The rarity of the situation at hand increased everyone's buzzing excitement. Even though Scarlett had been popular in college, she'd mostly focused on her studies instead of the hoards of admirers she'd gained without even trying. She'd been so disinterested in anything that had to do with romance that her initiative now thrilled her friends. Having her agree to their bold request was a miracle in itself, and none of them were going to leave before seeing it with their own eyes.Scarlett, on the other hand, knew that she had to go all out today and make that group of bad influences happy. She couldn't very well go against her word. Forget the completely unprecedented moves she was about to pull that night; she was certain that whatever she did now would go down in the history of their friendship as one of the filthiest things she'd ever done, and she was helpless to stop it from happening. She hadn't wanted to do something embarrassing like this in the first place, and she would never
"You must be joking," Scarlett returned with false bravado. She knew that under no circumstances could she show any sign of weakness in front of him. It would be humiliating. She couldn't understand why the man would say something like that to her. Did she look lonely?It certainly didn't seem that way. The admirers circling around her had been numerous, but she'd never taken an interest in any of them. She was surrounded by people all the time, so why would she ever feel lonely? It seemed ridiculous. If she had really been lonely, she could've very well simply picked a man from the hoards of admirers surrounding her to date. Why else would she be here, seducing him in the middle of the street?"What I'm trying to say is that you don't seem to understand yourself very well." A tender smile crossed his face, though she felt no warmth from it. Instead, frost spread through her heart in the face of his unknown confidence. And yet, she was curious about him, among other things.The surge o
And yet, as Jonathan teased and skimmed over her skin, she realized that he wasn't aroused, unlike what she'd intended and hoped. Even as his fingers teased her as seductively as she had him, his skin was cold as ice, not even a drop of lust in his touch. The way he explored her body felt methodical, glacial—as if he were touching a lifeless puppet instead of a living, breathing woman.His nonchalance irked her, and indignance flooded her heart. She itched for a challenge, and this man proved to be a stony one indeed. Still, Scarlett refused to believe he felt absolutely nothing for her.She approached him once more, intending to bewitch him with her gentle, tantalizing voice. How she yearned to addle his consciousness and shatter his indifferent mask. The weak whine in her voice was sweet as nectar, ambrosia that tempted him to indulge in its saccharine aftertaste. Her juicy lips blossomed in his line of sight, a bulb awaiting his uncovering of its petals.Scarlett's forthcoming appro
"Do you still want it? Do you? Weren't you just saying how I could be gay just now? Do you want to know if I really am gay or not?" Jonathan pinched her cheek hard, forcing her to meet his gaze head-on. His eyes were still icy as ever and devoid of emotion, but a tinge of lust was beginning to show through under his icy veneer, scarcely affecting the beauty of those incomprehensible eyes.Scarlett already knew that she was no match for him. She shook her head weakly. She was surrendering to him now. It was the only option she was left with, one she was backed into.Her refusal extinguished any lingering desire in his eyes. Flatly, he spat out, "Then get out."He pulled open the door for her before shoving her out despite her bedraggled appearance. Jonathan offered her no other parting words, nor did he spare her a glance. The car sped away as soon as she staggered out of it, leaving no trace as it, once again, disappeared into the night.The speed with which he had left did not allow h
Scarlett was about to reject Justin's suggestion. Even though she felt that staying at a hotel wasn't the ideal solution in her case, it was still better than staying with a single man in his house. Moreover, Justin had tried to pursue her romantically in the past. She didn't feel comfortable being alone with him at his place. Yet, the red tinge of his cheeks clued her into his embarrassment, as if he'd had to muster great courage to voice that mere suggestion. If she said no to him, it would definitely hurt his feelings. Justin was a decent guy. She trusted his character, and wherever she went, it would be the same to her. At least she had Natalie by her side. Nothing was bound to happen if they just stuck together.After discussing for a while longer, they called a cab to Justin's house. Although he was the only one living there alone, the house was relatively clean, far from the messy images she had initially imagined it to be. Scarlett had always thought that all men were negligent
Then, without warning, her phone rang. It was the notification tone for a text, though it sounded unusually piercing in the dark of the night.Unexpectedly, it was from Justin, who was just a few rooms away. "I am so sorry for what happened today. I shouldn't have let you do it, and I should've stopped them while they were talking and pressuring you into doing it. I hope you're not mad at me because, if it's possible, the way I feel about you has never changed. I urge you to reconsider, Scarlett, truly. When the day comes when I can support us both, marry me. Believe me or not, I will spend the rest of my life loving you. I will protect you until I exhale my last breath if that's what it takes," his text read.Scarlett couldn't come up with an adequate response for that. She knew that Justin thought something had happened between her and Jonathan in the car. Otherwise, he would never have sent her a text like this. Even though she was touched by his words, she was understandably bewild
But as Scarlett reached the door, she bumped into Justin, who was as surprised as Scarlett herself. Justin hadn't expected Scarlett to be up so early, and a flush crawled up his cheeks as he remembered the heartfelt text he'd sent her the night before. Even his smile carried tinges of embarrassment. "Why are you up so early, Scar? It's only seven. I got us all breakfast, though—wanna eat together? Or do you want to just sit and wait for a while?"Scarlett had no time nor mood to eat breakfast now that she wanted nothing more than to rush to the hospital. She smiled apologetically to him and told him as she hurried toward the door, "I'm so sorry, Justin, I have some things I have to take care of. I don't think I can have breakfast with you anymore. Oh, and when Natalie wakes up, can you tell her I had something important I have to attend to and left first? I couldn't find my own clothes, so I borrowed hers for now. Ask her to give me a call, okay?"Scarlett's hurry wasn't lost on Justin
Alyssa, too, did not want to accept this as her reality, but she was left with no other choice. Now that her husband had passed, the responsibilities of their household rested on her shoulders. She could not fall or crack under the overwhelming pressure that threatened to bring her down. She was the only one left to support her beloved granddaughter now, the only one left to support their enormous family."Scar—believe me or not, I wish this isn't real either. Oh, how I wish this is nothing but a bad dream, but it isn't. It's real, and it's horrible, but we have to keep living anyway. Your grandfather left us. It's just the two of us now. I know this is terrifying and painful, but the sooner we accept and make peace with this, the better off we'll all be. Your grandad wouldn't want to see us like this, would he?"Her grandfather was the director of the orphanage. He had been nothing but a down-to-earth, benevolent soul who'd wanted nothing but to help make the world a better place. Lot