Farewell To My Endless Love
Chapter 68 The Lawsuit

Scarlett's POV:

I swore that I was not a person of weak will.

But when such a perfect man like Charles pouted and acted like a spoiled brat, I did not think any woman could refuse him. So that I could leave as soon as I could, I promised him that I would finish dinner with him and then go meet Nina.

I was absentminded during the entire meal because I was not that hungry. Also, Charles had been watching me and flashing me playful smiles, which made me uneasy. I only felt relieved when dinner was finally done.

Charles kept his word and drove me to the bar.

However, after opening the car door for me and letting me out, he stood in my way.

"Scarlett, drinking is bad for your health, and it's easy to get into trouble when you've had too much of it. Don't drink more than three glasses of wine, and don't stay for more than half an hour inside. I'll wait for you here," Charles declared as he looked down at me.

I rolled my eyes and heaved a frustrated sigh. "Charles, I'm an adult. I know how to conduct myself in a bar. I don't need you to tell me how much alcohol I should drink or how much time I should spend with my friend. Honestly, do you really see me as some girl who doesn't know her limits?"

My snapping apparently intimidated Charles. He raised both his hands in surrender and stepped back.

"Very well. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said so much. I'm just worried about you, okay?" he said.

I grabbed my purse, walked past him, and headed straight to the bar.

"Stay as long as you want. I'll wait for you here," he yelled after me.

I kept walking. "Go home, Charles. I can take care of myself."

As soon as I entered the bar, I saw Nina waving at me. I smiled, walked over to her, and sat down. "Hey, Nina. How did you know about this place? It's really nice and buzzing. I love the decoration." "This is Spencer's new bar. I thought you knew about it. He told me I could swing by whenever I wanted and put my bill on his tab." Nina put on a charming smile and flipped her curly hair.

"Since when did you and Spencer get so close?" I asked curiously.

She giggled and poked me with her elbow. "Oh, please. We're not here to talk about me and Spencer. We're here to talk about you and Charles. So what's your deal? I saw the message before you withdrew it. Are you really a couple? I mean, he's been coming to the office to see you and everything."

Nina leaned in and stared at me with great interest.

I felt a little embarrassed under her probing gaze.

"No, we're not a couple."

"Honey, I just said I saw the message. Don't tell me you just happened to type the wrong word.

Aren't we good friends? Why can't you tell me the truth?" Nina refused to give up.

Looking at her, I knew I could not hide anymore. She had always been kind to me, and I had known her to be the kind of person that I could trust. Finally deciding to tell her the truth, I took a deep, steadying breath.

"As you know, the president of the Lively Group came to the office to see me a few days ago. He's actually Rita's father. When my father was alive, he had been involved in a lawsuit with him." I weighed my words carefully and left out the part where Nate expressed his depraved desire to keep me as his mistress. Then, I continued, "Charles found out about it and came to the station to ask me about it. He wanted to know what Rita's father had said to me. And yes, we're indeed a couple. We've been married for a few years."

I felt a little sheepish telling Nina about my secret marriage. It was like I was back in high school and telling my best friend about the forbidden relationship I was having with the school bad boy. I had never felt sillier in my entire life.

"Oh, my God, Scarlett! I can't believe you're only telling me this now!" Nina cried out, drawing the attention of the people in closest proximity to us. I did not see any trace of anger or disappointment in her face though, which made me feel relieved.

"I didn't mean to hide it from you. It's just something that I don't want to bring up in casual conversations." I reached out for her hand and squeezed it.

"Well, thank you for finally telling me. At least I'm sure now that you regard me as a real friend. And you can trust me, you know?" She flashed me a crooked smile, squeezed my hand back, and then proceeded to playfully pinch my face.

"Now, now, Mrs. Moore, don't be sad. Charles will be heartbroken if he sees you frowning."

The moment the words "Mrs. Moore" rolled off Nina's tongue, I instinctively covered her mouth with my hand. I knew she was just teasing, but the fact that I was married to Charles was still not something I wanted announced in a public place.

"Would you keep it down? We're not really the happily-ever-after married couple you think."

"But you're still married, aren't you?" Nina grinned and raised her eyebrows at me.

"Yes, but again, it's not what you think," I whispered, still leaving out the part that our marriage was basically a business deal. It was a complicated arrangement, and I did not want to drag Nina into all of it. After a little catch-up and joking around, Nina ordered two cocktails for us and asked, "You said that your father was involved in a lawsuit when he was alive. Do you know much about it?"

"No, not really. It was many years ago. All I know is that something big happened to the Riley Group and that my father was left devastated." "Wait, the Riley Group? Why does that name sound familiar? Oh! Yes! My father handled that case!" Nina suddenly shouted.

I almost fell out of my seat in shock. "What do you mean?"

At this time, our waiter brought us our cocktails, and Nina took a sip from hers. She collected herself and started explaining excitedly. "My father is a lawyer. He used to work for the Riley Group's legal team." I could not believe my ears. How could the world be this small? Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Nina and myself to be connected this way. Nina's father used to be my father's lawyer. "Your father's case was actually sensational. The media followed it closely back in the day. My father had been very busy at that time. I watched him work the entire case, so I know about it," Nina said, biting on her straw and staring into space as if she was recalling a half-forgotten memory.

Listening to her, my heart started racing. I suddenly thought of my father. He had taken good care of me, but ultimately, we were forced to part ways. I could still remember his haggard face when he was being interrogated like a criminal. It was one of the scenes in my life that I would erase from my mind in a heartbeat if I could.

I picked up my cocktail and took a sip. The cold, sweet liquid burned a line down my throat. The alcohol was supposed to be a downer, something to blunt the edges of pain, but tonight, its sting felt like salt against an open wound. I lowered my head and shook the awful images off my mind.

"My father still thinks that your father was innocent. I'm sorry, Scarlett. We shouldn't be talking about this, but if it makes you feel any better, as long as you don't give up, I'm sure you'll replace a way to wash away your father's grievances." Nina held my hand and looked at me seriously.

I appreciated her encouragement. I was grateful to her and her father. Besides myself, they were the other people who believed in my father.

Once again, I squeezed Nina's hand. I had a lot to say to her, but I did not know where to start.

"Wait, is that Rita? What is she doing here?" Nina suddenly asked in a low voice, looking past my shoulder.

Her words toppled my thoughts like a baseball crashing into a pyramid of milk bottles. I turned to look at the entrance of the bar. Charles and Rita walked in arm in arm with Spencer following behind them. "Oh, my God! Is she following you or something?" Nina mumbled unhappily.

I straightened my back the moment I laid eyes on Rita. I hastily rose from my seat and kept my head down, hoping that Charles had not noticed me.

"Excuse me. I need to go to the bathroom," I told Nina.

My breath started coming in short bursts when I saw Rita cling to Charles. It was the last thing I wanted to see and certainly not something I would love to stick around and watch.