Chapter 3<\/p>\n
The housekeeper brewed coffee. Justine had a taste for Blue Mountain coffee. Its smooth, delicate aroma lingered in the room.<\/p>\n
After taking a sip, she asked, \u201cDid you talk to William about what I told you last time?\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet stiffened for a split second. \u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
She had tried to contact William, who was still at Grandfall then. She told him over the phone that she wanted to talk, but he was busy and had little to no patience. He responded curtly, \u201cWhatever it is, wait until I\u2019m back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet called a few more times after that, but he never answered. In the end, she stopped trying.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t take a word I said seriously, did you?\u201d Justine\u2019s forehead creased. \u201cI told you to talk to him. It\u2019s been ages. I don\u2019t even know what you\u2019ve been doing all this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that he\u2019s back, the two of you should make time and finalize the divorce. Get it over with as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way you\u2019re living now is just inviting people to laugh at you. Even if you\u2019re not embarrassed, I am!\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the years, nothing had given Justine more headaches than William and Scarlet\u2019s marriage. Had she known things would turn out like this, she would never have agreed to it in the first place.<\/p>\n
\u201cDivorce is the best outcome for both of you. I\u2019m acting in your best interests.\u201d<\/p>\n
The coffee mug was a little too hot. Scarlet curled her fingers slightly and dropped her gaze to the coffee, following the wisps of smoke rising and fading on the surface.<\/p>\n
It would be the best outcome if she didn\u2019t love William.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll talk to him,\u201d Scarlet said.<\/p>\n
Just then, the housekeeper announced, \u201cMr. Arthur and Mr. William are back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet turned around.<\/p>\n
William had returned with his father, Arthur Cooper. He was usually relaxed in private. His suit jacket was draped over his arm as he walked in mid-conversation with Arthur, a lazy smile on his lips. However, the smile faded when he noticed her.<\/p>\n
Justine hadn\u2019t seen her son in a long time. She rose from her seat with a bright smile and walked up to him. \u201cWhy did you decide to come back all of a sudden? You didn\u2019t even tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
William responded, \u201cI wanted to surprise you. Do you not like it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need surprises. I\u2019d be glad if you didn\u2019t drive me to an early grave. You leave and come back whenever you want,\u201d she grumbled, though she was clearly delighted to see him. \u201cYou\u2019ve lost weight again. Have you been skipping meals?\u201d<\/p>\n
William stood there lazily, letting her look him over. \u201cYou say that every time. Why don\u2019t you just plant me in the backyard?\u201d he grinned.<\/p>\n
Justine slapped his arm. \u201cHonestly, you and that mouth of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
William had always had a sharp tongue. He could talk his way into anyone\u2019s good graces, and he was just as articulate and persuasive in an argument.<\/p>\n
He matured with age, but he was still the same at heart. Scarlet had never once won an argument with him.<\/p>\n
\u2026<\/p>\n
During dinner, Scarlet sat next to William.<\/p>\n
Arthur had been in a position of power for many years and carried a natural air of authority. Scarlet had been afraid of him since she was a child.<\/p>\n
He asked about her, as was customary at the dinner table. Scarlet answered each question stiffly, as if she were a student getting questioned by the dean. When he shifted his attention to William, she let out a quiet breath of relief.<\/p>\n
The father and son talked about work for most of the meal. William\u2019s achievements on Wellton Street in the last few years were plain to see. Arthur nodded from time to time, his tone full of pride for his son.<\/p>\n
Scarlet had a lot on her mind and didn\u2019t have much of an appetite. However, she was afraid that if she set her cutlery down, Arthur would start questioning her again. As such, she pretended to eat, slowly counting the pieces of penne.<\/p>\n
Perhaps she had been counting too carefully, and Arthur noticed. \u201cIs the food not to your liking?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Scarlet was about to respond when William shot her a look. \u201cShe needs to eat cat food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur was dumbfounded.<\/p>\n
Scarlet was about to explain, but William seemed unsatisfied with his parents\u2019 reactions. Leaning back in his chair, he lazily added, \u201cI have no idea what she\u2019s been eating lately, but she can give birth to cats now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet was rendered speechless. She wished she could dig a hole through the earth and disappear.<\/p>\n
Justine shot daggers at him. \u201cAll you do is spout nonsense, you little rascal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur fell silent with a solemn expression. At his age, he didn\u2019t quite understand youngsters\u2019 jokes. He tried to make sense of it and concluded that Scarlet must have either a gynecological issue or a psychological one. In any case, as her elder, he couldn\u2019t ask her about it directly.<\/p>\n
\u201cScarlet\u2026 are you feeling unwell?\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet\u2019s face flushed crimson, and she hurriedly explained, \u201cNo, I\u2019m fine. He\u2019s just messing around.\u201d<\/p>\n
After dinner, Arthur and William went into the study. Justine brought them some soup and didn\u2019t return for quite some time.<\/p>\n
Scarlet waited in the living room. She hadn\u2019t slept well the night before and had worked all day. Before she knew it, she dozed off on the couch.<\/p>\n
Ellen Paige, one of the housekeepers, came over and gently woke her up. \u201cScarlet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet rubbed her eyes. \u201cAre we leaving?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. William and Mr. Arthur are still discussing something in the study. They probably won\u2019t be done anytime soon.\u201d Ellen had looked after Scarlet since she was a child and treated her like her own daughter. \u201cI\u2019ve cleaned up your old room. Why don\u2019t you go upstairs and get some rest?\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet rarely came here unless it was a holiday or she was summoned. There were still a few of her belongings upstairs, mostly childhood items. There wasn\u2019t much that truly belonged to her.<\/p>\n
Scarlet asked Ellen for a cardboard box. After packing everything up, she came downstairs with the box in her arms.<\/p>\n
William happened to step out of the study at the same time. He glanced at the box she was carrying and inquired, \u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThings from when I was little. I forgot to take them with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He tugged at the corner of his lips. His expression was unreadable, but it definitely wasn\u2019t a smile.<\/p>\n
While walking downstairs, she said, \u201cNext time, don\u2019t spout nonsense in front of your parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNonsense?\u201d William stopped in his tracks. He raised his hand to loosen his tie before looking over his shoulder at her. \u201cDidn\u2019t you say that yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet replied, \u201cI was joking. Yet, you took it straight to your parents. It was very awkward for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
William slipped his hands into the pockets of his suit pants and looked at her with a smile that didn\u2019t reach his eyes. He acted as if he would go along with anything. \u201cFine. From now on, I\u2019ll document everything you say.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen, you can label what I\u2019m allowed to tell people and what I\u2019m not. I\u2019ll follow it to a letter, so I don\u2019t accidentally leak one of your little secrets and end up as your punching bag.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet caught on this time. He was being sarcastic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not using you as my punching bag,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
William didn\u2019t care about her explanation. He spun on his heel and headed downstairs.<\/p>\n
Scarlet followed behind him. He was tall, his silhouette drawn lean and upright by the muted light of the stairwell. His pace seemed slow, yet she couldn\u2019t quite keep up. Before long, she was left behind.<\/p>\n
As soon as she walked out of the courtyard, a black Bentley was already waiting at the entrance. William stood by the car, lighting a cigarette. The ember glowed and dimmed between his fingers and made him look roguish.<\/p>\n
When he saw her, he stubbed it out. \u201cAre those long legs of yours just for show? You\u2019re so slow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scarlet wanted to tell him that she was carrying a box. She also wanted to ask if he was blind, but she couldn\u2019t be bothered to waste her breath on him. For some reason, the two of them had lost the desire to communicate with each other at some point.<\/p>\n
The thought of just letting things slide surfaced in her mind time and time again, swallowing everything she wanted to say.<\/p>\n
William opened the car door and tossed his jacket inside. His long fingers rested on the edge of the door as he said coldly, \u201cIs that everything? You might as well take everything with you today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is everything.\u201d Scarlet\u2019s temper flared. \u201cWhat\u2019s left belongs to your family. You can keep it!\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, she bent down and got into the car. William scoffed behind her before closing the door and getting in from the other side.<\/p>\n
His manners were ingrained in him. Yet, his sharp tongue and indifference were innate.<\/p>\n
Scarlet used to think he was merely a charming philanderer. She only realized how cold and heartless he could be after they got married.<\/p>\n
Chapter 3 The housekeeper brewed coffee. Justine had a taste for Blue Mountain coffee. Its smooth, delicate aroma lingered in […]<\/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-111","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\/111","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=111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}