Amelia pouted as she tried to leave Oscar’s embrace, only to be held even more tightly. “Don’t move. Let me hold you for a while. I feel like I haven’t done this for a long time.”
The woman obeyed and kept still.
“What are you doing by the window at this hour? It’s cold at night. You might catch a cold.”
“Would it even upset you if I caught a cold, Mr. Clinton?”
“Why wouldn’t I? You’re my woman.”
“You have plenty of women. I’m probably not the only one you’d feel upset for,” Amelia continued calmly.
“You sound so bitter. You’re actually jealous, huh?”
Amelia remained in his arms, saying nothing more.
All of a sudden, Oscar felt especially upset to see the usually cheerful and captivating Amelia Winters behave this way.
Amelia was usually so strong and independent that it seemed as though she could face everything even without a man by her side. Yet, the woman now looked so fragile. Perhaps, she was not as strong as one thought. Despite always performing well, she still needed a man’s shoulder to lean on in the face of crisis.
Oscar bent over to pick her up and placed her on the bed. “It’s late. Let’s go to sleep.”
Amelia grabbed him by the hand. “Please, Mr. Clinton. If you’re not serious about me, don’t treat me so well. If you do, I might not want to leave by the time we get divorced.”
Oscar merely stared at her.
The woman instinctively avoided his gaze. “I’m serious, Mr. Clinton. If you have no intention of marrying me, please don’t be kind to me. This is for both our sake.”
“And what if I want to?”
Amelia gazed at him in confusion.
Oscar then covered her eyes with his hand. “Sleep. Don’t think too much. As long as you remain as my woman even for another day, I’ll make sure you don’t suffer.”
But you’re the one making me suffer the most, Amelia lamented internally.
Still, she fell asleep quickly, perhaps because Oscar was by her side.
By the time Amelia woke up the next day, Oscar had already left. The woman couldn’t deny that she was disappointed, but she quickly kept her feelings away.
She walked into the bathroom and did some packing, thinking of leaving the hospital on her own. Yet, Tiffany suddenly entered and was instantly livid to find Amelia on her own. “Babe! Where is he?”
Amelia didn’t know how to respond for a moment. “Who?”
“Who else? That sh*tty husband of yours, of course! Didn’t he come over yesterday? Was he just putting on a show in front of Mrs. Clinton? Did he leave right after she did?”
Amelia shook her head and chuckled. “Stop being so biased against him. I told him to leave because I knew you were coming. I didn’t want the two of you getting into another fight. He’s such a macho that there’s no way he’d let a woman lecture him. If he really got mad and decided to get back at you, I don’t think any publisher would want to work with you anymore.”
Tiffany huffed. “Like I’d be scared of him! If my current publisher doesn’t want me, there’d be other companies waiting to work with me! That’s how popular my books are. If no one here wants to sign me, I know other cities’ publishers do. It’s not like Clinton Corporations has power over every publisher in the country, right?”
“Okay, okay. I know you’re amazing. But please stop clashing with him for my sake. Nothing good will come out of it.”
Tiffany gazed at Amelia skeptically. “Babe, be honest with me. Are you saying that because you care about me, or do you just not want me to yell at him?”
“What do you think?”
Tiffany grinned. “I know just how much you love me, Babe. Okay, then. I’ll try not to pick a fight with him for your sake. But if he ever treats you like sh*t, I won’t hesitate to cuss him out.”
Amelia couldn’t help but laugh.
After taking care of the discharge procedures, the two women got into Tiffany’s car. “Could you drop me off at work, Tiff? I have to talk to Carter personally about my resignation.”
“You’re quitting? But why? Didn’t you say you love your job? I don’t like that jinx, but if you enjoy working there, you should keep doing it.”
“I don’t want Oscar to misunderstand anything. Besides, there’s no guarantee that Jennifer won’t send those photos to everyone else in the company. If that happens, I don’t think Carter or even I will be able to live with it. I may as well end everything before other people find out.”
Tiffany smacked the steering wheel in exasperation, causing Amelia to jump in fright. “Calm down, Tiff. I don’t want to get into an accident this early in the morning.”
Tiffany cast her glance. “You underestimate me, Babe. I may not drive often, but that doesn’t mean I can’t drive at all. In fact, I’m a pretty good driver! I won’t do anything to put you and the baby’s lives in danger, so don’t worry.”
Hearing that, Amelia leaned back into her seat at peace.
“Are you really going to quit your job, Babe?”
“Don’t you hate Carter’s guts? Shouldn’t you be happy that I’m quitting?”
“Cut that out. It’s not like you ever listened to me after all the times I tried talking you out of working for him. Besides, you’re thinking of quitting just to avoid all that trouble. I don’t think Carter will let you quit, though.”
“Whether or not he agrees, I have to leave.”
“Well, it’s fine if you’ve made up your mind. But I do hope you can give it a second thought. This is about you, after all.”
Amelia nodded and said nothing more.
They soon arrived at Carter’s company building. “We’re here,” said Tiffany. “Go on, then. Do you want me to wait here?”
“It’s fine,” Amelia replied. “You can head back. I’ll be dropping by the Clintons’ after I’m done with this. I have to talk to them about the photos.”
Tiffany nodded. “Be careful, then. Remember to call me if you’re sad or upset. Don’t put up with everything on your own like an idiot.”
Amelia unbuckled her seatbelt and gave Tiffany a hug. “Thank you, Tiff,” she said earnestly. “You’ve always been by my side no matter what happens. I’m so grateful to have such a good friend like you. Having you and the child is more than I can ever ask for.”
Tiffany patted her on the back before responding, “Oh, stop being so cheesy. Get out of here and go to work! You’re giving me goosebumps.”
With a laugh, Amelia opened the car door and got down.
Upon entering the building, Amelia headed to the design department, and her coworkers immediately surrounded her. “Are you okay, Amelia?” asked Jessica. “I heard from Mr. Scott that you were hospitalized. Please be more careful, especially since you’re carrying a child now.”
The other coworkers chimed in, “She’s right, Amelia! You have to take good care of yourself now that you’re pregnant. We’ve heard about what happened. Ms. Larson’s gone too far this time. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have had to be hospitalized in the first place.”
Amelia was slightly perplexed.
Jessica continued, “Ms. Larson really shouldn’t have done all that. We’re on your side, Amelia. Mr. Scott even nearly fired Ms. Larson over what happened, but in the end, Mr. Scott’s mother intervened.”
Amelia remained confused. “My hospitalization doesn’t have much to do with Ms. Larson, so I hope you guys won’t make any wild guesses. But still, I really appreciate your concern.”
“You got walked all over because you’re too kind, Amelia. I would’ve already slapped that woman to kingdom come if I were you!” said Jessica.
“Don’t make assumptions like that, guys. My stay at the hospital really had nothing to do with Ms. Larson. Anyway, carry on with your work. I have to drop by Mr. Scott’s office.”
With that, Amelia immediately left for Carter’s office.
I probably won’t be seeing them anymore after today.
As Amelia arrived outside Carter’s office, a secretary stood up and greeted her. “Are you here to see Mr. Scott, Amelia? He’s gone to the bathroom. Why don’t you head in and wait for him?”
Amelia hesitated. “I don’t think that’s too appropriate. I guess I’ll just come back later.”
“Don’t worry about it, Amelia. Mr. Scott has said that you’re welcome to drop by his office whenever you like.”
Thus, Amelia walked into his office.
After waiting about ten minutes, the secretary’s voice rang out from outside the door. “Amelia’s waiting for you inside, Mr. Scott.”
Then, the door was pushed open from the outside.
“Amelia! Why didn’t you tell me that you were coming back to work?”
Amelia rose to her feet. “Mr. Scott, I came over to thank you for taking such good care of me, and also to let you know that I’m resigning.”
Carter’s face immediately fell, and he hastily walked over to grab Amelia by the arm. “Why are you quitting? Is it because of the photos?”
“Could you calm down a little, Mr. Scott? We won’t be able to talk things out this way.”
“I won’t allow it.”
“We’d still be friends even if I leave,” Amelia remarked helplessly. She had expected this to happen, but she didn’t think Carter would get so worked up.
The man stood in place like a stranded beast. “Don’t leave, Amelia. I’m begging you,” he growled.
Amelia jumped in shock, for she certainly didn’t expect him to behave this way.
Then, she took a deep breath and spoke slowly. “Calm down, Carter. Let’s talk about it.”
Suddenly, the man hugged her tightly. “I don’t want to talk,” he said desperately. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to have you by my side, even if I’m your boss and you’re my employee. Just getting to see you every day at work makes me happy.”
Amelia tried to break free, but she dared not struggle too much in fear of harming her child.
“Don’t do this, Carter. I don’t want such photos of us being taken again.”
Yet, Carter continued to hold onto her, and his eyes seemed to blaze with obsession.
He then caught a whiff of the fragrance coming from Amelia’s hair. “You smell so good, Amelia. I want to keep being this close to you so I can smell you forever. Your scent drives me crazy.”
A shiver ran down Amelia’s spine, and she began to grow furious too. “Don’t make me hate you, Carter. Keep doing this, and we won’t even get to be friends anymore,” she said calmly.
Carter suddenly froze.
“Do you hate me that much, Amelia?” he asked while leaning on her shoulder, sounding slightly hurt.
“Carter, you have to understand that those photos are affecting my family and life. And as you wanted, I got into a fight with Oscar. I got so worked up that I passed out and ended up being hospitalized for a day. But still, I don’t want to divorce him, so I can’t continue working here. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t do this, Amelia,” Carter immediately responded. “I promise those photos will never appear again, and I won’t touch you in any way. Please, just stay in this company. I’ll be your fallback; you can just think of me whenever you’re not happy.”
“Please don’t say that, Carter. I don’t deserve to be treated that way. You’re such an incredible guy, and I know there are many other women out there who are worthy of you,” Amelia insisted in frustration.
“You know exactly how I feel about you, Amelia.”
Amelia took two steps back. “You promised not to give me any pressure, Carter. You can’t go back on your word.”
“I never thought about giving you any pressure. I just want you to keep working here. I’ve told you that I won’t interfere with your marriage, but I want to keep watching over you from a close distance. Can’t you grant me this little wish of mine?”
