Scarlett’s POVWho says bitching is lame and you should always take the high road?I took the high road and all I got was humiliation, pain, and a late “thank you”. I didn’t want to bitch about it, but it surely felt great!After the night where I lashed out at Sebastian, I have seen a new light in my life. My heart doesn’t hurt every damn second for him, and I can finally focus on my own life with a fresh view. I wasn’t ready to move on when I signed the divorce papers, but I am now.I feel like I was given a new life.I thought it would take long before I could get used to him being with Ava after the divorce, and I thought it would hurt until I could finally be numb.Turns out, all I needed was to speak up and get it over with. Maybe this is the “closure” people talk about.“Miss Scarlett?” The reception at the Dunn Corp’s headquarters comes to me with a flattering smile, “The CEO is ready to see you if you follow me, this way.”I don’t sign my last name unless I absolutely have to.
Scarlett’s POV“Sorry!” I blurt, taking my eyes off his table, even more nervous, “It’s just...I mean...”I can feel my ears burning up. I’m lousy at this kind of stuff. I’d choose to deal with writing over people any time of the week, especially a businessman like him.“Relax, I was just joking,” He laughs, reaching out for a handshake, “I don’t imagine you’d be interested in it.”I don’t know how to answer this out-of-nowhere comment that seems to have some deeper meaning behind it, so I choose to ignore it and answer the one before that:“Thanks for the concern. The trip isn’t so bad,” I take his hand, adding when he cocked his eyebrows lightly, “I took the subway over, for that exact reason.”He laughs.I always knew him as the bad boy in school, one that nobody dares to mess with. So it’s actually an interesting feeling to see such a warm, friendly laugh from a guy like Adrian Dunn. And it helps me calm down.“I was starting to worry that you weren’t coming,” He pulls the chair ou
Scarlett's POVWhen I finished my pitch, I felt embarrassed and shocked -- I talked for 2 hours straight?!Standing in the elevator, I can’t help but to cover my face thinking about what just happened.He smiled at me with an encouraging look, nodded along, and even asked some simple questions, so I totally lost track of time.To think that I just took up the whole morning of a billionaire whose business was far more important than my movie...I didn’t know how to face Adrian Dunn at that moment, and when I looked up, he was smirking like a mischievous fox, seeing through my thoughts again.“Ughhh, I should probably...” I put away my iPad, pointing at the door, “Thank you very much for hearing me out!”The fox let out a laugh.“You don’t even have time for my decision?” Adrian Dunn curved his lips, his deep, shimmering eyes taunting behind his thin rimless glasses, “Not that I’d hate it if you just came here for a passionate chat...”“...” I totally forgot. Wasn’t my pitch the whole po
Scarlett’s POV“Mr. Dunn, I’m so sorry!” I turn to Adrian Dunn with my heart in my throat and my head dizzy at Sebastian’s provoking words.Did they always talk like this? Cause that’s easier to believe than thinking that Sebastian came on so aggressively because of me.“Why are you apologizing for him?” Adrian smirks at me, not playing by the rules, at all.“In case you forgot, she’s my wife!” Sebastian answers so fast as if he has been waiting a chance to declare that.“I’m NOT!” I snap at him, before taking a deep breath and turning back to Adrian Dunn, “Anyways, I’m sorry for the role I played in this, if any...”“No need to apologize.” The smile is back on Adrian’s face. His eyes land on Sebastian but he continues to speak to me saying, “I don’t consider you two a couple anymore, so. No reason to hold you responsible for anything HE does.”Sebastian looks like he wants to bury Adrian Dunn alive.With what seems like tremendous effort, he shifts his glare from Adrian Dunn to me: “C
Scarlett’s POVI don’t really want to go.I don’t know how to face Granny.I was the one who asked for this marriage, and I was the one ending it. Well, I was the one ending it because he never was in it. But I do owe Granny. She really tried to get to know me, and she changed from being mad at me to accepting me into her family. She has treated me with nothing but fairness. But now I’m disappointing her again.I don’t know how to tell her about the divorce.The only console is, Sebastian promised that he wouldn’t announce the news before Granny’s birthday party.I think that’s why he has been delaying his signature. Granny wants us to be happy, truly.“Why the long face?” Aurora nips my face tauntingly, “You look like you are not going to a party, but your death execution.”Yeah, a party where Sebastian would be, and surely Ava and probably Gabriel. If there is any difference between that and death execution, it’s that the latter is painless.“Thanks for coming with me, Aurora...” I p
Scarlett’s POVAva never acts mean to me in front of people. I mean, her team is not “people” to her. She doesn’t care to hide her true color in front of them, nor would they dare to say anything. This is why Aurora and Lilith knew little about my feud with her.“I’m fine, thanks,” I'm not at my best moment, but I would die faster spending time with Ava than walking a mile.I don’t like playing her acting game. I never understood the point of her faking a friendly face to me in front of people. Like if anyone else cares about whether she’s treating me nicely, while I would never fall for it myself. It’s a show for no audience.The car stops. Sebastian comes out of the driver’s side, glaring at me across the car with a cold tone: “Get in.”I roll my eyes, walking away.I’m no longer the stupid fucking dog following him around with smitten eyes and he can’t fucking order me around anymore!“Scarlett Fuller,” Sebastian calls my full name calmly from behind. That’s his way of showing real
Scarlett’s POV“Scar, what’s wrong?” Aurora frowns, then as if realized something, she slowly looks up at the fancy hotel, her voice now shivering, too, “...what’s today’s party again...?”Then she takes a gasp.“Yeah...” My brain freezes, and before I could do anything, I watched a police car pulling up, and Lilith comes off.“You sure it’s here? It doesn’t look like a place for people like us--” Damon’s voice follows Lilith out as she sprints to us, “Lil!”“Scar!” Lilith crushes into me for a big hug, turning to make a naught face at Damon, “Told you I got the right address!”Damon sticks his head out at me and Aurora: “Sorry I’m dumping my problem on you guys, but I’m on a case right now and I really can’t--”“It’s okay, we got her,” Aurora nods at him, and I dart my eyes down to the ground -- we can’t tell Lilith to leave now. It wouldn’t be any less humiliating than telling her it’s an upper-class party that we are going for.And Lilith came in a pair of jeans. Just great.Aurora
Scarlett’s POVI really want to throw my purse into his face before leaving with Lilith, but I can’t do that to Granny. Our war should not ruin her day.In the end, we watched Sebastian and Ava walk in with winning smiles, leaving us by the gate. While Ava attacked Lilith just to upset me, she has a point. I can’t let Lilith walk in there in her jeans. It would definitely upset Granny.So long as we get a dress, we can make it through the party. Granny might not even notice her.“It’s okay, I can wait for you guys at some bar nearby,” After me and Aurora’s awkward explanation, Lilith hugs us with a comforting smile, “I really don’t mind.”“It’s only because--” I want to explain more. If only I had told Aurora what the party was about.If only I thought I could handle Sebastian and Ava on my own...“You know I don’t like this kind of stuff, I understand,” Lilith grins at me, not looking offended. Or she just hides it well.“I--”“What seems to be the problem here?”An unfamiliar voice c
Prepared for this question, Scar answers unnecessarily fast: “I couldn’t risk anyone helping Ava to get MY Mom’s necklace. That’s why.”Her answer dims the pleasant light in Sebastian’s eyes.“I know…” Sebastian nods slowly, hiding the disappointment in his eyes, “But you didn’t have to come help because of that, did you?”Scar snorts coldly: “I’m doing this for Granny, not you.”“Granny kicked me out of the company for what happened five years ago,” Sebastian lets out a light laugh, “I’m pretty sure she would be the last one who would want you to help me right now.”Scar raises her eyebrows. She didn’t think Granny would be so cruel to Sebastian, but then again, there weren’t too many who could rip Sebastian’s title easily.“What did you tell her?” Scar frowns.Scar blamed Sebastian only because he trusted the wrong person. Legally, or any other aspect speaking, he wasn’t the killer five years ago. He just protected the killer was all. But Ava was never convicted, and Scar didn’t thi
“You want to meet early?” Scar glances at her phone to make sure the caller is indeed Damian, “Sure thing, but how early can dinner be?”She’s a bit surprised that Damian would move their dinner plan forward, but considering how he has been making effort to build a connection, she persuaded herself.“Authur, could you--?”“Yes, Miss Green,” Authur answers swiftly, “After you deliver the card, I will drive you right over.”Scar: “…”This time she’s really not trying to dodge that bullet! Didn’t he hear that it was Damian Vanderbilt who--… Whatever.Standing in front of Sebastian’s new building, Scar is still grumbling Silco’s name, along with his evil loyal driver, Author. Sebastian’s new building is not the same as before – the modern design of Z-house as its own symbol. This time it’s just a normal building, low-key to the extreme, considering its owner’s usual luxurious style.A sour wave washes Scar’s heart.Kind and gentle, Sebastian was never low-key. He was the shining prince of
“Why do I have to do it myself?!” Scar huffs, glaring at Silco.Sitting on the sofa casually with his legs crossed, Silco glances at Scar from above the papers he’s reading, amused. A moment ago the girl was crying in his arms, and now she’s like a kitten with her tail stomped on.“I can send Arthur over!” Scar pouts.“If you can command him,” Silco answers almost gently, but the laughter in his voice is not hidden at all.Scar rolls her eyes.“I’ll just--I--” Scar blurts, fidgeting around, “You already gave up on Sebastian’s company, so why are you making the one last step so hard for me?!”“Sorry, I didn’t think delivering a card to a fancy office building with a driver at your service all the time would be a horrifying chore,” Silco answers, still with that annoying smile.“You KNOW that’s not what I’m talking about!” Scar snaps angrily. If she had been grateful to this man with her full heart a moment ago, she is now annoyed 120%, “You can send anyone but me!”“I’m spending two bi
All the way home Scar feels like something stuffed in her chest. Over and over again she tells herself that she doesn’t care about Johnny Vanderbilt, but it doesn’t seem to work.A car seemed to have followed her for a while, but it was gone at the last turn.She lives in a house in the upper part of the town now, a community better and safer than the Fuller’s villa. Silco rented her this place, along with the guards. When she arrives, Silco is not yet home.Scar throws herself into the sofa, frustrated about Johnny Vanderbilt, and herself. Not only did she have to take all the garbage about him from Jack Fuller, but she also had to see with her own eyes that the man was not interested in making up with her. Not that she cares, but still, it doesn’t feel good.She is getting mixed information about that man.In Damian’s eyes he was a loving husband, a strict father who spoils his own daughter. But Emma left him for cheating, Anna was convinced that he was still into her, and from what
With Ava and Jack Fuller hovering at the front door, Scar doesn’t even step out of the elevator, but just remains inside for the underground parking lot. She is so drowned in Damian’s words that she barely makes it out before the door closes on her—“You are a lot like Mom,”That’s what he said. Even now Scar’s heart is pumping fast at that. Is she? She doesn’t even remember being held in that woman’s arms. She doesn’t remember the home she briefly stayed in. She doesn’t even remember the car accident which should have left some impression even in her childish mind.But she grew up into a woman a lot like her angel-like mother?What did she blurt? She was so daunted in the face that she murmured: “I have always imagined her to be like one of those…”Elegant ladies. Those who would sit in a café at 3pm, watching out the window with 20-dollar-coffee in hand.“Like a lady, huh?” Damian grins, seeing through her easily, “Nahhhh. Far from it. Mom is cool, almost hippy like. She would drive
I got Mom’s necklace. Even when completing the process in the office after the auction, it still feels surreal. Anna Fuller’s appearance was unexpected, but what was the real surprise was how easily Johhny Vanderbilt gave up on the necklace in the end when I called my price.I can’t take the necklace away, not till the bank processes the deal. But I got all the papers the Fuller’s provided for its authenticity. Finally, the first step of my revenge, is grasped in my palm. The plan is to get the papers and send them to prison –Silco would freeze the card after I win the necklace, giving me exactly three days to prove the Fuller’s guilty on faking the files. I want Mom’s necklace, but I don’t plan on making that bloodsucking family billionaires by buying something originally mine from them.It’s them who have to pay.“So…” I turn to Damian, feeling a bit awkward. I have been really mean to him ever since I met him, and yet he came to my help today without hesitation. I’d be lying if I
The love-and-hatred show is still on as Scar and Damian quarrel. Johnny Vanderbilt would raise his plate instantly after the host announces Anna’s call or even faster, and Anna would pout, bite her lips, and glare over before she raises again. Her face is like a painting plate, changing color in seconds as if every one of his calls is like a bomb blowing up on her face.The phone call comes in at that moment--Anna’s phone rings, breaking the silence in the room, loud and clear. She glances at it with an indifferent face, not picking it up. But her hand hesitates to raise her plate again.“Who could be calling her?” Scar murmurs to Damian. All of Anna’s family is down there by her side. Her parents died years ago. So who could be so important to her that a phone call from him could hesitate her decision?Seeing all these, Johnny Vanderbilt suddenly raises his plate again, this time announcing himself: “Two billion.”Anna’s tears break out as her hand drapes powerlessly -- it’s not the
Tears flow down Anna Fuller’s cheeks, the plate raised halfway in her hand is shaking hard because she was not expecting Johnny Vanderbilt to be so cruel to her—He knew she was going for the necklace, and he did not only bid for it, but actually gave her a price that told her to keep away from it.One billion. What a cold number.Jack Fuller didn’t want her to come. In fact, Jack Fuller didn’t tell her about the auction of the necklace. But she knew. She knows everything about Johnny Vanderbilt, the man who was supposed to be on the sacred altar with her. How could Jack Fuller expect her to not come?Ava is beyond excitement at Johnny Vanderbilt’s bid – to Ava, it’s just a number unnecessarily high for an item they stole with a reserve price low as 30 million. But whatever. Maybe the riches just like to brag about how much money they have. The more the better – for her.The item is listed under her name, and she takes the bigger part of the final price.Scar raises her plate in a has
Scar didn’t think it would go this smoothly.She prepared several other reasons and actually rehersed in her head on her speech to persuade Damian, who known to be an ironwrist in the courtroom, shouldn’t be persuaded easily. But maybe just eager to maintain the peace with his long lost sister, Damian jumped on board without so much as a nudge.All parties are set, and now between Scar and the necklace, remains only “the last minute”.Everyone knows “once, twice, sold,” but few know that after the host announces the upset price, bidders have 60 seconds before the item is announced unsold. This time is called “the last minute” because it’s the most crucial battle between bidders—to decide, fake, trick, or hide their strategies over an item.You don’t want to show your cards too early too clearly. Some would wait for the last few seconds to call, and others use this time to feel out the bottom price from other bidders. Once the first call is announced, it’s a bloody war.Ava wants an un