“Adrian..” Vivian's excited voice sounded, causing Scarlett to quickly pull away from Adrian, letting go of his hand.
“Oh, there you are.” She walked right into the kitchen, immediately picking up the awkward situation of the place. She stared at Adrian and then at Scarlett, wondering what they were doing in there alone.
“Is everything alright? You both look spooked.” She pointed out. Adrian opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out as his brain was not organized at that moment. He was busy looking forward to the kiss he was going to get from Scarlett to think straight.
“Scarlett, are you okay?” She noticed the pale expression on her face.
Scarlett scratched her head and went straight to the fridge. She grabbed a juice box and left the kitchen without saying a word to either of them. She ran back to her room, shut the door, and remained there.
“What happened?” Vivian turned to Adrian, giving him a suspicious look. She wondered if he had said anything mean to her because as she recalled, the two didn't seem to get along.
“Did you say anything to her?”
“Oh look!” Adrian raised his brows, showing the first sign of excitement since that day.
“What?” Vivian turned to see what he was looking out only to find the jeweler walking into the house, carrying a box that should contain their engagement rings.
“Our rings are here!” Adrian took her hand, leading her out of the kitchen, hence, distracting her from asking further questions about what happened a few moments ago.
They went into the living room to meet the jeweler who presented their gorgeous rings to them. Vivian had a big, round diamond that could easily blind someone. She loved being extravagant and this was perfect.
“These are the most beautiful rings I've ever seen.” Vivian gushed, admiring the rings without lifting them. She didn't want to damage them or perhaps drop them so she stared from afar instead.
Adrian wasn't even paying attention to the rings or any of the preparations going on around him. All he could think about was Scarlett, he wondered what was going on in her head at the moment and couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
The preparations continued and pretty soon, everything was ready and the invited guests started arriving one after the other. The maids stood by the door along with a few bodyguards who were searching the guests in case of any threats and also welcoming them to the party.
Adrian and Vivian were in separate rooms, getting ready and getting into their respective outfits and Adrian happened to finish before Vivian. He was on his way downstairs when he thought about Scarlett again. A part of him wanted to go and find out if she was okay but another part reminded him about his mission and why he must fulfill it.
He shook his head and continued downstairs, joining the guests. Vivian soon came down as well and started to welcome the people who came to her party. The music had already started to play and everyone was having a good time. Scarlett still hadn't come down, and she got everyone worried.
Adrian kept looking up, hoping to see her anytime soon but she was nowhere to be seen. He did not even know that he was looking up so many times, to the point that Vivian noticed and immediately understood that he was waiting for Scarlett.
Vivian quietly walked over to where Ethan was, he was having a drink by the bar and was quickly disoriented when Vivian walked up to him. He still had a thing for her, he was devasted that she didn't want him anymore.
“Could you please go upstairs and find out what's keeping Scarlett? Everyone is waiting for her.” She whispered to him and he nodded, dropped his drink, and sauntered upstairs, to Scarlett's room.
Ethan placed a soft knock on the door before pushing it open. He found Scarlett sitting alone in the dark, fully dressed for the party. But she seemed to be sulking which got him concerned.
“Scarlett? Are you alright?” He walked over to her and touched her shoulder. She quickly sniffed back her tears and wiped them off her cheeks with her palm before lifting her face to look at him.
“Yes, I'm good.”
“You are definitely not good. Is it something you wanna talk about?” His voice was as soft as a feather, offering comfort but Scarlett wasn't going to open up.
“No, like I said, I'm perfectly fine. What are you doing here?” She asked.
“What do you mean? The party has already started, can't you hear the loud music?” He asked, raising his brow. “Your mother wanted me to come get you.”
Scarlett felt a huge lump form in her throat after Ethan's response. She couldn't imagine going downstairs and watching Adrian get engaged to her mother. The thought of it alone made her stomach churn and she started to feel a bit dizzy.
“Y– you can go ahead, I'll be down in a minute.” She told him but just then, Vivian walked in, carelessly throwing the door open.
“No, you're coming right now! For goodness sake Scarlett, everyone is waiting for you! Your soon-to-be stepfather is worried already, let's not keep him waiting anymore.” She smiled and grabbed Scarlett's wrist gently, pulling her up from the bed.
Ethan left and Vivian followed, dragging Scarlett along with her. Adrian was relieved when he saw Scarlett descending the stairs with Vivian, but when their eyes met, he could see the hurt in her eyes.
The engagement began properly as Vivian and Adrian stood in front of each other, holding their rings and the little notes they wrote, describing how much they mean to each other. Scarlett was forced to stand there and listen to it all, even though it was heart-wrenching pain.
The hall erupted in applause after the rings were exchanged and the couple shared a kiss before turning to smile at the crowd. Scarlett fought back her tears and walked towards the bar, ordering drinks for herself.
She felt really sick, she didn't want to be there but on her bed instead. She wanted to cry herself to sleep and wallow in Adrian's betrayal. She felt betrayed by him, it made her wince in pain.
After taking a couple of shots, she felt the urge to use the bathroom so she got up and went upstairs to use the bathroom at the turn after the staircase. She didn't want to go all the way to her room because she knew she wouldn't come out again till the next day.
On her way to the bathroom, she saw Adrian coming from the opposite direction and to avoid contact with him, she dashed into a dark corner in the hallway, hoping that he would walk by without noticing.
“You know you can't hide from me.” Adrian's husky voice came, instantly getting her weak in the knees.
“Leave me alone.” She looked up to meet the most gorgeous set of eyes she had ever known, staring down at her. She gulped hard and tried to walk away but he firmly gripped her waist, pulling her to himself.
“Adrian…”
“I always seem to lose control…” he paused and brought his head to her neck, the hotness of his breath causing goosebumps to cover her skin. Her breath seized instantly.