The Cherished Wife

"Charles!" Janet's voice quivered with panic as she tried to approach him, but one fierce look from Charles made her recoil. She wrapped her arms around herself, her face drained of color. To Janet, nothing stung more than her own past, a weapon Charles had wielded against her time and again, leaving her feeling utterly humiliated. "Charles, how can you be so cruel? I didn't choose where I came from. If I could, I'd want to be a Baker through and through!"

"Well, isn't that practically the case? My uncle took you in as his own, didn't he? You've got a golden ticket, Janet. Not everyone gets that, so you ought to be thanking your lucky stars for a mom who had a rich ex to pave your way!" Charles never held back his biting remarks. "I handed you a chance on a silver platter, and you just tossed it aside."

"Charles, Janet’s just got a crush on you."

"A crush on me? Mom, I'm starting to think you've forgotten all the class and decency you should know at your age. Don’t you know right and wrong? Janet's a Baker and my sister now, yet you're still letting her entertain these... these disgraceful fantasies. It makes me wonder what you're really after."

"Charles, you..."

"I let Janet into Colossus Group, and that's as far as I'll bend. If you keep pushing this, I won't hesitate to stand against you, or the whole Baker clan. If you're not sure what I'm capable of, maybe it's time you had a think about this."

Charles said his piece and walked away, leaving Clarisse too scared by his words to think about anything else. Janet, on the other hand, was a different story. Her eyes blazed with fury after hearing Charles's words. She rushed at Charles in a frenzy, grabbing his hand. "Charles, just tell me what's wrong with me. If you don't like something, I'll change it. What don't you like? I'll change, I

swear. Is it my face? Am I ugly? I'll get surgery to look the way you want, okay? If I looked like Kelly, would you like me then?"

"You mad woman!" Charles snapped, jerking his hand away. He narrowed his eyes with a look of revulsion. Pulling out a handkerchief, he wiped where Janet had touched him and tossed the cloth aside. "I've warned you not to touch me, or I'll break whichever hand you dare to use next time!"

"Charles, I can't believe you'd do this to me. It's because of Kelly, isn't it? Or is there someone else? Is there another woman in your car?" Janet, stung by Charles's rejection, was desperate for an answer. "Someone's seduced you, haven't they? Who is she? The bad woman in your car, right? Charles, I'll drive her away right now. I swear I will!"NôvelDrama.Org (C) content.