Two weeks had already gone by and Vivian was making a slow recovery. She was discharged from the hospital and Scarlett took her home to continue to rest. She was relieved of all her duties for the meantime while she recovered.
Richard and Scarlett were sitting beside Vivian on her bed as she had requested. She had told them that she wanted to talk to them and that was why they were in her room.
“What was so urgent Mom? I have to go to the office to attend to important things due to your absence.” Scarlett questioned, glancing at the watch on her wrist.
“Come on Scarlett, you're the boss. Who's going to check you for tardiness?” Vivian asked, shaking her head.
“It's fine, I'll go straight to the point.” She added, noticing that both Richard and Scarlett did not have a single smile on their faces. She cleared her throat and tried to move but ended up reeling the pain in her arm. She let out a wince and Scarlett rushed to hold her, this made her smile, tears lingering in her eyes.
“You love me so much Scarlett, but all I've ever done is hurt you.” She started after Scarlett helped her to sit up straight.
“What are you talking about Mom?”
“Richard told me how you were willing to hand the company over because of me and I was just speechless. I've done nothing but jeopardize the company and you're still willing to go so far for me.” She sniffed, unable to hold her tears back anymore. Scarlett started to rub her back lovingly, trying to console her.
“I'm sorry Scarlett, I'm sorry Richard. I regret my extravagant lifestyle and I wish I had just listened to everyone and controlled myself, then maybe none of this would have happened. Every problem we've faced so far is my fault and I'm sorry.”
“Mom, it's fine. All is forgiven.” Scarlett beamed, she never believed that a day would come when her mother would regret her actions and seek change. Ever since she was little, she dreamt of having a normal mother like the other kids, and seeing that gradually becoming a reality made her very happy. It even moved her to tears.
“Scarlett is right, everything is in the past and we have to focus on what's ahead. For now, you have to recover fully so you can resume your duty.” Richard chipped in with a smile and Vivian smiled back.
“Thank you both. I feel better now, getting all of that off my chest.” She sighed, resting her head on the pillow.
“Oh, I almost forgot. I'll have to leave you two now, I have something urgent to attend to right now.” Richard said and left the room quickly. Scarlett and Vivian were left alone and Vivian decided to talk about Adrian's case.
She could see past her daughter's smiles, she knew that Scarlett missed Adrian terribly and was depressed inside because of it.
“You know Scarlett, Adrian wasn't lying about me having a relationship with his father. Marcus was his name, we met at an event and that was how the whole thing started.” Vivian started, bringing tears to Scarlett's eyes as she was reminded of Adrian. Nonetheless, she still paid attention.
“Marcus and I started to meet at hotels and sometimes his house whenever his wife wasn't at home. I had met little Adrian a couple of times but I never knew he would grow into such a handsome man and come back for me. Honestly, I regret everything I did, I broke his home.” She shook her head sadly, the guilt weighing down on her.
“Scarlett, I do think you should give him a chance to explain. He might have come initially for revenge but I think he likes you for real.”
Scarlett slowly shook her head, refusing to let the tears that had been building up in her eyes fall. She thought it was far too dangerous to trust Adrian, to her, he was a chronic liar. Not only did he hide his intentions, he hid his entire identity and even planned to destroy her family. How was she sure that ‘falling for her' wasn't just another sham?
“No Mom, I can't trust Adrian.” She simply said and Vivian sighed.
“I obviously can't force you, but I hope your decision will not become something you'll regret,” Vivian said. Scarlett bade her goodbye and left for the office after instructing the maids to take good care of her.
Coming home later that night, Scarlett couldn't get Adrian out of her mind, everything in the house reminded her of him. She couldn't even get a good night's sleep without waking up in the middle of the night and becoming consumed by his thoughts. This prompted her to use sleeping pills as it was the only way for her to fall asleep.
“I'm going to lose my sanity if I stay here!” She groaned heavily as she swallowed the pills.
She quickly made up her mind to leave for the penthouse. She was going to spend the remaining days of the summer break there, at least to get away from Adrian and his invading thoughts. She fell asleep soon and as soon as she woke up the following morning, she went to see her mother.
Vivian was quite surprised when Scarlett announced that she was going to go back to her penthouse. Lily was present too and she was sad that she wouldn't be seeing her best friend as much as she wanted to.
“I understand you my dear but going back there to stay on your own doesn't look like the best thing to do. What if you end up hurting yourself?” Vivian questioned, her brows furrowed in worry.
“No Mom, I would never do that. This place is suffocating me with Adrian's thoughts. I just need a breath of fresh air to work on myself.” Scarlett sighed.
“What about me?” Lily whispered from where she was standing and Scarlett turned, smiling at her. She pulled her into a tight and long hug.
“You can come over and live with me once you make up your mind.” Scarlett giggled.
“I'll come over!” Lily said in excitement.
“I'll be going back tomorrow,” Scarlett announced.
The next day, Scarlett packed up her bags and left for school. She thought she would feel a sense of freedom as soon as she left the house but that wasn't the case, she still felt suffocated, like something was missing.
She finally arrived after the long drive and started to put her stuff in place. Before sunset, she was done with her unpacking and went to the kitchen to make some snacks. It wasn't long after she went into the kitchen that Nelly made her way into the penthouse, looking miserable.
“How did you know I was back?” Scarlett questioned, coming into the living room to meet her.
“I tried to call you but your phone was off so I called the landline instead and your mother answered, she said you were back here so I came,” Nelly explained, her eyes weary.
Scarlett noticed how uneasy she was but refused to say a word because she was still very upset with Nelly over the fight they had before the break.
“Scarlett, I'm really sorry for everything. I shouldn't have spoken to you the way I did or even acted that way. You were right, Ethan is a jerk.” She sniffed.
“What happened?” Scarlett inquired.
“I overheard him with the boys. He was talking about all the pussies he fucked since the break began and one of his friends suggested that he tried me. He said I would be an easy catch since I'm always so desperate for him.” Nelly did not know that she had begun to cry as she recalled all the horrible things Ethan said to his friends about her.
“You didn't listen to me, I'm glad you saw his true colors before he had the opportunity to use you,” Scarlett said spitefully.
“I'm sorry Scarlett, I've missed you so much. Please forgive me and let's be friends again.”
“Of course I forgive you,” Scarlett answered, opening her arms. Nelly quickly hugged her, finally relieved that everything had been sorted out with Scarlett.
~~~~~
Adrian sat on the swivel chair, staring at the empty seat in front of him and waiting for the scientist to come in. He was in a beautiful laboratory, well-equipped and squeaky clean. It was one of the most famous and reliable labs in the country.
“Sorry, I kept you waiting.” The scientist finally came in and took his seat. Adrian simply nodded and retained his blank, cold stare.
“So.. um.” The scientist was a bit flustered because of Adrian's unwavering expression.
“What can I do for you?” He asked and Adrian pulled out the bottle of medicine he found in a locked room back at the Davenport mansion.
“Take this.” The scientist took the medicines.
“I want you to thoroughly get this checked. Once that is done, send the reports to me.”