knew that Scarlett was just making up reasons to deny herself pleasure. That’s just what she did because she was constantly afraid of losing joy.