A MONTH LATER
Depression was slowly setting in as Scarlett kept having to face the reality of her mother and Adrian getting married soon. Their wedding has been fixed to take place in summer, which is barely a month from now. The preparations are ongoing, and she can't take the heat any longer.
Crying has become the order of the day for her. She couldn't go a night without bawling her eyes out and wishing that either her mother or Adrian would forfeit the wedding. The news of the wedding was all over the internet, and Scarlett's coursemates kept congratulating her on her mother's wedding, which made her even more depressed.
She was no longer the girl that everyone knew. She maintained her academic excellence, although it took everything in her to do so. Apart from that, her social life was in shambles as she kept cutting herself off extracurricular activities and even going out to bars and clubs. She was always on her own, especially because Nelly was still upset with her.
As if that wasn't enough headache for her, Ethan would not let her be. He was always on her case, still trying to get her to date him, but Scarlett had kept him at bay while maintaining the little friendship they shared. She was always ready to tell him off whenever he began to cross his boundaries.
She was sick of him always trying to win her heart, but she couldn't deny that he could be helpful at times, especially now that she was having depression issues. Scarlett did a good job hiding her emotions away in public, even from Ethan, but it was beginning to tell on her.
It was the day of her final exam and she couldn't wait to finish it so that she could rest from all the school stress and have time to recover from the heartbreaking event of her mother's marriage to Adrian.
After the final exam, many students zoomed out of the hall, excited for the summer break. Many of them ran to hug their friends and gathered in groups, talking about the after exam party that would be held that night.
Scarlett made her way to the car park, also excited to leave school for a while when she sighted Nelly walking towards the bus stop. She quickly went after her, tapping her shoulder from behind.
Nelly frowned as soon as she turned around and saw Scarlett. She folded her arms and looked away.
“What do you want?”
“That's how it is now? Nelly, it's been a whole month, I would have never believed that you would ignore me for so long.” Scarlett furrowed her brows, having missed her friend a lot.
“I don't have anything to say to you, Scarlett.” Nelly answered, rolling her eyes.
“Alright, I'm sorry, okay? I know I made a mistake by raising my voice, but can we just move on from it? I don't like it that we're not speaking to each other.”
Just when Nelly opened her mouth to speak again, Ethan passed by with his teammates and waved at Scarlett, a wide smile on his face.
Scarlett noticed the way Nelly was dreamily staring at Ethan. She was so lost that she didn't notice that she had become weak in the knees. Scarlett's eyes widened in realization, and she turned to Ethan, who had called her name.
“I'll come by the penthouse today, okay?” He winked at her, and his teammates led him away, all of them chatting happily.
Nelly regained her senses and turned to Scarlett, acting like nothing had happened, but Scarlett saw it all, and it was clear to her now. Everything was clear, and she was surprised that she didn't figure it out earlier— Nelly had feelings for Ethan!
“Nelly! Ethan is not good for you. He's a chronic cheat, and he's going to break your heart.”
“You wouldn't understand.” Nelly scoffed.
“Unlike you, some of us find it really hard to get everything we want, so don't add to the struggle by trying to discourage me because it won't work!” She snapped and walked away in a hurry. Scarlett just sighed and went ahead to get into her car.
She had a splitting headache, and all she wanted to do was get home and get some rest. As soon as she got to the penthouse, she ended up on the couch because she was way too tired to drag herself up to her room. She shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Ethan came to visit Scarlett that evening like he said he would. He found it strange that her front door was open and went ahead to call out to her, but there was no response.
He got to the living room and was shocked to see Scarlett on the couch, shivering like a wet puppy and sweating at the same time. He rushed towards her, lifting her head in his arm.
“Scarlett! What happened to you!?” He yelled out, scared to death at the sight in front of him. Her eyes were shut as the spasms continued. He had no idea what was going on with her, and it made his heart drop into his stomach immediately.
“Scarlett!!” He called out again, but she was not opening her eyes. Ethan quickly lifted her and rushed out of the house. Thankfully, he came with his car, so he carefully placed her in the backseat and then got in, hurrying off to the hospital.
Ethan's hands were shaking as he drove. He couldn't pull himself together as the thought of Scarlett dying in his car made him so afraid. He kept looking at her through the rear view mirror, and she seemed to be getting worse.
Not knowing what else to do, he called Vivian, informing her that her daughter was dying. Vivian instructed him to get her to a hospital and told him that she would be there soon. She dropped everything she was doing as the fear of losing her daughter got the better of her.
~~~~
Scarlett opened her eyes only to find her mother sitting next to her on the hospital bed. Vivian smiled at her and lovingly caressed her hair.
“How are you feeling, dear?”
Scarlett did not answer. Instead, she looked around like she was looking for something that she lost.
“Oh Ethan? I told him to leave after I got here, and he offered to go get your stuff from the penthouse.” Vivian stated, and her eyes widened.
“Get my stuff? For what?” Scarlett asked weakly, still very unable to even lift her head.
“You're coming home with me. You'll be spending the summer holidays at home.” Vivian replied, smiling broadly.
“What? No, I don't want to go anywhere. I'll stay in my penthouse!” Scarlett frowned, but her mother wasn't in the mood for her tantrums and wasn't going to listen to her either.
“You are coming home with me, and that's final. The doctors said that you are very ill and need close monitoring. I will not compromise your health because of your stubbornness, which is why you're coming with me first thing in the morning!” Vivian stood her ground, and Scarlett remained quiet.
Vivian ended up sleeping on the couch that night, and by the time morning came, Ethan had already returned with Scarlett's stuff, which he loaded onto Vivian's car.
Scarlett was discharged, and some medicines were prescribed before she followed her mother to the car, and they left.
The drive was a long one, but they soon arrived at the mansion. Scarlett sat in the living room, resting from the long trip while Vivian called all the maids together to speak to them.
She instructed them to take good care of Scarlett and give her whatever she needed while making sure that she took her medicine on time. She dismissed them afterward and went to sit with Scarlett.
“The maids are going to take care of me? What about you?” Scarlett had to ask.
“I'm sorry baby but I have to go on an important trip. I won't be long though, it's just for a week.” Vivian answered, and Scarlett wondered what kind of trip she was taking because she wasn't aware of any business trips involving the company.
“But you don't have to worry, Adrian will come from time to time to check on you.”
Scarlett couldn't help that her heart missed a beat after her mother's last statement.