Chapter 19

**SCARLET**

A few years ago…
Dianna called at three in the morning after she’d been missing for three days. She had been absent from school too, and our professors asked us where she was. We were all worried about her.
It all started with this guy I met in a club. I introduced her to him. He became her boyfriend, Raoul Velazquez. A Mexican businessman who owned the club. If I only knew he was a bastard, I wouldn’t have introduced them to each other
She and Kath were the most important people in my life. What happened to her was something I couldn’t take. And it was all my fault.
“He… he told me that he wanted you. He never loved me. He wanted you, Scar! Can you imagine that!? This is all your fault. He’s going to kill me, Scar. He’s crazy,” she sobbed hard.
“What did he want?”
“You! He fucking wants you, and he’s not going to stop! He’s going to kill me. He kidnapped me, and you have to come here. You have until dawn, or he’s going to kill me. He wants you and you alone.”
“Is he next to you? Tell me.”
“Yes…yes…” she cried nervously. “I just want to go home.”
“Tell me, where are you?”
“You have to come here alone, please? Please, Scar, save me.”
“What does he fucking want with me?”
“He said he’s madly in love with you, and he’s going to marry you. He won’t let me go until you say yes.”


** NOW**
And I did. I did everything I could to save her, but she disappeared just like how Raoul vanished into thin air after our illegal marriage. It was unlawful because he appeared to be married to someone else first. I was free, thanks to Nate. I found out that I was still a free woman because of his help.
But before the bastard who ruined me disappeared, he said he would come back for me, and he was going to make me pay for destroying his life.
He ruined me. I hated him for taking my freedom, abusing me, and taking my purity. I never told anyone. I couldn’t. And I knew that one day, it was going to haunt me.

***
I slammed the phone down and then massaged my temples in irritation. The project my father transferred to me was giving me a headache. These Chinese partners had demands when they only had two percent of the share.
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Julia, my general manager, stepped inside the room.
“Hey,” she greeted with a smile. “You don’t look fine. How are you?”
“What are you still doing here? I thought you were busy with your prenuptial?”
She rolled her eyes. “I can’t if my boss is alone here and needs help. But that’s not why I am here. You have a visitor outside.”
“What? Who is it?”
She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow. “Long legs, blonde, curvy. Who else?”
“Rebecca,” I concluded. “But come on, do you really have to say it like that? I think I’m having a thing with brunettes now.” With Julia, I always find myself at ease. I must add that she was one of the few friends I could trust, and she was dedicated to her job.
“You and your flirting thing.” She clicked her tongue. “This is why my fiancée didn’t want me working with you.”
I laughed. “Send Cavendish my regards.”
“He actually said the same thing.”
“Alright.” I cleared my throat. “Tell Rebecca she can come in.”
“Sure, boss.” She winked and then exited the room.
A few minutes later, Rebecca stepped inside. I could already tell what she wanted. She was going to ask me about the process of Scarlet’s transfer papers. To be honest, I didn’t want to delay it. I just wanted to torture the witch.
When she turned out to be Ericka, it gave me an idea of how I would deal with her. I could never accept her as a part of my family. How could I when she was making me hard all the time?
Rebecca settled in the seat in front of my desk. She pulled the documents from her bag and put them on the table. It wasn’t the transfer titles but something else.
“What is this?”
“You have to review this.” She sounded serious.
I frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“I think you need to think twice, Luke. Your father doesn’t seem to know your stepsister well. I think you should talk to your father about this. I don’t think we should proceed with the transfer for now.”
“Why not?” I finally opened the first folder.
“It’s her documents for the civil registrar. Your stepsister seemed to be married before.”
The world stopped for a moment. I don’t think I heard her right.
“What? Can you repeat what you just said?”
She sighed. “She was married before, Luke. I don’t really find this an issue, but I thought you might not know.”
I choked and glanced up at Rebecca in surprise because I thought I had just received all the possible shocking revelations I could in a few days.
“Married?” I repeated hoarsely.
“Yes, but she still appears to be a single woman because her marriage was invalid. But the marriage was recorded; she was supposedly married to a certain Raoul Velazquez.”
My blood pressure rose, and I almost crumpled the papers because it seemed to be the case.
“Right. Dad didn’t know anything about this,” I murmured. But did Gene know? She didn’t seem to know either. She would’ve told Dad. She wouldn’t lie to him. I knew there was something more to discover with the witch. I just didn’t expect that it would be like this. “How did you find out about this?”
“I always do a background check, Luke. This kind of thing didn’t matter on the legal procedures since the marriage is not valid, but I was worried that this might cause personal conflict.”
Rebecca didn’t have to worry about that. She was always precise about her job, and she was right. This was going to be a conflict.
“Yes. It is a problem.” I nodded. “Are you sure the marriage is not valid?”
“I’m sure. Raoul Velazquez has a first wife.”
Fucking bastard. I clenched my fist.
“And when did all of this happen?” I asked. Rebecca turned the document to the next page.
“It says it here; three years ago, Luke.”
It was her second year at Harvard. “Any children?”
“None listed, and no medical records. So, I’m sure an unplanned pregnancy is not the reason.”
“Odd,” I commented in a whisper. But it won’t change the fact that she married the man. But how was that possible? She was young, which is probably one of the reasons why she didn’t tell us.
How long will you bury this thing about you, witch?
I needed to get home early.
“Have you told this to anyone?”
“Just you.”
“Don’t tell my father.” I stood, grabbing my coat and my keys.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
There was a witch in the house I needed to deal with. How could she fucking refuse my offer when she was married once?
I’d never been so angry and so aroused at the same time. I was sure the lucky bastard had tasted every inch of her. Now, I was going to make sure I could give her more than she had ever experienced.
This time, I was not going to accept no for an answer.