04.

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Jace Sanders walked out of the hotel and a black Maserati pulled up in front of him. The window at the driver's side wound down to reveal Drake who had an apologetic smile.

"There was terrible traffic on the way. Did you wait for long?"

Jace said nothing and slid into the backseat, his palm fisted around a silver band necklace with a slightly rusted locket. He glanced at it briefly, on the locket was imprinted E. Could it be her initial?

He squeezed it into his fist again.

He had picked it up at the hotel room after waking up that morning to find himself all alone in the room. It was the only thing she left behind and Jace was filled with rage from that moment.

How could she just run off like what they had was casual? He had at least expected them to talk about the risks since they had unprotected sex.

Did she only have sex with him for pleasure? Did she use him?

He palmed his forehead. What if she gets pregnant? How could he have been so engrossed in the moment to not think of the risks?

What if she shows up pregnant in the future and decides to leech him? He couldn't stain his reputation that way. He doesn't even know what this woman looks like.

'How dare she use me for her sexual satisfaction?' Jace ground his teeth. Or could it be for a future blackmail? She must have figured out who he was. Did his rivals send her to blackmail him?

Despite his rage, Jace didn't regret what happened. Until she made that move, he didn't realize how sexually aroused he was. True, he was engaged but not once had he ever touched his fiancee.

Neither was he in love with her. Their link-up had been an arranged one.

Jace wished he at least knew what she looked like.

It was important to him and he was going to find her.

Drake glanced at the boss's face from the rearview mirror; the usual blank look he mostly wore was there, but it came with a little forehead fold this time.

Pitching his words carefully in his mind, Drake cleared his throat as a start to what he was about to say.

"About last night, you didn't show up for the meeting after you suddenly left. Did something happen?" He asked in a subtle tone.

Even though he was Jace's best friend and assistant, he was still very careful around him, especially when he was in a bad mood.

Jace Sanders was intimidating to everyone around him, everyone but his family.

And no one could tell what he was feeling at a particular moment as it was difficult to read him. His facial expressions did no justice to his moods as he mostly wore a blank unpredictable expression on his face.

When Jace made no move to respond but only arched a brow at him, Drake continued.

"The directors were accompanied back to the airport this morning by Scarlett. She was at the meeting too last night and made up some excuses for your absence."

Immediately, there was a twitch in Jace's eyes. His teeth gritted but his lips didn't move to utter a word. That was the only name that could trigger a reaction from him.

"The meeting was a success."

That was all Jace needed to hear to relax.

With an arm stretch, he grabbed his phone that was lying dead beside him and tried turning it on.

Leaning, he stretched it to Drake to charge and relaxed back into the seat, dozing off.

The car parked in his villa so he hopped down and walked into his house.

In the living room, Jace dropped the necklace on the first table he passed before collapsing into a couch, heaving a tired sigh.

When he heard the sound of heels descending the stairs, he didn't bother checking until he heard her voice.

"Thought you'd stay two more nights in that low-class club."

His brows knitted as she continued.

"You know, I was not aware you loved clubbing this much. You even skipped an important meeting just to get laid. Why? Were the club girls too naughty for you, you chose them over work?"

"Can we discuss this later, Scarlett? I'm not in the mood right now."

Jace stood up to leave but she blocked his path.

"Don't you dare walk out on me, Jace. Seriously, you're not even going to deny the accusations?" She had a despicable look on her face.

"I didn't have sex with any girl at any club, I wasn't even at a club last night. Is that what you want me to say?"

"Liar."

He scoffed. "Really? How do you know I'm lying? How did you even know where I was last night? Are you tracking my movements now?"

Scarlett pursed her lips, her face etched with fury.

"Your desperation is unbelievable, Scarlett!"

"I'm your fiancee! Is it wrong for me to be curious about your whereabouts?" Scarlett spouted shamelessly, "Yes, I tracked your phone; that's how I know where you were."

Jace breathed out to calm himself. Why was he surprised she did that? It explained why his phone easily ran out of battery lately.

Scarlett noticed the necklace on the table and picked it up, "whose is this?"

She eyed him suspiciously, "cos I know I don't own some cheap ass necklace like this?"

"It's not yours. It's... it belongs to some lady at the club."

"And how did it come into your possession?"

"We had unprotected sex." He purposely revealed, hoping it would trigger her enough to call off their engagement.

"What?"

He started casually, "Yes, Scarlett. Your guess is right, I did sleep with some random girl last night, and I used no protection. I wasn't drunk or on drugs, I did it completely sober and I feel bad about it--

Jace had barely uttered the sentence when a resounding slap landed on his cheek.

"How dare you, Jace? Who do you think you are to cheat on me and say it to my face?"

Jace clenched his face hard, forcing back his anger. He swallowed the hurt from the hit, refusing to touch it.

"I'm nobody, Scarlett. Nobody. At least, compared to you, and that's why I'm in this goddamn relationship and apologizing to you for my mistake." He uttered with fury.

"You don't even look sorry, you jerk."

"Oh," he dropped to his knees, "is this better? Do you forgive me now?"

An incredulous look dashed on her face as she stared at Jace in anger.

"I won't get up until you say you forgive me. And I hope you don't call off the engagement but if you do, I'll understand."

"You'll understand?," She scoffed, "is this your way of pushing me to initiate the breakup so you don't look like a good-for-nothing scum in front of your father?" Scarlett arched her brow, tears that she tried to hide from him, pooling in her eyes.

Jace lowered his gaze, his hands curling into tight fists by his side.

Scarlett took that opportunity to wipe her tears. She was glad he couldn't see through her, else he would discover how much her heart was aching at that moment. How much his words were brutally burning her.

"No, Jace, I'm not going to break up with you. I refuse to be used for your happiness. We will get married no matter what; I will be your wife, Jace." she grabbed her purse, knowing she had just hit him hard in a tender spot, but somehow, she wasn't satisfied.

"And don't even think about getting up. Remain there until your limbs grow numb and you become paralyzed, until your feet fall off and your eyes pop out of their sockets. Stay there until you die, Jace Chad Sanders! Only then will I think about forgiving you."

She stormed out of the house afterward.

Jace's anger grew hotter. She was indirectly threatening him with his weakness.

Now, he had to pacify her. He could only imagine what would happen if she mentioned his supposed mistake to his father.

Furious, he grabbed the closest vase and threw it at a wall, pounding his fist into the tiled ground until he ignited a bruise on his knuckles. His nerves relaxed after the locomotive action.

Under his breath, he mumbled. "Fuck you, Scarlett Tate. Fuck you to hell!"