Chapter 73: I Love You, Scarlett
Scarlett was made sober by his words. She urged, “What do I have to be afraid of anyway? I have not done anything wrong!”
She sat up straight when she yelled at Francis, but Francis wore a gentle and affectionate smile on his face. Scarlett had not looked at him, so from such close quarters in over a month, his elegance and charm caught her off guard. So, she kept staring at him and couldn’t move her eyes away.
Francis leaned on the bedside; he touched Scarlett’s face gently and cautiously. “I’m so sorry for what I said that day, babe.” His voice was low and a bit hoarse. Scarlett could practically hear the guilt dripping from his words. She felt that his gentle touch and soft voice had almost healed her wounds. But she pinched her own thigh to warn herself to remain reasonable and remember the deep pain he had caused her not long ago.
“You’ve explained it, and I believed you.” Scarlett grasped Francis’s hand but quickly let go of it. She continued talking. “But it just hurts so bad, and I need some time to like, move past it, you know? Like, I just wanna erase those words from my mind…but it’s not easy.”
Francis kept saying, “I’m sorry,” and left kisses on Scarlett’s forehead and all over her face. Replaying in her mind Francis’s explanations on the phone, Scarlett couldn’t help but snicker. Francis noticed her smile and was ecstatic that it had finally come back to her face.
Francis tried to ease the situation. He hoped that he wouldn’t just make everything worse. “Babe, you’re not just a fuck buddy to me. I was angry… I was going through an emotional moment, and I had a stupid outburst. I’m sorry. I just don’t have much experience dealing with relationships …I…I’m still learning…”
“Oh, really? Is that so?” Scarlett interrupted him with a sarcastic tone. “But I happen to have read all sorts of articles about Francis Sandler’s scandalous affairs!”
“They are all bullshit! You know how the paparazzi are! On a different note… it sounds like Miss Scarlett has been paying close attention to my activities for a long time now…”
“You wish!” Scarlett spurned him, jokingly. Francis stared at her. Her wrinkled nose and cute, pouty lips just softened his heart even more. He almost lost control of his rising adrenaline and was eager to hold her tightly and kiss her all over.
“You know what, as a man of success and high social status, you’re supposed to be a good model to young people. But look at what you’ve done. You deceived a college girl into becoming your girlfriend!” Scarlett would never get bored of teasing Francis, but there was a surprise awaiting her past the fun.
Unexpectedly, Francis pulled the quilt away and got under it. Scarlett was caught off guard as he wrapped her in his arms. Francis kissed her earlobe and neck and then whispered in her ear, “That college girl was always tempting me, and I just couldn’t help it.” Scarlett felt her face burning, and she struggled to loosen his grip. Francis held her slim waist tightly to prevent her from slipping away.
Right then, with Francis gripping her tight, Scarlett suddenly felt herself fall into an emotional cave. For the moment, it felt hard for her to crawl out of it. She was trying to escape from Francis’s passionate hug because she was obviously not ready for sex. Any physical encounter would probably remind her of those insulting words… when he had sworn that she was nothing more than a fuck buddy to him.
“Francis Sandler, do you love me?” Scarlett stared at the ceiling with her eyes hot and sore. This was probably the last question she would have liked to ask Francis, but she gradually realized that she had no other options– she had to know.
Francis kissed the tears falling from her eyes and made them disappear, one by one.
“I’ve been waiting for you to ask me this question for a long time.” Francis approached her lips and said.Belongs © to NôvelDrama.Org.
Scarlett trembled, and out of some strange, sudden impulse, she bit Francis’s lips. In a matter of seconds, a couple of drops of blood trickled down from his mouth.
“Let me finish, babe. Are you trying to murder your future husband?” Francis licked his lips and felt a little pain.
Scarlett wiped away her tears and stared into Francis’s eyes; Francis looked back sincerely.
“I’ve been waiting for you to ask this question because I want to tell you that I love you. I love you, Scarlett.” Francis stretched his hand out and touched Scarlett’s face gently. He then dropped a kiss on the back of her hand and said, “In meeting you, I realized for the first time in my life that I could, and I’m willing to love.”
He went on. “I love you, and I’m willing to give you everything I have. I’m willing to forgive you even if you often leave me at your will without a word. I’m willing to take your tantrums, your emotional outbursts, and I hope your waves of laughter and tears are all because of me. I get crazy jealous when you’re with other guys, and I can’t sleep when I think that I might lose you.”
Scarlett didn’t stop her tears from flooding out because she knew this time the tears of joy. She buried herself in Francis’s embrace and her thin arms. She was holding her entire world.
“Babe…” After around ten minutes, Scarlett didn’t let go of Francis’s chest, so he called to her gently. Francis patted her back and untied her arms to find she was already asleep. There were marks on her face, and her long eyelashes were still wet.
Francis put her head from his arms to the soft pillow and then laid down leaning against the head of the bed. He looked at the girl who was fast asleep, probably dreaming some wild dreams, and found a feeling of certainty in his heart. Scarlett was truly his one and only love.