Chapter 104: The Guest List

Scarlett’s POV:

I stood up abruptly and exclaimed, “You’re horrible! Did you even consider my feelings when you
decided that?”

My grievances surged up in my heart. Whether it be the divorce or wedding, Charles only informed me
of his decision. Not once did he bother to ask my opinion, even if the matter concerned me.

“Scarlett, if you haven’t noticed, I’ve been making concessions. If I’ve never considered your feelings, I
would’ve already forced myself into you. Besides, do you think I would allow you to live here alone if I
didn’t care about what you feel?” Charles looked at me with a burning gaze, unmoved by my complaint.

“Should I thank you for being considerate?” I cried out.

What kind of concession was that? If he had not been entangled with Rita, I would have just let him
shower me with his affection without any guilt or shame.

Charles was taken aback when I suddenly let out a sob. His expression softened, and he asked with
concern, “Why are you crying? I didn’t say anything harsh.”

I stifled a sob and argued, “I’m not crying. You’re just being annoying.”

“Yes, yes. You’re not crying. I’m sorry.” Charles held my hand and coaxed me, “Honey, sit down. Would
you like some pumpkin pie?”

In a fit of anger, I stood up, pushed the chair away, and scoffed, “Pumpkin pie? Ha! Help yourself!”

My blood boiled in anger. He never took my words seriously, and he only cared about himself.

Charles also stood up and warned, “If you leave, don’t blame me for being rude.”



I was so mad at him that his warning was the last thing I cared about.

“Do you want a fight? Come on! I’m not scared of you!” I fired back.

Without waiting for his response, I picked up my coat on the sofa and turned around to leave. I wanted
to get out of this suffocating place and get away from Charles.

But before I could take another step, he held me by the waist, kicked the door of the bedroom open,
and threw me onto the bed.

“Let go of me! You are so unreasonable!” I glared at him with tearful eyes.

However, he just grabbed my hands regardless of the look of resentment on my face.

I was so mad that I felt like my world was spinning around. I struggled with all my might to get out of his
grasp. But, of course, I made sure not to overdo it. I might be furious at him, but I cared about him
enough not to exacerbate the injury on his right arm. He must have known that I would be considerate
to him, so he blatantly showed his shamelessness.

The more I thought about it, the more aggrieved I felt. I knew I would not win against him, so I
eventually gave up.

“You’re bullying me,” I choked.

Charles stiffened for a second and then wiped my tears away. I must say, the concern in his eyes
softened my heart.

“How can I bear to bully you? I love you,” he said in an aggrieved yet caring tone.

“Then why are you so inconsiderate? Can‘t you make a compromise for me from time to time?”

“If I do, you’ll run away.” Charles lowered his head and moved his face close to mine.



Just as our lips touched, I turned my head away and dodged his attempt.

“No,” I said crossly.

Charles seemed dissatisfied with what I had done. He bit my lip hard and pulled it. I could not help but
groan in pain.

“This is your punishment,” he whispered.

He then sucked my tongue, and it made an ambiguous sound when he licked it.

I could not breathe, not when he was being amorous. I pushed his shoulder with all my strength, but he
would not budge. His eyes were with lust, and his breath came in short and heavy. He finally let go of
my lips, but he started to work his way down.

“Stop…” I protested weakly as Charles kissed my neck, but he did not seem to hear

He kissed my collarbone, and his hands slipped under my clothes and wandered on my body. I could
not help but panic when I felt something hard against my lower abdomen.

“Charles, calm down. I… I want to eat the pumpkin pie.” I was panting from the intensity of the
moment.

But before something could happen, I cut him off, afraid that I would be unable to resist him if this went
on.

“Shh. Be quiet,” Charles complained in a low and hoarse voice. He kissed me again. But this time, it
was deep and fervent. It went on for a long while before he finally decided to let go of me.

We returned to the dining room to eat. When we were seated at the table, I lowered my head and did
not once raise my head to look at him. My face was still red after what happened, and it remained



flushed for a long time.

Sitting next to me, Charles just handed me another slice of the pumpkin pie casually as if nothing had
just happened.

“Eat slowly. Nobody will grab it from you,” he joked. His voice rang in my ears as he was sitting right
next to me.

I could hardly maintain my composure. I tried my best to ignore him and finish the food on my plate so
that I could go back to my room as soon as possible.

But Charles did not let me get away from him. He held my hand and forced me to finish all the food.

In the end, I ate too much more than I intended to eat. So I would not have indigestion, I volunteered to
wash the dishes.

It was probably because of Charles’s gaze that I could not focus on my task. Two plates accidentally
slipped from my hand. Exasperated, I sighed and turned around to face him. “Don’t you have work to
do? If you’re bored, why don’t you read books instead of watching me?”

His presence was making me nervous.

“I’m keeping an eye on you.” With a smile, Charles squatted down and picked up the shattered plates.

My lips curled into a pout, but I did not say anything in response. I just took a step back so that he
would be able to reach the trash with ease.

Now that he had thrown the broken pieces, Charles kissed the comer of my mouth and offered, “Let me
help you.”

“You should have done that a while ago,” I grumbled.



Suddenly, something occurred to me. I looked up at him and asked, “Do you have any idea in mind for
Grandpa’s birthday party?”

Charles took the plate in my hand and wiped it dry.

“Let’s have dinner at the hotel tomorrow night and then confirm the preparations with the hotel manager
afterward.”

“Okay.” I lowered my head and rinsed the soap in my hands. I had nothing else to say anyway.

For some reason, Charles looked rather perplexed.

“Why are you so obedient?” he asked with a frown.

“Why? Are you expecting me to be nosy and unreasonable?” I retorted.

“It’s not that. I just expected you to ignore me or change the topic just like you always do.” Charles
stroked my face as he spoke. I would not have minded it, except that his hands had bubbles from the
dishwashing soap.

I wiped the bubbles off my face with the back of my hand and glared at him. “It might not be obvious,
but I can be focused when it comes to important things.”

“Yeah, right. Just not when it comes to me,” Charles said sulkily.

“That’s because you’ve wronged me so many times before,” I snorted.

Despite what I just said, my heart softened when I saw the disappointment on his face.

Charles shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “I promise I’ll make it up to you. Just don’t push me away
again.”



I did not say anything in response. I was now used to him being shameless anyway. Whether his words
were true or not, there was no guarantee that he would not push me away when he finally got tired of
me.

Charles finished washing the dishes not long after. Even so, he still did not stop pestering me.

“Let’s go sit on the sofa and talk.”

Although this sounded like an invitation, Charles held my hand and pulled me to the living room,
leaving no chance for me to refuse.

I suddenly remembered what Nina had told me we had to talk to each other without shouting and
everything. At the thought of this, I heaved a heavy sigh and followed him. Charles sat down on the
sofa and left a space beside him for me.

I did not sit down, though. I just stood still and looked at him.

Seeing this, Charles raised his eyebrows and sarcastically asked, “What? Do you want me to make you
sit down myself?”

As I did not want to sit next to him, I walked past the tea table and sat on the small sofa beside where
he was sitting,

“You know, you can’t stop me if I really want to do something to you,” he said in an annoyed tone.

“Whatever. What do you want to talk about?” I ignored his mockery and went straight to the point.

Charles crossed his legs and looked at me with a serious expression.

“First off, I would like to ask, do you eat on time every day?”.



“Why do you ask?” I asked, confused.

Honestly, when I saw the seriousness of his face, I expected him to talk about Rita.

Charles dipped his chin and said with a hint of jest, “Nothing. I’m just worried you’ll break your bones if I
throw you onto the bed again.”

I rolled my eyes at him, speechless. Who would have thought that Mr. Moore, a cold and merciless
CEO, was actually indecent in private?

“Am I wrong?” he asked with a straight face.

As he spoke, he moved towards me while staring at me with his tantalizing gaze.

“Is there anything else you want to say?” I turned my face away and avoided his gaze. I wanted to end
the conversation as soon as possible. I could not bear to be with him for another second.

“The guest list has been prepared.” Charles put the guest list on the tea table.

“So soon?” I was impressed by his efficiency. No wonder he was the CEO of the Moore Group.

Charles raised his eyebrows and beckoned me to look through the list. “Check if there’s anyone
missing.”

It had numerous names, some of which were our relatives and acquaintances.

However, it perplexed me when I did not see Rita’s name. I checked it again, but her name was
nowhere to be found. It seemed that she and the whole Lively family were not invited.

I was elated, but I did not let my smile show. It did not matter if Charles was the one who had prepared
the list or not.



As long as I would not see Rita at the birthday party, I would be happy. Nobody would stop her from
doing something crazy, so it was only necessary not to invite her. I did not want Grandpa’s birthday to
be ruined.

“What are you thinking about? You seem pretty absorbed.” Charles curiously asked.

His voice brought me to my senses. Startled, I looked up at him and found that his face was only
inches away from mine. As I did not want to be in a predicament, I stood up to sit on the other side of
the sofa. However, Charles grabbed my waist and pulled me down to his lap.

“Let go of me.” I pulled his hand away, but he tightened his grip.

“Honey…” Charles called affectionately. He then buried his head in the crook of my neck and took a
deep breath.

“Did you like the flowers I sent you?”

His voice, coupled with our intimate position, made my heart pound wildly in my chest.

“You… Let go of me first,” I pleaded.

“I heard that you kept all the flowers I had given you in your office.” Charles rested his chin on my
shoulder, and it gave me butterflies in my stomach.

In the past few days, he had been giving me exquisite bouquets. I must admit, his gestures made me
happy. The glee I felt whenever he was sweet was like poison. It was slowly making me addicted to it.
Just give it a little time, and it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to extricate myself from him.

“Honey, answer me.” Charles tightened his embrace and pulled me closer to him.



I bit my lips in dilemma. Should I admit the truth? I was inches away from telling what I truly felt. But in
the end, I blurted out, “Don’t send me flowers anymore. They’re just a waste of money.”

“You’re being stubborn and in denial again,” Charles snorted. He did not take my words seriously yet
again.

Although I had told him not to send me flowers again, I still received a bouquet as usual. He also gave
me one the next day, the day after that, and every day fo rest of the week.


62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda