One man was seemingly checking if the two persons in the flesh matched with the photo on his phone. After he had double-checked with careful scans, the two men walked a few steps toward Skyler and Scarlett. One of them said respectfully, “Good evening, Mr. and Miss. Morris. Welcome to London! Mr. Sandler sent us to pick you up. The car’s ready for you there.”Skyler thought they were some scammers or con artists in the first place until he heard the familiar name “Sandler.” Scarlett was unexpectedly calm, and she declined the kind offer politely, “Thank you, sir. But don’t bother, we can take a taxi.” Scarlett turned around and was about the leave. The man stopped her by saying, “Sorry, Miss. Morris. Can you wait for a second? Could you just hold on for a moment?”The other man quickly dialed a number

Scarlett was made sober by his words. She urged, “What do I have to be afraid of anyway? I have not done anything wrong!”She sat up straight when she yelled at Francis, but Francis wore a gentle and affectionate smile on his face. Scarlett had not looked at him, so from such close quarters in over a month, his elegance and charm caught her off guard. So, she kept staring at him and couldn’t move her eyes away.Francis leaned on the bedside; he touched Scarlett’s face gently and cautiously. “I’m so sorry for what I said that day, babe.” His voice was low and a bit hoarse. Scarlett could practically hear the guilt dripping from his words. She felt that his gentle touch and soft voice had almost healed her wounds. But she pinched her own thigh to warn herself to remain reasonable and remember the deep pain he had caused h

“What do you mean? We’re boyfriend and girlfriend, aren’t we? Why shouldn’t we live together? That’s the real question…” Francis leaned on the door and stared at Scarlett with his hands in the pockets of his trousers. If they had not been in the middle of a dispute, Scarlett would probably have admitted that his posture was sophisticated and attractive.“Just because I’m your girlfriend doesn’t mean I don’t get to have my private space and time to myself.” Scarlett raised her voice.“You can do whatever you want. I will not interfere in your personal life. But living together is the most basic tenet for two people who are in a relationship.” Francis answered very patiently. He was the one begging her to stay, after all. He needed to be careful with his words so as not to upset

“Saudi Arabia?” Scarlett stared at Dan in shock. “Are you asking me to go with you?”It had been three weeks since the semester had started. Scarlett went to school as usual to take the all-important Russian newspaper reading and analysis course. Dan waited for her outside the classroom to inform her of his fieldwork trip to Saudi Arabia.“Yeah. I think it’s a great opportunity. You’re the only person I know who can speak Arabic properly. It would be so great to have you on our team. And I guess you’re not too busy this semester, right? You’ve only got a couple of classes, and Professor Kroll just asked for a month-long leave, so it really seems like perfect timing to me.” Dan adjusted his glasses and looked at her excitedly.“I mean, yeah, I guess&he

Scarlett rolled over and buried herself in the pillow. “I'm gonna give you the cold shoulder,” she said. “You always affect my judgment.”But deep inside, Scarlett was really thinking about becoming Mrs. Sandler.Scarlett thought to herself. “Mrs. Sandler, what a fascinating title... But am I asking for too much?”  ***After class was over, Scarlett walked through campus. She passed by the mailroom and stopped to check if there was any mail for her. The old mailman handed her a thick envelope.“Scarlett Morris, correct? It looks like this document needs your urgent attention.”Scarlett nodded in surprise. “Oh