Chapter 12 Sleeping In The Same Bed. Scarlett’s POV:. “Calm down, Scarlett. Charles still tried to persuade me. I walked to the door, opened it, and flashed him an angry, frustrated look. “Okay, I’ll come back tomorrow. ” He sighed and walked toward the door. The next moment, thunder clapped outside, accompanied by a flash of lightning, and a violent flurry of rain started pattering against the windows. The rainstorm came so suddenly that it caught us both off guard. Charles stopped and looked out in the rain. I was not sure if I had just imagined it, but I saw a faint smile on his face. When I looked closely to confirm, it was gone. “I’ll leave after the rain stops. Is that okay?” Charles looked at me and asked. “Whatever. ” I was finally able to calm down after being so furious. Charles went to the bedroom while I headed to the living room and settled on the sofa to continue reading my script and recite my lines for work. I was still a little riled up, but I tried my best to control my emotions and concentrate. However, the rain outside was not helping. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled like clockwork. The noise made me unable to focus. I did not have that many lines, but because of the lack of peace and quiet, it was not until ten o’clock in the evening that I managed to recite them perfectly. After finishing with my lines, I went to the bathroom to take a shower. I wanted to have a good night’s sleep so that I would be rested and energetic for tomorrow’s work. After getting ready for bed, I went into the bedroom and found Charles curled up on the sofa. He was already fast asleep. He was covered with a thin blue blanket. Because of his height, he barely fit in the sofa. His legs were halfway bent toward his chest. He must feel uncomfortable sleeping in such a position. But it had nothing to do with me. I should not care about him anymore. I crawled under the covers and laid down. I let my mind wander, and eventually, my eyelids started to grow heavy. But before sleep could get to me, I felt someone approach the bed. Then, I heard the mattress groan. Someone had just climbed into bed beside me. I opened my eyes and turned to the person lying next to me. “What are you doing?” I pulled the blanket up to my chest and glared at Charles. “Don’t worry. I won’t touch you even if you take off all your clothes. ” Charles sneered and then explained, “The sofa is too cold. I’m going to catch a cold if I sleep on it. The night was indeed colder than usual because of the rainstorm, and the thin blanket that he was using was no help at all. When he said that he would not touch me, I believed him. Charles was in love with Rita. He always had been. He would definitely have no desire for another woman, especially the one his family forced him to marry

Thinking of this, I felt relieved, so I scooted aside to give him some space. But Charles was not satisfied with that. As soon as he laid down next to me, he grabbed the blanket that was tightly wrapped around my body. I was okay with us sharing a bed but not a blanket. I glared at him and pulled the blanket back. “This is my blanket. Can’t you go find another one that you can use?”. “I don’t have another thick blanket. Do yo u really think that I want to share a blan ket with you? I just don’t have a choice. “Then jus t use the thin one. “Why are you picking a fight with me right now? It’s j ust a blanket. Why are you acting like you feel so viol ated?” Charles sat up and put the whole blanket on him. “Y ou …” . I was so angry with him that I gritted my teeth and tried to grab the blanket back, but he was too strong for me. I was no match for him at all. I had no other choice but to give up. I sat up and was about to slide out of bed to sleep in another room. Unexpectedly, Charles pressed his arm over me and forced me to lie d own. And then he ordered, “Sleep. I reminded him through clenched teeth, “Charles, we ’re going to divorce soon. Don’t you think it’s a li ttle inappropriate for us to sleep in the same bed?” . Charles only kept pressing his arm down on m e as if he had not heard anything I said. The n, he covered us both with the thick blanket. an d s hot . I turned my head to face him daggers tow ard him with my eyes. He just laid there with hi s eyes closed as if nothing in the world bothered him. Then, he suddenly opened his eyes and flashed me a triumphant smile. I was so pissed off t hat I considered slapping him in the forehead. A few moments later, a ha rsh sound broke the silen ce. Charles’s phone rang. It must be Rita. She was the o nly person who would call Char les in the middle of the night. For sure she would tell Charl es right now that she was in p ain, and Charles would rush to . the hospital to ac company her despit e the raging storm. It had been going on like that for a while, and I had memorized the routine. As I expected, Charles jumped out of bed and went to answer his p hone. I was not able to overhear their conversation. He hung up th e phone quickly, put on his coat, and left without looking back. It all happened a s if I was not in the room at all. After Charles left, my world became quiet once again. The storm outside had stopped, and I laid there with my eyes closed until sleep finally found me and whisked me away. The next day, I g ot up early and g ot ready for work . When I was abou t to leave, I r eceived Alice’s . c al l. “Hello, Scar lett. How ar e you doing?” . “Hey, Mom. I’m fine

I’m on my way to work now. “Can you and Charles come over tonight after work? Your grandfather is back. He wants the whole family to have dinner together. “Gran dpa’s back?” . “Yes. Can you come t o dinner?” . “Of cour se. I was so excited by Grandpa’s return. With him home, the divo rce could be put on the agenda. Thinking that I could finally force Charles to get on with the divorce, I was in a good m ood the whole day, and my work went smoothly. Abner praised me for being professional. He said that at the TV station, I was th e host with the most potential. After I got off work and ran into him, he even te ased, “You’re so capable, Scarlett. I’m afraid I’ll lose my position to you soon. the last person yo u’ll lose . “Oh, pleas e. I’m you r job to. Abner and I walked out of the office, talking and laughing . “Scarlett Riley !” A cold voice called my name. I turned around and saw Charles standing at the gate with a livid face. I immediately swept my eyes around for any signs of Rita, but she was not with him. He . obviously came her e for me. The only reason that Charles would c ome here to pick me up was probably that Alice and Christine told him to. He was unhappy because his family had once again forced him to be a husband to me and leave his beloved Rita be hind. I could understand why he was in such a foul mood. “T’ll leave you to your friend then, Scarlet t. See you tomorrow. ” Abner quickly said good bye to me the moment he laid eyes on Charles. “Okay. See you tom orrow. ” I waved at him with a smile. Before I could put down my hand, Charles had already grabbed my a rm and dragged me toward his car. “What are you doing? Charles!” And just like that, my happy, carefree day go t spoiled. Charles was getting more and more overbearing, and I was pretty su re that he had no right to be. It was not like we were a real married couple. “Get in the car!” With a long face, Charles yan ked the car door open. I turned around and rolled my eyes at him. He pushed me into the car and slammed the door shut. Then, he m arched around the hood and got into the driver’s seat. I chose to keep silent. Whatever was makin g him lash out at me was none of my busines s. Also, it was pointless arguing with him. I was just happy that I would not have to endure him much longer. Grandpa w as back. After I got our marriage certificate from him and filed our divorc e, I would finally be free. I would not take Charles’s mind games anymore