Chapter 2<\/p>\n
Before long, William emerged from the bathroom and walked to the other side of the bed. The mattress dipped slightly, and a corner of the blanket was lifted.<\/p>\n
Scarlet caught a faint, cool scent. It was clean, sharp, faintly woody, and edged with tobacco. It was unmistakably William\u2019s scent.<\/p>\n
The faint light from the floor lamp didn\u2019t reach the bed. The night was so quiet she could hear their steady breathing. The couple lay on opposite sides of the large bed, separated by a cold, invisible barrier.<\/p>\n
After a while, she looked at him. Perhaps due to the darkness, his features seemed deep and distant. \u201cHave you fallen asleep?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence followed. William\u2019s voice was low and tired, tinged with annoyance. \u201cBe quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet touched the lucky charm around her neck and turned away.<\/p>\n
\u2026<\/p>\n
When Scarlet woke up in the morning, the space beside her was already empty.<\/p>\n
She got out of bed and freshened up. When she walked into the living room, she found William already dressed, sitting at the dining table and scrolling through real-time stock prices on his iPad.<\/p>\n
He looked up when he heard footsteps. \u201cWhere\u2019s Ruth?\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet opened the refrigerator. \u201cI dismissed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
William\u2019s brows drew together, but he didn\u2019t say another word.<\/p>\n
Scarlet hastily fried two eggs. After a moment\u2019s thought, she added ham, lettuce, and cheese and made two sandwiches. Then, she carried them to the dining area.<\/p>\n
William glanced at them. \u201cIs this what you usually eat?\u201d<\/p>\n
What was wrong with it? It was already much better than her usual breakfast. Scarlet was always pressed for time in the morning and usually made do with two slices of toast for breakfast on workdays.<\/p>\n
\u201cEat it or leave it,\u201d she brooded.<\/p>\n
Just then, a cat\u2019s meow sounded from behind the couch. Scarlet turned around and noticed a calico female cat cautiously poking her small head out.<\/p>\n
Not long ago, after days of heavy rain, she had found a litter of newborn strays at the hospital. The kittens were soaked and shivering, while the mother cat was skin and bones.<\/p>\n
Scarlet couldn\u2019t bring herself to leave them, so she took them home, planning to keep them until they were a month old and then find someone to adopt them. She hadn\u2019t expected William to return to the country all of a sudden.<\/p>\n
William didn\u2019t allow Scarlet to keep cats. When he had gone to Amriva for a year, she had once rescued a stray and wanted to take it home. She called to ask his opinion, and he rejected her.<\/p>\n
Scarlet had clearly shut the cat in an empty room. She hadn\u2019t expected it to be smart enough to open the door and sneak out.<\/p>\n
Sure enough, he frowned. \u201cWhere did this stray come from?\u201d<\/p>\n
The disgust in his tone made her uncomfortable. Scarlet walked over, picked the cat up, and muttered, \u201cI gave birth to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
William scoffed. \u201cIn that case, you should apply for a prize.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet put the cat back in the room. When she returned, he already had his coat on. The sandwiches she made were still on the table, untouched.<\/p>\n
William adjusted his tie in front of the mirror and, without looking back, pronounced the cat\u2019s sentence. \u201cGet rid of it before I come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet ignored him. The villa was huge. It wasn\u2019t as if there wasn\u2019t room for a few kittens.<\/p>\n
Why did he have to be so merciless to animals that were only trying to stay alive? He had more money than he could spend, yet so little mercy.<\/p>\n
William caught the look on her face in the mirror. \u201cWhat are you bad-mouthing me in your head this time?\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet was stumped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho would dare badmouth you? I\u2019ll keep them locked up. They won\u2019t run out again. I\u2019ll also disinfect the house every day and send them away once I find someone to adopt them.\u201d Scarlet was in a hurry to get to work, so she wrapped the sandwiches to take with her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it bothers you that much, go stay somewhere else. You have a home everywhere anyway,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
William sneered, \u201cYour temper sure has grown. We haven\u2019t seen each other in half a year, and the first thing you do when I get back is try to kick me out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ignoring him, she lowered her head to change her shoes.<\/p>\n
Scarlet dressed for comfort at work. Under a loose sweater, her skinny jeans hugged her long, well-shaped legs. When she bent over to put on her shoes, the curve from her waist to her hips was impossible to miss.<\/p>\n
William fastened the buttons on his suit and lifted his gaze, letting it drift lazily over her. \u201cWhat did you want to say last night?\u201d<\/p>\n
This time, she didn\u2019t have the time to talk. \u201cI\u2019m late for work. Let\u2019s talk when I get back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2026<\/p>\n
After finishing her rounds, she spent the entire morning in the ophthalmology clinic. It was a busy day, and she didn\u2019t finish until 2:00 pm. By then, there was barely anything left in the cafeteria, so she simply grabbed a bite to eat.<\/p>\n
While she was having lunch, she received a call from William\u2019s mother, Justine Lawson, asking her to return to the Cooper residence that day. Scarlet agreed and ended the call. Then, she poked at the pasta in front of her and suddenly lost her appetite.<\/p>\n
After work, the Coopers\u2019 personal driver, Lester Gray, came to pick her up, and Scarlet got into the car.<\/p>\n
The courtyard was nearly 100 years old. Scarlet was familiar with the place because she\u2019d grown up here.<\/p>\n
After her parents were killed, she spent years in foster care before being taken in by the Cooper family. It was called adoption, but in reality, it was just a sponsorship.<\/p>\n
If the city\u2019s social hierarchy were a pyramid, the Coopers would sit at the very top, a level most people could never reach.<\/p>\n
Scarlet was just an orphan. She was incredibly lucky to be taken in by the Cooper family. There was no way she would be officially added to their family tree.<\/p>\n
No one expected her luck to strike twice. Later, she married the heir of the Cooper family. In the end, her name was officially added to their family.<\/p>\n
Scarlet waited in the living room for a while. Justine descended the stairs in an elegant dress. \u201cI heard you dismissed Ruth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet wasn\u2019t surprised in the least. \u201cDid she come crying to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
After she married William, the Coopers sent them a housekeeper. Ruth Mills was efficient and meticulous in her work.<\/p>\n
William was rarely home, so it was usually just Scarlet and Ruth. Scarlet treated her well, allowing her to take home leftover premium ingredients and supplements and presenting her with gifts during the holidays.<\/p>\n
Ruth\u2019s job was actually quite easy. Scarlet was busy and rarely home, so she tended to let small things slide.<\/p>\n
There was one time when the hospital needed some paperwork, and Scarlet couldn\u2019t find one of her certificates anywhere. Scarlet needed it urgently, yet Ruth wasn\u2019t home, and her phone couldn\u2019t be reached. In the end, she found her at a poker table.<\/p>\n
One of her friends said, \u201cLook at the time. Aren\u2019t you heading back? Aren\u2019t you afraid your lady of the house will chew you out?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruth had lost quite a bit and was fully absorbed. There was no way she was getting up from the table. \u201cShe\u2019s busy at work. She won\u2019t be back at this hour. Besides, my paycheck comes from the Cooper family, not from her. Even if she finds out, what can she really do to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut she\u2019s still the lady of the Cooper family. All it takes is a word in her husband\u2019s ear, and you\u2019d be fired.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me a break,\u201d Ruth scoffed. \u201cMr. Cooper is only home about once a year. Who exactly is she supposed to tell, the air?\u201d<\/p>\n
Middle-aged women thrived on gossip. \u201cOh? Do they not get along?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t that obvious? Mr. Cooper ran off to Amriva shortly after the wedding. I heard he went to pursue his childhood sweetheart.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis wife was forced on him by his family. He can\u2019t even stand the sight of her.\u201d<\/p>\n
People instinctively treated others according to their status. Scarlet, however, hadn\u2019t expected to hear such cutting words from the very housekeeper she had always treated kindly.<\/p>\n
Ruth was enjoying herself a little too much. When she turned around and saw Scarlet standing right behind her, she nearly dropped her cards. Then, she panicked and apologized profusely.<\/p>\n
Scarlet didn\u2019t utter a word at the time. She had only told Ruth to go home and find the certificate she had misplaced. That same night, she dismissed Ruth.<\/p>\n
Justine sat down. \u201cRuth was just talking behind your back. It\u2019s tasteless, sure, but hardly a real offense. You\u2019re William\u2019s wife, the second lady of this household. If you can\u2019t even keep a housekeeper in line, people are bound to look down on you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet tugged at the corner of her lips. She had no idea what Ruth had told Justine, but it didn\u2019t matter. No matter what happened, whether it was her fault or not, Justine was always dissatisfied with her. It had been that way since she was a child.<\/p>\n
Scarlet had long gotten used to not explaining herself. Even if she did, Justine would never take her side. She\u2019d simply humiliate herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could turn a blind eye if it were just you. But now, William is back. You can\u2019t cook or clean. Are you planning to sit around and wait for him to come home and serve you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not like he\u2019s never served me before,\u201d Scarlet thought to herself. However, she didn\u2019t dare say that out loud in front of Justine.<\/p>\n
Chapter 2 Before long, William emerged from the bathroom and walked to the other side of the bed. The mattress […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-end-of-the-contractstart-of-his-obsession"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}