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The Offer
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2025-01-15 23:31:19The icy breeze from the height whipped against Scarlet's face, carrying with it the faint, hollow hum of the city below. Her breath itched, and she squinted against the sudden intrusion of the low, gravely voice that pierced the solitude.
“Is this your final decision? Your last option?”
Scarlet jerked, her heart racing, her head snapping toward the sound.
A dark figure stood just beyond the faint light of a streetlamp nearby, shrouded in shadows.
Her pulse quickened as she stammered.
“W-what?”
The figure titled his head slightly, stepping closer, though the shadows still clung to him like a second skin.
“I asked, is this it for you? What's taking you so long to jump? You've been standing there for a while now. Cowardice, perhaps?”
Scarlet stiffened, his words cutting like glass.
“Who are you?”
She demanded, her voice trembling but firm.
The man ignored her question, his movement deliberate as he stepped forward with an unnerving calm.
The light caught his features, revealing a tall, commanding figure.
He carried himself with a poise that bordered on predatory.
Scarlet's gaze involuntarily took in his chiseled features, his jet-black hair that caught the faint glow of the moonlight, and the most striking of all—his icy blue eyes that seemed to see straight through her.
Her breath caught.
There was something in the way he moved that made her shiver. Shoving his hands casually into his pockets he smirked.
“Scarlet Elle Sinclair. Once the darling of Stardom Heights. Started young, catapulted to fame by 18. The face of countless brands, beloved by millions. And now?”
He paused, his tone sharpening.
“Disgraced. Penniless. Branded a fraud and liar.”
Scarlet frozen, her stomach twisting.
How did he know so much about her?
“What do you want?” She whispered, her voice almost lost in the wind.
He ignored her again, his gaze unwavering.
“Tomorrow, the headlines will read, ‘Scarlet Elle Sinclair commits suicide.’ And then what? You vanish into nothingness, and the people who did this to you—they get to celebrate their victory. That's your legacy.”
Scarlet tried to speak, but the words got caught in her throat.
She swallowed hard, her voice breaking as she finally spoke up.
"None of this concerns you. It doesn't matter anymore. No one cares anyway."
The man stepped closer, his presence growing more and more overwhelming.
"I care," he said, his voice calm and firm.
"Because seeing you like this—it's pathetic. This isn't the Scarlet the world admires. You're a fighter, and not someone who gives up.”
She gave a harsh, contemptuous snort and shook her head.
"Just leave me alone,” she whispered, trying to hold back her tears.
"Then jump,” the man said, his voice cold and without emotion.
Scarlet looked up at him feeling both defiant and scared. The idea of jumping terrified her.
"Go ahead,” he continued, his voice steady and icy.
"Jump. End it all. Give them what they want—a final reason to laugh at you. Let them celebrate your death. Let them win. "
His harsh words hit her like a punch.
Scarlet's fists were clenched as her whole body shook.
"You don't know anything!" she exclaimed in an agonizingly painful voice.
He kept staring, showing no emotion.
“I tried!” She cried, her voice breaking.
“I tried to fight, but no one would listen. No one believed me. My parents–”
Her breath hitched as fresh tears spilled down her cheek.
"Even my parents abandoned me. Max…Sydney…They—"
Her knees felt weak, but she steadied herself.
The weight of sadness and embarrassment sat on her chest like a wall that would crush her anytime.
“I have no one, ” she whispered. "No one to turn to. No one.”
For a moment, the stranger remained silent.
All he did was stare with those cold icy blue eyes, showing no emotions.
Then, with a voice quite steady, he said, "I believe you."
Scarlet blinked, surprised by how simple his words were.
"I know you're innocent, " he continued.
"I know they are the ones who hurt you. You trusted them and they let you down. "
She momentarily forgot her tears as she turned to face him fully.
“You don’t even know me,” she said quietly, her voice trembling.
“Don’t I?” he retorted, questioning her with his head tilted slightly.
Her brows furrowed and her confusion grew.
“Who are you? What do you want from me?”
The man shrugged, his smirk returning.
“What I want doesn't matter. What matters is what you want. Do you want to let them win? Or do you want to fight back?”
Scarlet stared hard at him, her mind racing.
She couldn't trust him—how could she?
Yet, in the surety of his confidence and the coolness with which he carried himself, Scarlet hesitated.
"What are you saying?" she asked cautiously.
“I’m saying,” he said, closing the gap. “I can give you a second chance. A way to rebuild everything you've lost. To make them pay for what they've done to you."
Her breath caught.
"Why would you help me?"
“Because," he said, his voice lowering, "we have something in common. And you deserve better than this."
Scarlet narrowed her eyes trying to read him. But his expression gave nothing away.
Before she could press him further, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a sleek black card. He held it out to her, his gaze steady.
"You have a choice," he said.
“Take this card, and you'll get the chance to take your life back or…"
He pointed to the edge of the cliff.
"Jump."
Scarlet wavered, fingers trembling as she took the card from his hand.
The man receded into darkness, his voice cutting through the dark a final time.
“This is a one-time offer, Sinclair. Think carefully. Don't let them win. Take back what's yours. Make them pay.”
He departed, leaving Scarlet alone with the card in her hand and a choice to make. A chill went up her spine as she flipped the card over with her shaking hands, her thoughts racing.
The surface was smooth and cool, black, the edges sharp against her skin.
The only thing inscribed on its surface was a symbol she didn’t recognize, deep and intricate, almost hypnotic. She looked at it, her mind a jumble of confusion and terror.
The stranger’s words hung in the air, not letting her alone.
"Take back what’s yours. Make them pay."
Her jaw went tight, their teeth compressed. A new pulse of rage coursed through her chest, cutting a knife through the sadness that had smothered her for weeks.
How dare he even appear here, on the worst night of her life, and treat her pain like it was somehow a challenge she had thrown at him?
And yet…
Scarlet’s eyes drifted to the city below, its lights twinkling like a thousand stars. She had once loved this view — back when she was on top of the world.
Now, it mocked her.
Each shining light felt like a flame mocking her to everyone that had laughed as her downfall, every single person that had turned their back on her.
She could feel the weight of choice in the card, heavier in her hand.
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The city lights stretched out before Scarlet, a sparkling sea of gold and white, endless and indifferent. The wind whipped through her hair, tugging at the edges of her dark thoughts. It was late—hours past midnight—but the glow of Bayhaven Heights never dimmed, always alive, a city that never slept. But tonight, as Scarlet stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the chasm below, she felt more isolated than ever.Her feet were barely a footstep away from the edge, where the earth met the abyss. She could see it all—the jagged rocks below, the infinite drop that seemed to echo her very existence. She was a woman suspended between two worlds, neither of which wanted her.A past of flashing lights and adoration, it felt almost like another life.And the future?It had no room for someone like her; it had no room for a forsaken and betrayed soul.She breathed in deeply, the cold, crisp night air filled with saltwater from afar, the murmur of the city muted by so much open area.
