Scarlet froze. It was the first time anyone had ever said something like that to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d she said after a pause. \u201cPeople talk no matter what. When you hear enough of it, you stop caring. I was more worried about you-\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as you\u2019re not bothered, that\u2019s all I need to know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ryan looked a little uneasy. He didn\u2019t quite dare meet her eyes, so his gaze drifted slightly downward, settling on the bridge of her nose.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI should apologize. I actually came here on purpose tonight. When Xyla called you, I overheard it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet caught the implication immediately. She\u2019d assumed this was just Xyla acting on impulse, trying to play matchmaker. She hadn\u2019t expected Ryan himself to feel this way, much less say it out loud.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was instantly awkward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ryan seemed even more nervous than she was. He cleared his throat, pressed a fist against his face, and glanced away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The restaurant was warm, and Scarlet wore a soft, creamy\u2013white cashmere cardigan that looked light and cozy. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, her face fair. She hugged her coat and fiddled with her phone, the silence thick and tense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was the exact moment William walked in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His gaze paused on Scarlet for half a second, slid indifferently over the man standing beside her, then returned to her. His eyes darkened slightly as he stared at her flushed earlobes. \u201cWhat are you doing standing here? Working as the restaurant\u2019s after\u2013hours security?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only then did Scarlet and Ryan notice him, and the woman behind him, Nicole.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet looked away, not even bothering with basic politeness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cScarlet? Ryan?\u201d Nicole looked surprised. \u201cDid you come here for a meal, too?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ryan had gone to school with them, but he wasn\u2019t as close to William as Silas or Shaun. He exchanged a brief greeting. \u201cWhat a coincidence.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
William seemed distracted. His deep, unreadable gaze fixed on Scarlet, who was pointedly ignoring him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nicole said, \u201cWilliam was worried my knee injury might leave a scar, so he set me up with the best cosmetic specialist from Amriva. We happened to meet here tonight.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet acted like she hadn\u2019t heard a word, eyes fixed on the direction of the restroom as she waited.\u00a0<\/p>\n
William clearly wasn\u2019t used to being ignored. Her indifference annoyed him, and the more she brushed him off, the more he insisted on making his presence felt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are your manners? Don\u2019t you know how to greet people?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet finally turned her head and glanced at him. \u201cWhy should I? Not greeting you at all is already me being polite.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ryan and Nicole both froze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Honestly, William often seemed casual and carefree, always with a hint of a smile, but even his closest friends knew better than to push his boundaries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Silas wouldn\u2019t dare. Shaun wouldn\u2019t either.\u00a0<\/p>\n
William smirked, his voice cold but lighter than usual. \u201cSo aggressive. What did I do now to get on your nerves again?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
GOSSY Harbor\u00a0<\/p>\n
finally found a game\u00a0<\/p>\n
that can help mother and daughter renovate\u00a0<\/p>\n
A broken hous\u00a0<\/p>\n
Play now\u00a0<\/p>\n
X CLOSE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter BT\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet replied flatly, \u201cJust looking at you gets on my nerves.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
William laughed through his frustration, reaching for her wrist and pulling her away from Ryan. He looked down at her casually \u201cThen keep looking. Maybe you\u2019ll get used to it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re crazy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that moment, Lancy and Xyla squeezed their way out of the restroom, jostling each other. Seeing the two extra people by the entrance, Xyla lit up. \u201cNicole!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019d idolized Nicole since she was young, always trailing after her. However, Xyla was four or five years younger, and Nicole\u2019s usual friends didn\u2019t want a kid hanging around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nicole had been watching William and Scarlet\u2019s physical back\u2013and\u2013forth with pursed lips. Hearing Xyla\u2019s voice, she reined in her expression and put on a smile. \u201cDid you come here to eat with Ryan?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I came with Scarlet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nicole paused, then smiled. \u201cSince when did you and Scarlet get so close?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only then did Xyla realize she was in trouble. She\u2019d always been on Nicole\u2019s side, but now she was hanging out with Scarlet all the time. That basically made her a traitor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oh no. She should\u2019ve stayed in the restroom and never come out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Feeling guilty, she said weakly, \u201cWhen I was in the hospital, Scarlet took really good care of me\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucy saw her wavering and immediately stabbed her in the back. \u201cAre you a hypocrite or something? Wasn\u2019t it you who clung to us and insisted on joining?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u201d Xyla opened her mouth, looked at Nicole, then at Scarlet. She\u2019d never been stuck in a situation like this before and didn\u2019t know what to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet said calmly, \u201cYou don\u2019t need to feel pressured. It\u2019s your freedom to be friends with whoever you want. You\u2019re old enough now to take responsibility for your own actions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harbor\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet froze. It was the first time anyone had ever said something like that to her.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d she said […]<\/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-13560","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\/13560","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=13560"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13598,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13560\/revisions\/13598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}