Chapter 9
“What exactly do you want from me?”
I didn’t feel like wasting words on him.
The cold indifference in my eyes made his pupils constrict.
He couldn’t understand how we had
ended up like this.
At first, he simply thought that after Madeline returned, I’d become as
obedient as I once was.
So, he had used her to provoke me, hoping it would keep me in line.
But after all, he was far too busy to give much attention to a woman.
He was so certain of my love for him that he never considered the possibility of me leaving.
Now, explaining everything felt more difficult than sealing a billion–dollar deal.
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I waited for him to speak, but my patience
quickly ran out.
There was so much I needed to do to
prepare for studying abroad.
When he saw me start to rise, panic flashed
in his eyes.
He grabbed my wrist tightly as if holding on would somehow keep me from disappearing.
It wasn’t until I winced in pain that he finally loosened his grip, muttering, “I’m sorry.”
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I smirked, the corners of my lips curling.
“Well, well, the mighty President actually apologizing to me. Should I feel honored, accept it gratefully, and say, ‘It’s okay,‘ just to make you feel better?”
I raised my hand, showing the faint scar still tinged pink, and spoke slowly, word by word, “Unfortunately, I don’t accept it.‘
“And for the record, I don’t want to see
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you. Stop troubling Tristan. If you have
even the slightest shred of conscience, leave me alone.”
With that, I turned without a second glance, walking away without hesitation.
But after two steps, I was suddenly pulled into a strong embrace from behind.
“Scarlett, I love you. Don’t treat me like this.”
The once mighty man buried his head in my neck, his voice trembling as if on the brink of tears.
The discovery took me by surprise enough that I didn’t push him away right away.
“We’ve had a misunderstanding. Let me explain.”
“I admit, I didn’t think of your feelings before. I blindly believed Madeline‘ s words. But it was only because I thought… I thought you did those things because you loved me. It made me happy. I never
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blamed you, and you were never a
substitute. You were always the one I loved.”
“After everything you said last time, I finally realized my mistake. I didn’t know they had treated you like that behind my back. Scarlett, can you forgive me?”
“As for the wedding, it was because Madeline’s parents died saving me on her birthday. She asked me to celebrate it for her. At that time, the doctor told me your mother wasn‘ t in immediate danger. Believe me, Scarlett, if I had known what would happen, I would have chosen you without hesitation.”
Hearing his words, a bitter ache spread through my chest, making it hard to breathe.
Without thinking, I splashed the iced Americano right into his face.
As he stared at me, shock and a flicker of anger in his eyes, I couldn’t help but
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Chapter 9
sneer.
“Can’t handle this?”
“Well, thanks to your blindness, I’ve been through it all countless times!”
When we first got together, Alexander had shielded me, and everyone in our circle treated me like royalty.
But everything changed after the incident with Madeline.
At first, I fought tooth and nail to clear my name, dragging my bruised body to defend myself and even calling the police.
But with a single dismissive line, “Stop making a scene,” Alexander nailed me to a pillar of shame.
I became the joke, the one everyone laughed at.
And then, one incident after another, Madeline’s schemes were as obvious as daylight. Even a child could see through them.
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But Alexander always stood by her side.
All those moments that once kept me
awake, tormented by a constant ache…
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