It has been weeks since Scarlett and Adrian had an outburst, and Scarlett still hasn't gotten over it. She could still hear his voice, telling her that she was exactly like her mother. That statement hurt her more than she expected it to. Was she really like her mother? She had always thought that they were worlds apart, but maybe she's more similar to her mom than she had thought.
She sighed and stared at the book in her hands, trying to read, but she couldn't concentrate. She kept thinking, with Adrian's harsh words ringing in her head and distracting her.
“There's no way I'm like my mother.” She said, trying to convince herself that Adrian was wrong about her.
She suddenly remembered when her father was alive and how he would always get into an argument with her mother. The arguments were usually because of her mother's attitude, despite being a married woman.
Scarlett recalled that her mother was barely at home, always on the go, wearing skimpy dresses, and leaving the house at night. Whenever she came back to the house, she was either looking like a hot mess or was drunk to a stupor, and Scarlett's father couldn't bear all of it, so they would end up arguing.
As Scarlett grew up, she began to find out that the reason her mother was never home was because she was out with other men. She even remembered one occasion where her mother told her father that she only married him for his wealth. And to think that there was a twelve-year gap between her parents.
Scarlett was snapped out of her thoughts when her phone started ringing. She reached for it on the bed, and the caller turned out to be her mother. With an eye roll, she answered the call and placed the phone in her right ear.
“Hi mom.” She spoke up.
“Scarlett, what the hell is wrong with you!?” Vivian raged, her voice almost piercing Scarlett’s ear, and she had to move the phone away a little with raised brows.
Scarlett was confused. Why would her mother call her and immediately start yelling?
“What are you talking about?” She asked, genuinely confused.
“Why on earth would you tell the financial department to cancel two of my cards?” Vivian's pain and anger could be felt through the phone, but Scarlett didn't care; she was determined to set things straight in her father's company.
“You have three cards, mom. I only canceled two; one is enough for you.” She answered, but that only enraged Vivian even more.
“What? Who do you think you are to say that to me? Just because you're 18 now doesn't mean that you'll lose respect for me. I am still your mother, Scarlett. You do not treat me that way!” Vivian continued to rant, but Scarlett wasn't in the mood for all that drama.
“Bye mom.” She hung up with her mother, still talking, and threw the phone into the bed again. Vivian called a few more times, but Scarlett ignored all her calls. She needed to read; her exams were coming up.
Again, her mind shifted to Adrian. Why hasn't he called her since that day? She had thought that he would call and apologize for what he said to her, but he didn't, and it made her wonder why. She was missing him so badly; she couldn't deny that.
With a sigh, she picked up her phone and stared at his picture again. Why was he doing this to her? Why was he playing hard to get?
“Gosh, I can't do this.” She sighed again, getting up from the bed.
“I need to concentrate.” She picked up her books, grabbed her car keys, and went down to the car park. She decided to drive to the library and read there. She needed to prepare for her exams and forget about the pain Adrian was causing her.
Scarlett entered the library and walked around, looking for a place to sit, when she saw a familiar face there; he was reading as well. She immediately recognized him as the guy who saved her from getting splashed with drinks at Ethan's birthday party. She went ahead to sit in front of him without uttering a word.
She started to read, and luckily, she was concentrating this time around.
After about three hours of not looking up from her book, Scarlett stood up and stretched her body. She was done for the day and needed to blow up some steam, maybe at the coffee shop. She grabbed her books and started walking out, but the guy from the party followed her, stopping her in her tracks.
“Hi.” He smiled at her, clutching his books.
“Hi there.” Scarlett smiled back.
“I'm Kevin.” He introduced himself, stretching out his hand for a handshake.
“I'm Scarlett.” She took his hand, and Kevin chuckled.
“You don't need to tell me who you are; who doesn't know you in our department?”
Scarlett was surprised that he was in her department; she had never seen him in any of her classes before.
“You're in my department? But I've never seen you in any class.” She voiced out her thoughts, and he nodded.
“That's because I'm a year ahead of you. I'm in year two.” Kevin answered, and Scarlett made an “oh” sound.
They continued to talk as they headed for the door, and Scarlett didn't know why she found him interesting—maybe because he was brilliant. His manner of speech was impeccable, and she liked that.
They were almost at the door when Mabel suddenly showed up from nowhere and stood in front of them with two of her friends standing behind her, looking bitchy too.
“If it isn't the slut who keeps throwing herself on my boyfriend,” Mabel glared at her, but Scarlett remained calm, staring back at her without a single atom of fear or worry.
“Listen to me, you slut. Stay away from my boyfriend and stop trying to seduce him. He's mine; Ethan belongs to me. If you don't leave him alone, I'll make sure you regret your stay at this school.” Mabel threatened, still glaring at Scarlett.
Scarlett simply hissed and started walking away when one of Mabel's friends attacked her, raising her hand to slap her, but Kevin stepped in and intimidated them with his large physique.
“Buzz off!” He told them. Mabel scoffed. He was in her class, and they knew him to be quite strong. The girls walked away, cussing at Scarlett, while Kevin went back to her.
“Don't mind them. Let's go.” He told her as they walked out of the door.
“Thanks. I'm going to get coffee; wanna come along?” Scarlett offered, and Kevin nodded. They entered her car and left for the coffee shop.
After having coffee, Kevin left while Scarlett tiredly drove to her penthouse. By the time she got there, she saw another car parked in her park, and it was Ethan's car. She got down and saw him leaning by his car and waiting for her.
“Hey.” She walked over to him and hugged him. They had become very close friends, and the hatred she once had for him had vanished.
“Hi, where were you all day?” He questioned them after they disengaged from the hug.
“At the library. And guess who I ran into?” She almost chuckled.
“Who is it?”
"Mabel, of course. That crazy girlfriend of yours won't stop harassing me. You better warn her because I'm going to make sure she serves time in jail the next time she harasses me with those minions of hers.” Scarlett warned, and she was being serious about it.
“I don't know what's wrong with that girl. I've warned her several times, but she still goes about telling people that I'm her boyfriend even when we're not dating.” Ethan sighed.
“Enough about her; I came here for a reason, and I won't let her spoil it.” He cleared his throat, and Scarlett stared at him, folding her arms over her breasts.
“Scarlett, I've found out that I was mistaken about the kind of person you are. You're everything a man could ask for in a woman, and that's why I want to ask you to be my girlfriend. Will you give me a chance?”