“What is the meaning of this Richard? Is this some sort of joke?” Vivian glared at the proud woman who was busy gloating behind Richard. She wished to wipe her smirk off with a punch.
“I'm afraid it's not a joke. Jacob here is your father's heir, his only son.” Richard answered and the young man nodded. He was only two years younger than Scarlett, but his face was smooth as a baby's behind, with a nerdy look.
“Uncle can you please stop it!? My father had no son and we all know this. I am his only child. I just graduated so this is not the kind of news I should be coming back to.” Scarlett sighed, trying to blow it off as a joke. Perhaps, her uncle was just playing a prank on them.
“Whether you choose to believe it or not does not change anything. Jacob is your father's son, Mr Davenport was my lover.” Gwen spoke up, her tongue sharp and voice laced with hate as she glared at Scarlett.
“Who the fuck do you think you are to talk to my daughter!?” Vivian lashed out immediately, glaring back at Gwen.
“Hey, watch your tone when you speak to my mother,” Jacob said and Scarlett faced him.
“You better keep your mouth shut before I have you kicked out and beaten up.”
“You don't get to talk to me that way, young lady!” He clapped back.
“Oh really? Well fuck you!” She yelled and he fumed, holding back from hitting her.
Vivian and Gwen were still exchanging hateful glares, both of them waiting for who would charge first.
“Richard, I want you to get these gold diggers out of my house immediately.” Vivian seethed.
“Sorry to burst your bubble has been! My son and I are not going anywhere, this house is his as much as it's yours!” Gwen fired and Vivian charged at her with full force, pushing her down and tearing off her hair extensions. Gwen screamed and struggled but Vivian overpowered her.
Jacob rushed to save her mother but Scarlett dragged him back and pushed him away. He was about to charge back when Richard raised his voice in fury and everyone comported themselves.
“Vivian! Scarlett! I didn't expect this from both of you. You're supposed to be civilized.” He yelled at them.
“I will forget my ethics and act like an animal when my rights are threatened, Richard.” Vivian fired, panting from the little brawl she had just had with Gwen.
Gwen was being consoled by her son and they both looked very displeased.
“Uncle, I really don't want to know why you brought these people here but please take them away or I'm going to call the police,” Scarlett said calmly.
“Do I look like a joker? Do you think this is a joke? Scarlett, I have never deceived you and I won't start now.” He paused and turned to Gwen while Vivian and Scarlett watched in confusion, their hearts almost beating out of their chests.
“Like I said, this is Gwen and he used to work as your father's secretary. They shared a brief sexual relationship before his demise and Jacob is the fruit of that relationship.” Richard explained. Vivian could hear her own heart shatter as those words rolled out of Richard's mouth.
“I have never heard of her.” She muttered.
“Have you forgotten that you had no business with work before his death? He used to talk about how much you hate talking about the family business. So how could you have heard of me when you never used to visit the office?” Gwen snapped but Richard gave her a sign to be quiet.
“So what? I am still his first child.” Scarlett bragged.
“I don't even believe all of this.”
“You may be the first child but Jacob is the heir, his only son,” Richard told her and her face dropped instantly.
“I can't believe this! How can you be involved in this sham!?” Vivian yelled out, the veins in her neck bursting out as she was struggling with anger and holding back her tears at the same time.
She stormed out while Scarlett stared at her uncle in disbelief, wondering why he seemed like a different person all of a sudden.
“Uncle..”
“I'm sorry Scarlett but the truth can't be denied. Jacob will assume his duties as the CEO soon and you will take over Vivian's position as the manager, at least to put him through things.” Richard explained but Scarlett scoffed loudly.
Put him through? That was definitely not going to happen, she wasn't going to let it! She glared at the three of them before running after her mother.
Vivian was crying her eyes out in her room when Scarlett entered. She was shocked to see her mother in that state, the last time she saw her break like that was when her father died.
“Mom, are you seriously crying because of that whore and her son? You shouldn't let it bother you, we will find a way out of this.” Scarlett told her, rubbing her back gently.
“No Scarlett, I know Richard and he would never joke about a thing like that. That boy must really be your father's son,’’ Vivian sniffed.
“I can't believe your father cheated on me.”
Scarlett found it strange that her mother would be crying because her father cheated on her. She has been doing it for years without remorse so why should it bother her?
“At least you know how it feels,” Scarlett mumbled inaudibly and immediately received a text.
“The function is tonight by 8 pm.”
The text was from the secretary, reminding Scarlett of a function she had to attend that night. Lots of prestigious companies will have their representatives in attendance and she was chosen to represent her company.
Even with the current situation of things, she still couldn't let her father's company be dragged through the mud by not attending. At that moment, she was furious that her father would hide his other family from them, but she still had to keep his dignity.
“Mom, come on, stop crying now. If you keep doing this, you're going to break my spirit.” She wiped her mother's tears with her palm but Vivian continued to hiccup in tears, trying to calm down.
“I can see now, I can see how terrible my actions must have made everyone feel in the past, it hurts so much.” She wailed.
Scarlett did not like to see her that way, she was moved to tears too. Although her mother had done terrible things, she still loved her dearly, more than anything, and would never want to see her hurt.
“Mom, you're hurting yourself and hurting me too. Crying isn't going to make the problem go away, working towards it will.” She sighed and got to her feet.
“I will have to attend the function, and when I get back, we can think of a way to make the problem in our life go away.”
“Alright Scarlett, pray that I don't kill Gwen with my bare hands before you get back.” Vivian grinned.
“You won't.” Scarlett smiled and walked out, leaving to prepare for the function.
Although her heart was heavy, Scarlett had to put up a brave face, especially with Gwen and Jacob around. She did not like to appear weak in front of her enemies, giving them the impression that they were winning.
~~~
Scarlett arrived at the location, beautifully draped in a purple, long, silky dress with a thigh-high slit. Her dress was well complimented by the gorgeous silver shoes and silver purse she chose. Her effortless beauty was made more prominent by the light makeup she applied, along with the way her hair was allowed to rest on her shoulders.
Scarlett was known to turn heads wherever she went and this time around, there was no exception. Over the last three years, she had gotten only more beautiful with even more defined curves. Her beauty made people doubt that she was from this world.
She stole all the attention as soon as she entered. Men stared lustfully at her while most of the women threw jealous and hateful looks at her, others wishing to be like her.
As she made acquaintances with some of the other guests, her eyes fell on a familiar figure which took her breath away. When he turned, the world seemed to come to a standstill.
Her hands shook, her eyes got watery as she found it difficult to look away. Memories flooded her head, haunting her and reminding her of what she had fought so much to forget.
“Adrian.” She muttered to herself, still staring at him.
He hadn't changed at all, except for the fact that he had gotten even more handsome, more ravishing than ever. His presence made her nerves tingle with excitement, the space between her legs getting unnecessarily excited.
Her legs seemed to have a mind of their own as they started to move her in his direction, but they were forced to a halt when a lady came out of nowhere, suddenly clinging to him.
Scarlett simply watched as the lady leaned in and pecked Adrian's cheek. Her jaw almost dropped, all the excitement within her, quickly dissipating. She turned around with a gloom above her head, walking away.