Damian’s POV“What’s going on?” Oliver frowns in the direction of the bar.He has been staring in that direction ever since Scarlett Fuller left. He said he was into her, but I thought he was joking. I mean, they barely knew each other. Even if he is interested in her, it can only be so shallow.“Nothing is going on, it’s a bar and she is an adult,” I tease him, “If you really are worried about her, maybe you should help me figuring out why she’s afriad of me.”I wouldn’t want such a random problem getting in the way of me getting to know her. I mean, she’s likely a Vanderbilt.“Maybe because you have been cold to her,” Oliver glares at me, “I mean, what’s that about? I would have doubted if you loved Alice if I didn’t know better.”Am I cold to her?I mean, except for the first time when I thought she bullied my Alice. I guess I haven’t been exactly friendly to her, but it’s because I didn’t want to rush into anything.“You never accused me of being cold to Ava. Why?” I ask Oliver cu
Scarlett’s POVI shiver at his words.Sebastian catches me by my waist, rubbing my cold limbs before he turns to Damian Vanderbilt like a pissed-off lion. I pull his suit and stop him.I deserve it. I chose the baby over Lilith when I should have gone with Jack Fuller’s men. She was tough, but she was still just one woman who boxes as a hobby. She could have been hurt if Sebastian wasn’t here.“I’m sorry--” I mumble, but Damian Vanderbilt wouldn’t hear it.“You should be!” He grunts coldly, “Next time deal with your own shit instead of getting others in harm's way for you!”Though I know I was at fault, I can’t stop my eyes brimming and my ears burning when his words sting so harshly. Oliver Scott comes out of the crowd, standing between me and his friend with a sad look.He is not saying anything, but his existence magically cools the air down a little.“Mr. Vanderbilt, please!” Lilith lifts her head from his arms. Her tone is gentle but firm: “It’s MY decision and she is MY friend.
Scarlett's POV“Ava, is that you?”Sebastian asks and I look away. I wouldn’t look too good if I saw the pain and care on his face.“Sebastian, I’m scared...” Ava begs in a crying tone.“It will be fine,” He comforts her patiently, “Can you give the phone to your dad? I need to talk to him, alone.”A short moment of silence before Jack Fuller’s voice comes through again: “I’m here.”“I don’t want Ava to hear this,” Sebastian insists, waiting.I don’t want to wait anymore. I have waited for him long enough. I turn and leave, but he grabs my forearm and pulls me back to him. Bumped into him, I cover my mouth just to not make a sound when the damn phone is right in front of me--“She can’t hear you,” Jack Fuller answers calmly.“Good,” Sebastian nods slightly, “Sounds like Ava is not dying of blood loss, so what are you requiring Scar’s presence for?”Dead silence.I shoot my head up in shock, staring at him as if seeing him for the first time. Lilith, too. Damian Vanderbilt exchanges a
Scarlett’s POVI slept in the bedroom I had slept in for the past five years.Alone, but it already gives me a long-lost peace. Sebastian kept his promise and gave our house all to myself. I woke up to my routine in my own house, to a refreshing mood that nothing could have ruined.Until I remembered, Ava's birthday was in three days.Her birthday parties had been one of the fanciest events in the city every year, with all kinds of celebrities attending. Sure she has been raising as a young actress -- her roles bought or earned aside -- but these people are far beyond the league she could befriend. They are not here for her, nor for the second teir last name, Fuller.They are here because Sebastian has been the star of her birthday party for as long as I can remember.He didn’t participate in the planning this year. His name has been far away from her birthday party, even from the guest lists. This sends an abnormal message, and a lot of important people has been holding off a reply o
Scarlett's POV“I appreciate your trust,” This is the first words from Sebastian on our way to the Fuller’s.“I’m not letting you be with Ava alone,” I fold my arms and look away.He lets out a slight laugh.I do trust him. I trust that he doesn’t lie, and I trust that he thinks he has been doing the right things. But that’s it. I am not trusting him with a lot of things, even with things about Ava aside. He doesn’t know about my conncections with the Vanderbilt, and he doesn’t know about Ava’s lie, and...our baby.“I--” I hesitate, weighing which secret might be the slightest to tell, “What changed your attitude toward me, all of a sudden?”I want to know if I can trust him with any of my big secrets.He glances at me in the rare view mirror, and a bitter smile crawls onto his lips with a shade of irony.“What?” I frown.“Nothing,” He looks straight at the road, answering as if he is in an interview, “I guess I have always felt like I was forced to be with you, but the divorce lifted
Scarlett’s POV“Are you here to gloat?!”The whole villa was covered in the twilight’s dim orange glow, casting a surreal bloody shade on the lake’s clear green surface. Sebastian stops by the beech tree closest to the lake, and I walk over to Ava, who stands on the dock that reaches over the water, arms folded in front of her chest. These are her first words when I approach.I look back at Sebastian. He leans against the beech tree with one leg curled up casually, too far to see clear of his look.“Why didn’t you say that when he could hear you?” I retort back, and Ava turns around with a deadly calm look. At the moment, I do not fully understand this look.“You finally stole him from me. He won’t reply to my texts, and he won’t even talk to me anymore. Are you happy now?” Ava says coldly, ignoring my sarcasm, “You don’t even love him. You took him away just because I love him.”“That’s exactly what YOU did to me! You stole him from me when you didn’t even know him!” I laugh in disbel
Scarlett’s POVIn shock, I savor her words slowly, only to make sense of them when I remember today’s headline--Pictures of a private party could leak out, but only because they are allowed to be leaked. Jack Fuller WANTED the picture of Ava with my mom’s necklace so he could mislead Damian Vanderbilt! I would have thought that a handsome extortion for raising the Vanderbilt’s daughter would be their best shot, but I underestimated the Fuller’s greed--He wants Ava to take my place!How ridiculous was I when I came to warn her in case she was hurt because I didn’t want Damian Vanderbilt to realize my true identity, when Ava has been trying to be my imposter all this time.They deserve each other.“Do you even know what it means to claim that title?” It’s ridiculous to even say it out loud, when I stare at her in disbelief. She has no idea what Damian Vanderbilt is like. It still gives me chills when I remember his cold tone when he told Oliver Scott that “Dad might not need to know o
Scarlett's POVHer scream soon attracts attention.The first one responding is Sebastian. I think he came over even before I threw her into the water, because he jumped after her almost instantly, and pulled the struggling Ava to the up. She coughs in panic, keeping that horrifying cry up this whole time. But as good an actor as she is, the panic she puts on her face is nowhere near the panic I’m feeling inside.I pushed Ava Fuller, the delicate princess of the Fuller, into a freezing cold lake, with the witness being my own husband.The case of my crime could be closed and sentenced already.I dare not imagine the anger of Jack Fuller, the disappointment of Anne Fuller, the vicious revenge from Gabriel and...Damian Vanderbilt. I don’t even know how to face Sebastian at this moment.“What’s going on here?” Damian Vanderbilt’s august voice demands, and I freeze in fear.“I’m sorry!” Ava bursts into a louder cry, sobbing at him as she “tried and failed” to stand up, “Damian, I lost Mom’