Chapter 193: You Are Out Of Your Mind
Francis kept kissing her, and Scarlett eventually gave in. She had been craving Francis’s body for a while, and here he was now. She decided it was futile to resist him. She wanted him, and there was nothing she could do in the face of her desire.
With that, it was a long night of passion. It was as if they had never gotten a divorce. The two were hungry for each other, having been away from one another for many months.
It was only in the wee hours of the morning that they concluded their lusty tryst. Scarlett was exhausted, and her hair was all messy. She stayed in bed without moving, staring at Francis intently.
Francis brushed her hair back and gave her a kiss on the forehead, and said, “I have a gift for you, do you want it?”
“No, I don’t want anything.” After that, she closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Francis smiled and let himself fall asleep, too.
Carlos woke up very early the following day. He sat up in bed and then quickly ran to his father’s room.
Knocking on the door loudly, Carlos shouted excitedly, “Mommy! Mommy!”
The noise awakened Francis, so he opened the door for Carlos.
Carlos climbed into bed and looked at his mother. Francis took Carlos and pointed at Scarlett, who was in sleep, “Mommy is still sleeping, so don’t shout! Do you want to sleep with us?”
Carlos nodded and then slid into the quilt. He lay down next to Scarlett without a sound, staring at her with her big eyes.
“Okay, don’t talk anymore!” Francis said. After that, he slid under the quilt himself. Carlos fell back asleep within moments.
Francis gave him a kiss on the cheek and breathed a deep sigh of relief. He closed his eyes and smiled. This was everything he had ever wanted in life. He didn’t care about his business or the shiny sports cars at the end of the day. It was this– his beloved wife and son safe and sound– that made life worth living.
***
In the restaurant, Eve walked around Scarlett and looked her up and down over and over.
“What are you doing?” Scarlett said as she shrugged her shoulders uncomfortably. She had the menu in her hand.
“Wow, it looks like someone had a good time last night! You’re glowing, girl.” Eve teased her.
Scarlett became flushed and said calmly, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Eve. Get your head out of the gutter.”
“Can you swear on Carlos that you didn’t have sex with Francis last night? I can see the post-sex glow from, like, a mile away, Scarlett.” Eve said as she pointed at Carlos, who was sitting in a high chair twiddling his thumbs.
“You are out of your mind!” Scarlett said as she walked away, trying to cover her neck with her hair.
With her arms across her chest, Eve followed Scarlett and went on, “Don’t try to hide the hickeys now, I already saw them all over your neck.”
When Scarlett heard that, she stomped down on the floor angrily, making the pots and pans jump up and down noisily.
She felt annoyed with herself. How could she have had sex with Francis the night before? How could she have let that happen? Since they were divorced, it was improper in Scarlett’s eyes for them to have shared an intimate night like that. She was very ashamed of herself. She bashed the dough in front of her resentfully.
At that moment, Carlos ran towards her with the Lego house he built and said, “Mommy, mommy, look!”
Scarlett plastered a big smile onto her face and turned around to embrace him.
“Oh, wow, look at that! Are you going to be an architect when you grow up? You’re such a good boy.” She said as she gave an encouraging kiss on his little face. After Carlos got what he wanted, he had a proud smile on his face and then ran away happily with his masterpiece.
Staring at the pile of ingredients in front of her, Scarlett put on her apron. It was time to get started for real now that she had submitted two consecutive papers. She had promised Eve that she was going to help, and she was, as always, a woman of her word no matter what.
When Francis finished with his business meeting with investors from Japan, he came down to the restaurant to pick Carlos up. He stopped his car in front of the entrance and saw Scarlett and his son sharing a piece of cheesecake from the window.
“Aren’t you full already?” Scarlett laughed and teased him as she gently touched his soft belly.
Carlos licked his mouth and stared at Scarlett with an adorable little smile on his face. He wanted to eat more cake.
Scarlett carefully wiped the crumbs from his mouth with a handkerchief and said, “Wasn’t that cheesecake so good, Carlos? We’d better save some for another day, don’t you think?”
Right then, Francis walked into the restaurant.
“Dad!” Carlos exclaimed excitedly as he saw Francis.
“Are you hungry? I have baked some cookies, do you want some?” Scarlett asked Francis.
“I don’t want that now!” Francis said.
Scarlett rolled her eyes at him and said, “You are so picky! I definitely won’t take you to the hospital if you faint from hunger.”
Although Francis was exhausted from his meeting, with his beloved wife beside him and his child in his arms, he felt newfound energy within him. Business affairs were trivial; all he wanted to do was enjoy these precious moments.
“Rest assured, I won’t!” he smiled as he looked at her calmly.
Somehow, Scarlett’s face became flushed, and her heart started beating fast.
Francis looked at the gleaming kitchen in the back, “Is this the restaurant you’re going to open with Eve?”
“She asked me to join in with her, but actually, I don’t want to be part of it.”
“I have read your business plan, who wrote it?” He asked.NôvelDrama.Org exclusive content.
Scarlett asked, “What do you think of it? Do you think it will work?”
“Well, you’ve certainly found a profitable niche. People aren’t really catering to the college crowd well enough these days. I think the key to your success will be a solid marketing strategy focused on reaching millennials. It would be best if you got on Instagram and Twitter, and you gotta make sure your communications are completely authentic. Any gimmicks, and you’ll lose them in a second. There are many restaurants around here, so if you want to succeed, you gotta make your restaurant stand out.”