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
Scarlett’s POVHis sorrowful tone digs up all the memories I bury deep -- all the moments where he would stare at me with pure hatred in his eyes, only to try to cover it up when he notices me, and failed to no less. In the end, he would just avoid looking at me with his tone getting colder and colder.I just thought it was because I was adopted, but now I understand.“Does...does your wife know about it?” I ask, not able to say the word “mom” even though I tried to. In my memory, she tried to love me, or at least, she tried to act as if she does.“She only knew I found an orphan with the same blood type in a hospital,” He shakes his head quickly, “She loves you, you know that. Everything Ava has she wants you to have, too.”No, quite the opposite. Everything I had, she wanted Ava to have, including Sebastian. Every “reward” she got me for donating blood, she got Ava; and when Ava got something just for being their lovely daughter, it was always kept unique for her.“I didn’t know you
Scarlett’s POVSebastian is in the shower.My mind was a mess in the car. I couldn’t even begin to think about Jack Fuller’s confession, Damian Vanderbilt’s questions, or even just Sebastian’s offer. In the end, the easiest decision was:He needed to get out of the wet shirt.He took my offer, but he put the hot water in the bathtub with my favorite salt, and he insisted on me taking a hot bath first. It did help a lot. I took my time in there, feeling the warmth of the water softening my stiff muscles. I only came out to see that he didn’t take a shower himself, but waited for me in his wet shirt.In my gentle pajamas and soft slippers, I curl up on the cushions of our bay window, watching the quiet night view outside. I don’t miss this view. This is where I usually sit when I have to wait for my husband over midnight, or when he leaves me alone after yet another fight.But now, this view gives me peace.It comes from his changes, I know. I didn’t dare hope for such a safety from him,
Ava’s POVMom sent me to a hot shower when Dad went to deal with the parasite who pushed me into the lake.I can’t believe it worked so smoothly. I always knew how to get to her, from luring her to escape home to making her push me into the water. She writes all her thoughts on her face. I knew mentioning the necklace would rile her up, and she thought I would physically hurt her. I’m not as stupid as she is! She did exactly what I thought she would: she pushed me into a lake in front of Sebastion.He hates bullies, and this will definitely drive a wedge between them.Ever since she told Sebastian about the misunderstanding ten years ago, he has been putting a distance between us. He wouldn’t come to hang out even if I begged, he wouldn’t return my texts, and he even asked his secretary to answer my phone calls! I never even said I was the girl he saved, I simply confirmed that it was mine when he asked about the yellow skirt.I know he is mad at me, but he is not ghosting me and that