carlet went downstairs and asked Ruth, \u201cCould you change the bedding in my room later? They all reek of alcohol.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ruth brought over a bowl of split pea and ham soup that was simmering in the kitchen. \u201cIs it about time to get the cats vaccinated?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had the appointment scheduled,\u201d Scarlet answered. \u201cI\u2019ll take them to get their shots and check\u2013ups done this weekend. Then, we can bring them over to our neighbors in No. 12.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ruth boasted, \u201cThe gentleman said he didn\u2019t want the kitten to be lonely, so he\u2019s willing to adopt the mother cat, too. That way, they can keep each other company.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s great!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thanks to Scarlet\u2019s coworkers at the hospital, Lucy\u2019s boss, and Xyla\u2019s friends, both the mother cat and the kitten now had homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was finally something to be happy about. Scarlet\u2019s face broke into a small smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t have much of an appetite after drinking so excessively yesterday, but the soup smelled delicious. Ruth was, without a doubt, a master in the kitchen. The soup had been simmering all morning. It would be a shame to waste it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you put it in a thermos for me?\u201d Scarlet asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ruth clearly got the wrong idea as she quickly ladled the rest of the soup, beaming. \u201cMr. Cooper loves my split pea and ham soup. He\u2019ll be so thrilled!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet didn\u2019t correct her. She put on her coat and scarf and was ready to leave when William walked in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was carrying a cream\u2013colored box. Judging by the patterns on the packaging, it seemed to contain some kind of dessert. Scarlet didn\u2019t pay it any mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
William took off his sheepskin gloves as he scanned her from head to toe. \u201cAre you heading out?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet put on her wool hat. \u201cYeah.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ever since William returned, every conversation had her throwing barbed remarks at him. Yet, she remained calm today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was so calm that he found it unusual. He found himself glancing at her over and over again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He studied her expression as he slowly took off his coat. \u201cWhat upset you yesterday that made you go drink by yourself?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d Scarlet looked down and put on her boots. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After crying her heart out, her emotions seemed to have settled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The realization that William had never loved her felt like a thousand arrows piercing her heart, leaving her nearly shattered. But after the shattering came the reconstruction of a new life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bloodied knife that had been driven into her heart could finally be pulled out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was like a storm had torn through the city, sweeping away the gloom that had hung over it for years. Once the clouds cleared, the sun shone again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet felt completely calm and at ease like never before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If William never loved her, there was nothing from the past worth clinging to. It didn\u2019t matter even if she\u2019d wasted three years of her time and heart. She could live with that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nothing in this world could hurt her anymore. From now on, she\u2019d be armored, leaving no part of her vulnerable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
BC.GAME\u00a0<\/p>\n
X CLOSE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 57\u00a0<\/p>\n
272\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet pushed open the door and stepped outside. The snowfall had stopped within the last several days. So, the temperature had risen slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stood on the steps, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath of fresh air. She let it fill her lungs before exhaling slowly. The bright morning sun shone on her face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
William stared at her. Something felt off, though he couldn\u2019t quite put a finger on it. Just as he was about to ask, Scarlet opened her eyes and began descending the steps.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you going? Let Lester take you there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been putting something off for a long time. I\u2019ll go get it settled today,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ruth had just finished tidying the room upstairs when she saw William enter, while Scarlet got into the car with the thermos in hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was confused. \u201cI thought Mrs. Cooper was going to bring you soup. If you\u2019re already home, where is she taking that?\u201d William froze and turned to look outside. The Bentley was already pulling out of the yard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An unreadable look crossed William\u2019s face. The soup was clearly not for him. What did she need to settle? Why did her words leave him unnerved?\u00a0<\/p>\n
carlet went downstairs and asked Ruth, \u201cCould you change the bedding in my room later? They all reek of alcohol.\u201d\u00a0 […]<\/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-13534","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\/13534","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=13534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13534\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}