Chapter 185: You Are Brilliant
He still remembered when he had gone to start his career in Europe with just a little bit of money; he had no fear then because he had had nothing to lose. He risked everything and had managed to create a business empire unrivaled in the world.
Scarlett was frustrated and lay on the bed, “I hate to part with you. I want to be able to balance my family with my ambitions.”
In recent days, Scarlett found that she loved Francis much more than she had realized before. From the moment he had shown her that he could let her go, she wanted nothing more than to fall right back into his arms.
“I don’t want a divorce. How can you do that to me? How can you divorce me after I fall completely in love with you?”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.
“Scarlett, it’s for the best. If you decide to come back, I’ll be here. But I want you to enjoy your time overseas without being concerned about my wellbeing and our relationship.”
The next day Scarlett and Francis finally went through with the divorce formalities. When they walked out of the divorce registry, Scarlett stared at him very angrily.
“Behave yourself over there. I’ll take Carlos to see you every two months.” he pinched her cheek.
Scarlett brushed his hand away and said, “Don’t pretend to be kind.”
Francis nodded his head and said, “Okay, forget what I said.”
Upon hearing that, Scarlett instantly grabbed his sleeve and took his arm to walk toward the parking lot and said, “Hey, I didn’t really mean it. Don’t be so mean, okay?”
Francis just looked at her and said, “Are you going to go back to school?”
“Of course, are you not gonna give me a ride?” she looked at him.
Francis stopped and looked at the bus stop not far away.
Scarlett was surprised, “You are not gonna let me go back to school by myself?”
A mischievous smile came upon his face.
Scarlett grew angry and shook off him and growled, “No need. I can call a cab to get there.”
She left in anger, and every step she took was filled with resentment.
After she left, Chuck just appeared and stood next to Francis and asked, “Did it work?”
Francis looked at his left with his hands in the pocket and smiled, “Well, if I don’t push her hard this time, she will probably never learn the lesson.”
Chuck just signed, “Wow, I’m impressed!”
Francis glanced at him and threatened, “You better keep our planning a secret. I will–”
“I got it. I will zip up my mouth.” Chuck instantly said. After all, he really didn’t dare to mess with his uncle.
Francis nodded his head satisfactorily and patted gently on his shoulder, and said, “Great! You are brilliant.”
After that, they got in the car and drove away.
***
On the day of Scarlett’s flight to France, the sky was overcast with dark clouds. Huddled along with her classmates, fellow exchange students, Scarlett waited patiently at the airport for Francis to arrive. When Francis didn’t turn up, Scarlett asked one of her classmates to watch her bags as she went to find a quieter place to make a phone call.
“Why haven’t you come yet? I’m about to board any minute now!” Scarlett yelled out angrily on the phone.
“Oh… yeah… about that. I’m not coming. Have a safe trip though.” Francis replied lazily. He sounded as though he had just woken up from sleeping.
“You are not coming?” Scarlett was surprised by his response.
Francis touched his sleeping son beside him gently and explained, “Carlos went to bed super late last night, and doesn’t seem to be feeling too well at the moment… so I gotta take care of him. You’ll be fine on your own, right? Flying to Paris and all that?”
“You are ridiculous, Francis! Are you just doing this to me on purpose?” Scarlett said angrily.
“What? What do you mean? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Francis said, playing dumb.
“OK, well, we’ll see about that.” Scarlett hung up the phone immediately after that. She was truly pissed off.
Scarlett took her two large suitcases and boarded the flight to Paris without another thought. Now there was no looking back.
Meanwhile, Francis looked down at the curved figure of his sleeping son. He touched his son’s forehead and whispered, “You bad boy, your mommy has gone and you are still not awake.”
Fortunately, life in France did not turn out to be as difficult as Scarlett had thought. Instead, her perfect grammar and pronunciation in multiple languages amazed her fellow exchange students from many different countries. Coupled with her experiences encountering people from all walks of life, she was able to get along with everyone on the program quite easily. Before she knew it, she felt right at home in Paris.
As the end of January came around, it was still bitterly cold. The snow continued to fall with no sign of stopping and whitened the world in its descent. The heavy snow broke frail branches and cloaked those walking outside in pure white. The streets looked like they had come right out of a snow globe.
“Scarlett, would you like to go out with me?” Erica Carter, the blonde girl who shared an apartment with Scarlett, poked her head out of her room to ask.
“It’s the weekend, and it’s super cold outside. I don’t really want to go out… I’m pretty comfortable here.” Scarlett said, swaddled in her warm quilt on the sofa in the living room.
Erica felt disappointed and continued, “Hey, but there is a new bar up on the northern block. Don’t you want to check it out? I’ve heard it’s pretty cool, you should come!”
Scarlett sniffed and said, “Do you think I can go like this?”
“Well, actually, here is the truth, last time, you surprised us with your drinking capacity. And this time, there’s gonna be a little prize for the person who can drink the most pints, and one friend. So I want you to come along.” Erica giggled and said.
Scarlett tightened the quilt around her and shook her head, “Oh wow, so that’s what it’s all about! Well, I’m not coming anyway, I really don’t want to go outside. I hope you have a good time without me, though.”