Bye, My Irresistible Love

Chapter 110: The Announcement

Scarlett’s POV:

“How are you doing lately, Scarlett?” Nate came over and greeted me. Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

“I’m good. And you? How’s business?” I replied, eyeing him carefully.

As soon as I finished my question, Nate’s face darkened. The change was so obvious that it almost made me chuckle.

Hearing this, Alice burst into laughter. Nate maintained the fake smile on his face despite the palpable awkwardness that suddenly descended.

“It’s not bad, thank you for asking,” Nate finally answered. I was about to say something else when somebody linked arms with me.

“Thank you for helping me entertain the guests, Scarlett.” Rita flashed me her best toothy smile and gently patted my arm.

I knew that she was only acting chummy with me because she wanted to show everyone what a good person she was, which she was not. She might not be bright in aspects that matter, but she was cunning, and I respected that as much as I hated to admit it.

“It’s my pleasure,” I smiled back at her and slowly withdrew my arm.

“Everyone, let’s have a seat and chat.” Rita kept on her decent smile and greeted everyone as if she was running for local office.

I just stood there and watched her bend over backwards trying to keep everyone entertained.

Then, Charles walked up to me, snaked his arm around my waist, and ushered me toward his parents. The gesture looked so intimate that some heads turned to our direction.

“Where are your grandparents? Why aren’t they here yet? I’m a little worried about them. Maybe they’re having trouble finding the venue. Will you two step out and fetch them?” Alice said worriedly, glancing at the door. She looked restless and agitated.

“Okay, we’ll go get them. Don’t worry,” I said, patting the back of her hand.

Then, Charles and I headed out to find Michael and Christine.

“Charles? Where are you going?” Rita asked, hurrying over to stand in our way.

“You stay here,” Charles muttered, casting a cold glance at her.

“I’m coming with you,” Rita mumbled and tried to hold Charles’s hand, but he dodged.

“If you don’t want to get thrown out of here, don’t make me repeat myself,” Charles snapped and then looked at me and took my hand.

“Let’s go find Grandma and Grandpa.”

After saying that, he towed me out of the banquet hall without looking back.

I chanced a glance at Rita. She was standing right where we left her. Her eyes screamed bloody murder at me, but through the resentment, I could see pure, undiluted pain. Despite all the trouble she had caused me, I could not help feeling sorry for her.

As soon as we walked out of the banquet hall, we ran into one of Charles’s business partners.

Charles stopped and introduced us. “Hello, Mr. Thompson. I hope you’re having a great evening. This is my wife, Scarlett. Scarlett, this is Mr. Thompson.”

After greeting Mr. Thompson, I stood quietly beside Charles, held his arm, and listened to their conversation.

“Wow. I didn’t know you were married. Why didn’t you tell me about your beautiful wife before?” Mr. Thompson asked, playfully punching Charles in the chest.

“Well, I prefer to keep her to myself. By the way, she’s a huge fan of the nuts your company makes,” Charles responded politely.

“Is that so? Well, she has great taste. Are you sure she is your wife?”

With that, Charles and Mr. Thompson shared a good laugh. I could not help giggling at the joke, too. Then, Charles finally replied, “Yes, she is.”

He turned to look at me and flashed me a sincere smile. I almost choked.

“I suppose I can’t blame you for not wanting to parade her around. She’s ravishing, and you’re one lucky young man.”

Then, Mr. Thompson seemed to think of something suddenly. He turned to me and said, “Mrs. Moore, I’m sure your husband has informed you that he wants to purchase my shares for you.”

“And has he succeeded?” I asked Mr. Thompson with a smile.

“You know, Charles here can do anything he puts his mind to. He’s such a brilliant young businessman, and it’s a pleasure to work with him,” Mr. Thompson answered and patted Charles on the shoulder.

I whipped my head toward Charles.

He turned to look at me affectionately. There was something about his stare that pierced through my soul and made me feel so many things at once that I had to

I was so moved. I did not expect that he had done so much for me without me even knowing Charles and Mr. Thompson chatted for a while and then finally said goodbye. “Grandma, Grandpa.”

As soon as we turned the corridor, I saw Michael and Christine walking toward us.

I walked up to them and gave each of them a kiss. I gently held Christine’s arm and swept my eyes over her. “Oh, my gosh, Grandma, you look amazing tonight.”

“Thank you, my dear,” Christine flashed me a big, happy smile and squeezed my hand.

“I’m sure you’ll be the belle of the ball tonight. All eyes will be on you,” I said proudly and raised my chin.

“Oh, aren’t you sweet? But I’m old and don’t want to be the center of attention anymore. I just want to see you in the limelight,” Christine replied.

“You’re not that old. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world,” I insisted with a smile.

“Well, thank you, Scarlett. I appreciate it. Let’s go inside. Your grandfather has something important to announce.” Christine patted the back of my hand and stared at me dotingly.

“What is it?” I could not help asking when I saw that her expression had turned a little serious.

“You’ll find out soon enough, dear,” Christine smiled and proceeded to the banquet hall.

I did not ask any more questions after that and just ushered her to the party. I walked by Christine’s side while Charles walked by Michael’s side.

None of us stopped or talked until we made it to the banquet hall and all the guests looked in our direction.

“All right. Enjoy the party, Grandma and Grandpa.”

As I spoke, I stepped back and let them walk in.

Michael and Christine made their entrance arm-in-arm.

Charles took a look at me and then attempted to put his hand on the small of my back. I dodged his touch, walked away, and entered the banquet from the side door by myself.

Next thing I knew, Michael was onstage and giving a speech. The guests listened carefully. I found a corner with only a few people and walked over there.

“Thank you for coming to the party tonight. I hate to ruin the festivities, but I have to make something clear. First of all, my grandson, Charles Moore, is not romantically involved with Rita Lively. They’re neither engaged nor in a relationship. All the rumors circulating about them were untrue and baseless, and I hope that from now on, none of you will be misled by those false claims. Second, my grandson has been married for three years. We have kept his marriage under wraps for the sake of my granddaughter-in-law. We didn’t want her to be hurt. But we eventually realized that keeping her identity a secret would only cause her and our family more unnecessary pain. So tonight, we would like to introduce her to all of you formally. For that, I give you Scarlett Riley, the real and legal wife of my grandson Charles Moore. I sincerely hope that this formal announcement will put an end to all the gossip surrounding my grandson’s love life. Scarlett is his legal wife, and she’s the only Mrs. Moore that our family recognizes. Thank you.” Michael’s authoritative voice rang all throughout the hall.

As soon as he finished speaking, Christine showed the crowd Charles and I’s marriage certificate, permanently dispelling everyone’s doubt.

The guests were so shocked that they fell silent enough for a pin drop to be heard. So was I.

“What’s going on?” I looked at Charles, who was standing behind me all of a sudden, and questioned him.

Was that the announcement that Christine mentioned earlier? Charles must have known about it, but why did he not tell me?

“I’ll explain later.”

After saying that, Charles reached out to hold my hand, but I shook him off.

“Charles, will you and Scarlett please join us here onstage? You have kept your relationship a secret for so long. It’s time for both of you to step into the light and let the world know of your love and care for each other.” Christine’s calm voice jolted me back to reality.

Charles beamed and nodded with enthusiasm. Ignoring my struggles, he wrapped his arm around my waist and brought me onstage.