淑女的欲望

She spotted the old man standing by the door, eagerly waiting for their arrival. Ignoring Xander's concerned look, she couldn't help but immediately run to embrace him.

"Oh, my dear Scarlett, you finally visit this old man again, huh!?" Walter Riley affectionately said as he hugged her tightly, filling her with warmth. "This old man misses you and is so happy that you and Xander will stay here."

"I missed you too, Grandpa..." Scarlett smiled while returning the hug.

"Grandpa, why didn't you even look at me?" Xander expressed frustration, as he  noticed his grandpa giving all his attention to Scarlett and completely ignored him, his own grandson. 

Walter Riley released his embrace and narrowed his eyes at Xander, "That's because you didn't bring my granddaughter-in-law sooner!" he said, looking slightly annoyed at his grandson. 

Then, turning his gaze back to Scarlett, he said in his gentle tone, "My dear Scarlett, let's go inside. Your auntie has already cooked your favorite food." 

Walter led Scarlett into the house, seemingly ignoring his grandson, who appeared slightly put off behind them. Scarlett couldn't help but suppress a laugh at her husband, who now looked betrayed by his own grandfather. She sent him a reassuring smile, trying to cheer him up.

In the living room, they all discussed the good news that Martha had shared with Walter Riley—Scarlett's pregnancy.  Walter was overjoyed to know that Xander had fulfilled his promise to give him a great-grandchild.

"Scarlett, this is for you..." Walter handed a brown envelope to Scarlett, who was seated in front of him. She was perplexed by the sudden gesture but accepted it after Xander nodded, giving her permission.

"What is it, Grandpa?" Scarlett asked, looking at Walter Riley, who now had a mysterious smile on his face. He urged Scarlett to quickly check the envelope.

As she opened it, Scarlett was taken aback by its contents. She looked at Walter Riley with confusion, "Grandpa, did you give me the wrong envelope? Is this some sort of company document?" she inquired, noticing the Riley Corp logo on the paper.

Walter Riley smiled before replying, "Keep reading till the end, my dear..."

Though puzzled, she continued reading the letter, and a few moments later, her eyes widened in understanding. "G-Grandpa, is this... are you sure?" she stammered, feeling surreal. "Why... Why are you giving me Riley's share?" she asked again, still unable to believe that Xander's grandfather had given her five percent of their family company.

Having five percent ownership of Riley Corp could make her even wealthier, especially when combined with her assets in Red Animation Studio, possibly even approaching Xander's net worth. This is too much for her to accept it. 

Scarlett looked at Xander beside her as if asking for an explanation. She could sense that Xander already knew about this, but he only smiled and gently stroked her back, leaving her even more confused.

"Scarlett, I made a promise to your husband that if you get pregnant, I will give him an additional 5% of the company's stock," Walter said, pausing to enjoy Scarlett's gasp of surprise. "And since he already has a significant number of shares, I decided to give this 5% to you," he continued, explaining his decision.

Scarlett was still puzzled. Why did he choose to give it to her instead of Xander? She opened her mouth to ask, but Walter raised his hand gently, indicating that he wanted her to hold her question for a moment.

"You can pass these shares to your children one day," he said with a smile. "Don't think too much about it; it's just a share. Family is what matters most."

Scarlett wanted to respond, but the words seemed stuck on the tip of her tongue. She could only nod, even though she wasn't entirely happy about it.

"Babe, why do you feel sad about receiving Grandpa's gift?" Xander tilted his head to meet her eyes, trying to convince her not to worry too much. "In the future, our child will inherit all of this. So, there's no need to worry about it, huh!?"

"Hmm, I know," Scarlett finally smiled, agreeing with Xander's reassurance. Deep down, she understood the significance of the gift for their future family.

...

The night ended quickly as Walter Riley was considerate enough not to hold them back for too long after dinner, knowing that Scarlett might be tired from the journey. She hadn't had a chance to rest since arriving in the city.

Indeed, Scarlett was exhausted, and the delicious food prepared by Martha had left her feeling quite sleepy. Now, she lay in bed, checking her phone and waiting for Xander to finish in the bathroom. However, her tiredness was interrupted when she saw a text message from Zara.

"Why would Zara want to call me? Is something wrong?" Scarlett murmured as she glanced at the time. It was almost nine pm. "This is odd. Zara rarely calls me at this hour!?"

Feeling concerned about her best friend, Scarlett immediately dialed Zara's number to find out what was happening.

"Gosh!! You finally called me!" shouted Zara happily on the other end. "Girl, I heard from Cruz that you returned to Cloudfort?"

Scarlett felt a little relieved hearing Zara's voice on the other end, sensing she wasn't in trouble. "Jeez, that Cruz, he spread the word of my return so fast, huh!" Scarlett chuckled as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"Perfect! I'll fly there tomorrow morning," Zara said, surprising Scarlett with her sudden decision.

"Why do you want to meet me? Did something happen?" Scarlett asked curiously. It must be related to personal matters because if there were any office problems, they would solve them via video call.

"Girl, I'll tell you tomorrow," Zara chuckled mischievously. "Okay, I won't waste any more of your time. Go to sleep. See you tomorrow."

Beep!

Scarlett frowned while staring at her cell phone screen. "Zara, how dare you intrigue me like this? How can I sleep now?"