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’
Damian’s POVShe knows.Scarlett knew that she was my baby sister. She knew I was looking for her, and she watched me going after the wrong girl, probably even helped in that. She knows everything and she chose to keep them secrets.That realization aches me to my core.I can’t even begin to comprehend how she would hate me so much when I’m basically a stranger to her. So much so that she wouldn’t even come home to wealth, fame, and her own father?I thought Ava was Alice for like a day. But the more investigation comes back about their past, the clearer it got: Ava was the favored, the spoiled, the bully, and the liar. A stupid one no less. All this time she has been trying all she could to get my attention. She comes off as the tamed daughter, even with a lousy story about how she was adopted, too.Even if I can overlook Scarlett’s adoption history, and the fact that Scarlett appeared conveniently after Mom’s car crash in North Dakota, I wouldn’t have ruled her out just for her purp
Scarlett’s POVShivering in Sebastian’s suit, Ava stumbles back into Jack Fuller’s arms, along her side is Damian Vanderbilt. All three ignored me as they hinted at Sebastian to follow them. Coldness, sure, but none of them indicated any following up punishment for my “crime”.This is the mildest “consequences” I have gotten from hurting Ava in years. I’m not used to it.I follow them nervously, uncertain of where this is going. Finally when we reached the fancy gate of the house, Jack Fuller stopped in front of me, blocking my way. Ava shoots over a timid glance before she crawls into Damian Vanderbilt’s arms, waiting.My sentence is here.“Sebastian?” Ava murmurs, landing her hopeful eyes on him, “We are having dinner. Do you want to join us?”Before Sebastian could answer, Jack Fuller frowns at her: “Get inside, Ava.”Ava flinches at her father’s cold tone, then leaving with Damian Vanderbilt with a reluctant look. I glance in Sebastian’s direction and he looks back. I dart my eyes
Sebastian’s words freezes Lilith. His accurate intuiation shocks, but not as much as his aggressive eyes. Looking into his eyes, Lilith knows she can’t win this fight without needing him to say those words. She has seen how tamed this man can be in front of Scar, and that gave her the illusion that he is not dangerous. Not as how any man in his position holding his kind of power should be.How wrong was she.When it comes to anyone but Scar, he is still the predator who is to be reckoned with.She frowns and tries to run, but the man wouldn’t let her open the door: “If you know that Silco might harm Scar and you hide it from me, then it’s on your hand when Scar gets hurt.”“It’s on me when I refuse to deliver Scar into YOURS hands, which are holding Ava Fuller’s filthy bloody ones?!” Lilith fights back fiercely, “Don’t make me laugh! I come here because YOU begged to make amendment, no the other way around!”The man doesn’t show it, but Lilith could see that her words sting. If there
Does she really treat Sebastian differently?Scar doesn’t like touching this question. It stings. He is like a wound on her heart that just won’t heal. Every scar he left on her remains hurting, bleeding, and corrupting nonstop, yet she just can’t seem to gouge it out.If only she could.Why is it so hard to just cut all ties with this man? However she warns herself of the danger this man poses, she keeps finding him back in her life, closer and closer.Unlike Ava who has never even apologized for what happened but basically took all the harm she did on Scar as okay, Sebastian apologizes. He puts up the genuine guilt act all the time. Doing the right thing, that’s his brand. He takes all his chances to apologize, but he still doesn’t understand--His fault is not giving Ava a key to his house. It wasn’t even falling for that simple lie when the
Scar couldn’t answer Silco’s question.What kind of a question was that?! She doesn’t treat them differently! They are all her enemies, and they all played a part in that horrifying night five years ago! When Ava bullied her, Sebastian took Ava’s side; when Ava needed her blood, Sebastian was the one plugging the tube into Scar’s wrist; when Ava tried to murder her child, HIS child, he gave Ava the key to their house! So of course she treats them differently! If Ava was a murderer, then Sebastian was just a stupid tool Ava used; if Ava wanted her dead, Sebastian only failed to protect her.So why that question?!Why SHOULD she treat them as equally evil? She doesn’t only because she is a fair person!Having a bloody battle in her mind, Scar couldn’t help but feel angry when she couldn’t pin down where the anger comes from.It was a simple question, one that she does have an answer for.So why couldn’t she?Why did she feel guilty when Silco asked that, and why did she run from that qu
Silco finally nods with a proud smile, seeing Scar had led her to where he was leading her to go: “I think that would raise our chances by a lot, princess.”Scar’s eyes beam, not at the coming win, but at the proud look from Silco.She doesn’t even realize it.Never in the first twenty years of life has she tasted what being proud of feels like, and that’s not because of a lack of trying. For a very long time, she believed so long as she worked hard, she would get the praise from Jack and Anna just like Ava. She never did.It feels amazing.While Scar is enjoying her newfound secret, forbidden satisfaction, Lilith is amazed at the closeness shared between Scar and Silco that her best friend doesn’t seem to even notice herself. Does Scar still remember that she doesn’t even know the identity of this man? Scar looks up at him like a little lamb at her shepherd.What’s with this sudden, almost-father-daughter vibe?!“So we just wait?” Scar asks Silco, “What if they don’t make a move?”“Y
“Silco!” Still in the euphoric state, Scar springs off the sofa, demanding the man like a little girl, “You knew him?! Elijah Green? Did you know what a weirdo he was?! Who tells people that they look like their dead friend on the first time they meet?! Why on earth did you make me go to that horrible party?! You owe me an explanation!”Silco lets out a smirk, “Dead...friend? Interesting...” He laughs at her pout, rubbing her hair as he leads her back to the sofa: “The party was horrible? Then why did I hear that the Fuller’s mother-daughter pair put on quite a show to entertain?”Well, it WAS quite enjoyable when they panicked as their lies spilled all over the floor before Scar picked it up for them.Scar sticks her tongue out.“Sure, she begged me for mercy,” Scar shrugs, throwing herself back into the sofa with a loud sigh, “but they only wanted to keep up their lies in front of the Green Lady. I have been calling her about our deal and she hasn’t picked up yet. Pretty sure I got
“I have heard a lot about you,” Elijah Green grins at Scar, giving a meaningful glance in the Green Lady’s direction.The Fullers are pasting around the Green Lady again, like two buzzing flies that would always come back. Looking over, Scar couldn’t help but let out a snort, “So have I.” She says with a cold voice, “Is that what this conversation is for?”If he is here to fight for Ava, too. Scar frowns. She swears to God! She would—“I think they are lying to mom,” Elijah Green answers tamely, as if he doesn’t even hear the sarcasm in Scar’s tone. In Scar’s surprised look, the man laughs like a marshmallow, with a childish, mischievous shade in there, “Anyone who looks so much alike my dear -- hmm -- friend, couldn’t be a bully.”Every time he says that, he adds a pause in there as if it originally wasn’t a “friend”, but something else there. Weird. Scar thinks.“...but I bet you are fierce, no? I bet you are kind to people, but take the stand if needed,” Elijah Green is still going
Sebastian is afraid.Never in his life has he been so. How could he not? He is in the face of his final judgement. He only got through the past five years lying to himself that Scar hated him because Alice died, when he managed to save Alice. That’s his one shred of hope. That some day, when he could tell Scar that, all will be forgiven and forgotten.But that’s precisely why he dared not touch it. Because deep down, he knows that the answer is likely to be no.He just doesn’t know how to survive that answer. If his actions would never get forgiveness from the one person he can’t live without. Then what?It takes him all his willpower to force his eyes up to meet Scar’s. His throat so dry that it starts hurting. He grips a fist, hides it in his pocket with his whole body stiff like a rock.There is storm in Scar’s eyes.There is anger, of course. Anger for all that has happened. Anger for all his stupid mistreatment and self-righteousness. Anger for all the hurt he used to meet her lo
In so many years to come, Sebastian would be grateful that Scar caved, again.He could see the struggle in her eyes, and the familiar fire that would have driven her to call off the deal. But for several long seconds, she doesn’t say anything.He takes that as an “in” and drags her away.He is not sure what he would have done if Scar chose Scott. It’s not like he could really keep her away from the lead of her mom’s case. He has investigated for so many years, just so he could give her what she wants when she wants it.Just not Scott.Or any other men.“I didn’t know you were interested in eye candy,” Sebastian squeezes Scar's hand punishingly when he notices that long after they arrived at the small table across the room from Scott, she is still gazing in that direction.Scar frowns at his sting. What’s his problem?? Ever since she enter Ava’s proud event, he has been a bother none stop. Just because he has got something that she’s interested, he thought he could walk over her??“I g
“Stop it! We weren’t talking about you!” Scar frowns, stepping up for Scott. She can’t have Scott being a target of Sebastian because of her.Scott might be next in line to inherit the Green empire, but he has never spent a day in his life fighting in the business world. How’s that fair?!Scott smirks at Sebastian from behind Scar.Sebastian is boiling. “Hiding behind a woman? Is that all you got?!”“Am I supposed to be ashamed? For hiding behind Scar?” Scott grins, not seeming to be offended at all as he drawls with that annoying smirk, “I don’t know. It sounds like you are upset that you don’t get to do the same.”Sebastian’s eyes are murderous now.Scar’s eyes open wide. She has never seen Sebastian like this. Losing his cool in front of anyone. Sarcasm and personal attack? Is this man really the white knight who always dominates in any room?He looks like an ordinary, jealous husband.The thing is, he is no longer her husband to have the right to be jealous of men she talks to!“W