淑女的欲望

Scarlett's eyes lit up with joy as she approached the door without any worry about opening it.

"Mother..." Scarlett's voice trailed off in delight, "Why did you come? It's so cold outside. You should wait for me at home, Mom!"

"You silly girl, I couldn't wait to see you!" Hazel Ewart exclaimed as she pulled Scarlett into her arms. She had missed her so much — Scarlett had disappeared for over a year without ever visiting them.

Whenever she asked Rex, he said that Scarlett was overseas taking care of her business.

And, when she found out Scarlett had returned to town, she felt a strong urge to come to this place immediately, but her work had held her back. Finally, she was able to come this morning.

"Mom, come in..." Scarlett said, stepping aside to let Hazel Ewart into the apartment. She couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Rex's mother scolding her. "Mom, there is someone I want to introduce to you... my husband!"

Hazel's eyes widened at Scarlett's words. She had often heard about Scarlett's husband but had never met him in person. She was eager to see what kind of man could make Scarlett melt and, perhaps, finally bury her son's dream of marrying Scarlett. 

"Oh, I can't wait!" she exclaimed.

When they entered the living room, Scarlett immediately introduced Hazel to Xander.

"Xander, this is Ms. Hazel Morrison, Rex's mother. I've always considered her like my mother while living in this country," Scarlett smiled, gesturing toward Hazel.

Hazel looked slightly stunned as she gazed at Xander. "Y-Your husband is Xander Riley?" she asked, clearly taken aback. All this time, she had no idea whether Scarlett had married the same Xander she knew. This Xander used to play at their family's house, and she was familiar with him.

Xander greeted Hazel warmly, extending his hand. "Hello, Aunt Hazel. It's a pleasure to meet you again," he said with a smile.

Scarlett was startled. How could she forget that Xander and Rex were good friends in college!? And also, their grandfathers, Grandpa Riley, and Grandpa Morrison, were best friends. Obviously, they knew each other.

She couldn't help but chuckle as she saw Xander and Hazel talking — they immediately ignored her.

Scarlett joined Rex in the seating area and sat beside him and said, "I can't believe I forgot that you and Xander were best friends in college." 

Rex chuckled. "Yeah, in the past... He used to be a great guy."

Scarlett rolled her eyes before saying, "Oh, come on, brother, he's still a great guy!" 

Rex didn't say anything. He just shook his head while a sour smile framed his face. Seeing Rex's expression could trigger Scarlett's memory of their misunderstanding.

"Brother, did Xander apologize to you for what happened in the past?" Scarlett asked. She knew the truth after watching the video where Chloe confesses to Xander about Rex sleeping with his ex-fiancé.

"He did. When he came to find me when you disappeared. He apologized to me..." Rex smiled, watching Xander talk to his mother. But the memory of the past brought a tinge of melancholy to him. His mother really likes Xander, and whenever she meets Xander, she seems to forget everything else — just like now.

"That's good!" Scarlett was relieved to hear that. Then she turned her gaze to Xander and was shocked by what she saw.

Scarlett had never seen Xander chat so enthusiastically with anyone besides her. For the first time, she caught a glimpse of another side of Xander, and her heart swelled with joy witnessing his seamless connection with Hazel. 

As she thought about her mother, Scarlett suddenly felt her chest tighten with worry remembering her own mother. She had many plans to find her mother's whereabouts, but it seemed like she would have to wait until next year. 

"Sis, they'll be talking for a while... Shall we go find some breakfast now?" said Rex jokingly.

"Were they able to talk that long?" Scarlett was surprised. And now, her stomach started to grumble. She was hungry.

"Yeah, they will!" Rex said. He had seen this phenomenon too many times. And he's used to it.

"Brother, I'll order some food for us," Scarlett said while looking at her cell phone. 

Rex took a deep breath looking at Xander and his mother. "Mom," Rex said, his disappointment evident on his face. "How could you ignore your son and be so engrossed in talking to Xander?"

Hazel was surprised to hear her son's voice in the room. She looked at Rex with a shocked expression, "Since when were you here?" she asked, confused.

"Oh, Mother... I was even here before you." Rex said, feeling annoyed.

Seeing her son sulking, Hazel smiled, "Son, I'm sorry...I was just so surprised to see Xander. It's been so many years since we last met..." she said, flashing an apologetic look at Rex.

Rex could only shake his head before saying, "Mom, Xander... you guys continue talking. Scarlett and I will go out to find our breakfast!"

Xander was stunned when he didn't see Scarlett in the room. He looked around and noticed her coming out of the bedroom while typing something on her cell phone.

He felt sorry for ignoring her, "Babe, I'll ask a restaurant to bring us breakfast. No need to go outside. It's freezing!" he said.

Scarlett looked up and saw Xander standing before her, "No need. I already called Logan. You go, talk to Mom. She seems to miss you a lot!"

"No, we're done," Xander said regretfully. "I am sorry!" he whispered.

Scarlett was surprised, hearing him apologize, "What are you apologizing for?"

"Ignoring you!"

"Ah," Scarlett chuckled. "I'm not mad. I can understand. Besides, I saw you talking to your mother-in-law, you remember I regard her as my mom, right?" Scarlett said and pulled her to join Rex and Hazel.

When Xander and Scarlett returned to the seating area, Hazel approached Scarlett and held her hand. She squeezed it gently,  "I'm sorry, Scarlett. I didn't even notice you were not eating your breakfast yet," She apologized as they sat down.

"It's okay, mother. I could understand..."  Scarlett replied with a smile.