Chapter 217: Three Years Later
Three years later
Three years later, in front of the villa, a black BMW drove through the gate quietly. The driver expertly parked the car in the garage and opened the trunk. A second later, a tall woman in a blue business suit got out of the car and then took a small bag out of the trunk. It was, of course, none other than the suave and sexy Scarlett Morris.
Scarlett quietly opened the door. She could hear the muffled sounds of the TV coming from the living room.
A five-year-old boy wearing a white shirt and a gray cashmere sweater was seated on the sofa. He was watching TV absentmindedly– his eyes were glazed over, and his chin balanced in his hands. He clearly wasn’t paying attention to what was happening on the screen before him, yet there he sat.
“Carlos, it’s late, time for you to go to bed already. We still don’t know when your mommy will come back.” Shirley said gently, who was always nice to him even when he threw his notorious tantrums.
Carlos yawned and shook his head adamantly. He looked in the direction of the front door. Scarlett bent down to change into her house slippers.
“Madam, you are back! Would you want to take a hot shower first? I can prepare the bathroom for you.” The domestic help asked.
“Yeah, thank you! That would be wonderful.” Scarlett smiled and took off her coat.
The help took the coat from Scarlett, hung it in the closet, and said, “Well, Carlos has been waiting for you all day. That’s why he hasn’t gone to bed yet. He was waiting for you to come home first.”
“Oh really? So he’s a naughty boy, huh? It’s almost ten! He’d better be rushing off to bed right about now…” Scarlett said as she looked at the watch on her wrist.
Carlos heard the conversation at the door, instantly slipped off the sofa, put on his slippers, and ran toward the door.
“Mommy!” he said excitedly. His eyes brightened.
“My good boy!” Scarlett replied with open arms and gave him a gentle smile, though she was very tired because of the business trip she had just returned from.
Carlos smiled and blushed shyly. Scarlett quickly picked him up and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.
“So, I heard that you’ve been waiting for me all day! Is that true? You’ve been a naughty boy, haven’t you? Not given Shirley even one moment to rest?” Scarlett chided.
Carlos put his hands around her neck, and with his chin on her shoulder, he said, “Mommy, I missed you very much!”
Scarlett took him inside and said, “Mommy missed you dearly, Carlos. But I had a very important business trip, so that’s why I had to be away from you for one whole week, my baby. I’m so sorry! You know Mommy hates going on long business trips, don’t you? I’m sorry, my baby.”
Carlos quietly gave a kiss on her face and said, “It’s fine. Daddy told me you were at work.”
“Yep, your daddy is right!” Scarlett smiled weakly and put him down on the sofa. After that, they started chatting on the sofa.
“Mommy, I have put the model plane together that you bought me. Do you want to come to see it? Come see it, Mommy!” he smiled as he grabbed his mother’s hand.
“Wow, my boy is so smart. You put it together in such a short time? That took you no time at all! Look at you.” Scarlett said as she kissed him on the cheek.
Carlos was very glad to hear her praise. He was smiling ear to ear, pleased with himself for having managed to impress his dear mother.
***
“You are back?”
Upon hearing the voice, Scarlett looked up and saw a tall man coming down the stairs. Even though he was wearing pajamas, he still looked majestic– practically like royalty.
“Daddy…” Carlos stood up immediately.
“Now your mommy is back. You can go to sleep now!” he said thoughtfully as he gave his son a mean look.
Carlos just took a few steps slowly and then turned around to look at his mother.
Scarlett stood up and took his hand. She bent down to give him another kiss and said, “Listen to your Daddy. You know I’m not going anywhere, right? I’ll see you later, my baby. Go on now, go to bed. It’s getting so late!”
Carlos smiled sleepily and waved at his parents. “Good night, mommy, good night, daddy.”
With that, he headed to his room.
Once Carlos was out of sight, Francis started to go back up the stairs. Scarlett lunged at him, grabbed his hand, and said, “I’m back, are you not happy about that? What’s wrong? Why the long face?”This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.
“Happy? Can’t you see how desperately our children miss you when you’re gone? We shouldn’t have to deal with you constantly leaving and coming back…” Francis sighed.
“Our children or you?” Scarlett prodded.
Francis grinned, the veneer of his seriousness fading away in an instant. He grabbed Scarlett’s waist and said, “You seem to have lost some weight, my darling.”
Scarlett held his face delightedly and said, “Really? You really think so?”
“Why are you so glad to hear that? I remember, before you left, I told you that you’d better eat all your meals or else I would stuff you with all of your favorite foods once you got back! I guess I-”
Before he finished, Scarlett covered his mouth with her hands and blushed, “I’m fine, Francis, I ate all my meals,” she laughed, “Sometimes I feel like a pig getting ready for the slaughter. You’ll do anything to fatten me up, won’t you?”
Francis and Scarlett shared a laugh.
Scarlett then asked, “So, where are the girls anyway? Are they asleep?”
“Wow… I like how it took about ten whole minutes for you to remember you have two daughters!” Francis teased.
Scarlett punched him in the gut lightly and blushed.
Francis just smiled as he hugged her and said, “They went to sleep very early. Carlos refused to listen to me; he insisted on waiting up for you. There was practically nothing I could say to him to make him go to bed! I told him I’d let him only French fries for dinner tomorrow and no vegetables, and he refused. He chose to refuse an irresistible offer just because he missed you so much.”