Chapter 111 Charles Being Clingy
The five burly men were handcuffed, each hanging their heads in defeat.
The leader, Sawyer Rivera, glanced at Elora with something left unsaid.
Under the deep night sky, Charles drove his black Rolls-Royce Phantom through the empty streets.
Emily leaned against the passenger seat, watching the neon lights blur past through the window.
While driving, Charles asked, "Do you need me to handle the aftermath? Clara definitely won't let this go."
Emily shook her head, "No, I need to handle this myself. Some debts need to be paid personally."
Charles's expression drooped slightly, and his grip on the steering wheel tightened.
At a red light, he suddenly turned to look at Emily with wounded eyes, "Can't you let me do more things for you? Can't you depend on me just a little bit more?"
Emily almost burst out laughing at his expression.
The mighty CEO of the Windsor Group looked like a large dog that had been neglected by its owner, his eyes full of grievance.
Emily reached out to touch his face. "What's wrong with you?"
Charles simply pulled over to the side of the road, unbuckled his seatbelt, and leaned over, "I want a kiss."
Emily replied, "Are you sure you're the same decisive Charles from the boardroom?"
Charles directly embraced her, burying his face in her neck. "Not when I'm with you. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I saw you in danger today."
Emily felt his warm breath and her heart softened, "I had Justin protecting me, nothing would have happened."
"That's still not okay. You can't hide things like this from me anymore. And did you agree to let me help?"
"No."
"Then I'm not driving anymore." Charles acted like a naughty child.
Seeing him like this made her smile. She said, "Charles, you're so childish."
He nodded frantically, "Childish, extremely childish. So will you kiss me to make me feel better?"
Looking at this man who was worth billions but was acting like a spoiled child in front of her, Emily suddenly realized that Charles seemed to be getting more and more playful around her.
Before, he was cold and noble, never showing his emotions. Now he was practically an expert at being clingy!
"When did you become like this?" Emily couldn't help asking.
"Like what?"
"So... playful."
Charles thought for a moment and answered seriously, "Probably since you received gifts from another man today."
Actually, that wasn't true. Charles had learned this after living with the children.
Whenever Ethan made a mistake, he would act cute to seek forgiveness. And Emily was most susceptible to this approach—one second she'd be angry with Ethan, the next she'd instantly forgive him.
Emily was the type who responded to gentleness rather than force.
Emily was completely defeated by him and leaned over to kiss the corner of his lips, "Alright, drive now."
However, Charles wasn't satisfied with such a fleeting kiss. His large hand cupped the back of her head, deepening the kiss.
Emily was caught off guard by his sudden movement, her hands instinctively grabbing the front of his shirt.
The temperature inside the car seemed to rise several degrees instantly.
Charles's kiss carried intense possessiveness, as if he wanted to melt her completely into this kiss.
Moonlight streamed through the car window onto both of them, adding a dreamy beauty to this passionate kiss.
After a long moment, they finally separated.
Emily's cheeks were flushed with a light pink, her breathing somewhat unsteady.
Charles looked at her reaction with satisfaction, his voice slightly husky, "That's more like it."
He gently caressed her slightly swollen lips, his eyes full of tenderness and affection. "Don't be so perfunctory with me next time."
Emily's heart was racing, but she pretended to be calm as she pushed him away. "Alright, hurry up and drive, or it'll be dawn soon."
Charles chuckled low in his throat before finally buckling his seatbelt again and starting the car.
Emily thought to herself, 'Who would have imagined that Charles could be so clingy in private?'
But this version of him seemed genuinely more adorable, increasingly resembling the three kids she had raised herself.
Three days later.
Clara spent a fortune hiring the best PR team to frantically salvage her image.
More importantly, the exquisite design sketches Clara had previously posted on social media had built her a massive fanbase. These fans regarded her as a design genius, worshipping and trusting her unconditionally.
When news of Clara being framed spread, her millions of followers exploded.
[Oh my God! How could Elora do this to Clara!]
[Clara is so talented, Elora was jealous, so she tried to destroy her!]
[Elora is such a vicious woman; she doesn't deserve to be in the fashion industry!]
[We need to get justice for Clara!]
Across all major social media platforms, Clara's fans organized themselves to frantically denounce Elora.
[Elora, get out of the fashion industry!]
[Boycott Luminance Jewels! Boycott this vicious woman!]
[Clear Clara's name!]
Luminance Jewels' website was overwhelmed by angry fans, with servers nearly crashing.
In just a few days, Luminance Jewels' stock price dropped a full 10%.
Even more terrifying, some radical fans began tracking Elora's schedule.
Although Elora lived in the heavily guarded the King Manor and rarely came into contact with ordinary people, she still needed to go out sometimes.
This day, Elora had to go downtown to attend an important business meeting. As soon as she got out of the car, she was surrounded by fans who had been lying in wait.
"Elora, why did you frame Clara?"
"Apologize! Apologize to Clara!"
"You evil woman! How dare you try to destroy Clara, such a design genius!"
Over a dozen excited girls rushed forward, some pulling at her clothes, others throwing coffee on her, while still others frantically filmed with their phones.
One emotionally unstable fan even slapped Elora. "You destroyed our favorite designer!"
Elora's bodyguards quickly protected her as they rushed into the building, but her face was already scratched, her hair disheveled, looking utterly wretched.
Such incidents kept happening.
When Elora went to restaurants, fans followed her and held protest signs at the entrance; when she attended events, people infiltrated the venues to curse at her; when her hotel was discovered, the entrance was piled with notes cursing her.
Some extreme fans even secretly stalked her, exposing all her private schedule online.
Elora completely broke down and didn't dare leave the house for several days, locking herself inside the King Manor.