Chapter 25

**SCARLET**

“Getting dressed already?”
“I’m hungry, Luke. I need real food.”
Luke watched me slip on my clothes. He sat up, letting the white sheets fall off his torso, down his waist.
He was such a tease, and he knew just how to lure me. I felt his burning gaze on my body. I had not encountered a man that held stamina like his. I bet he could put me under his spell for the entire day. I spun around because I might end up having sex with him again.
“Or we can just ask for a delivery.” He shrugged.
“Aren’t you going out today?” I secured the hook of my bra and then put a shirt on. “If you always do that to the women you screw online, then don’t do it to me.”
“I’ve never done this before.”
I heaved a sigh. “I’m serious. Ugh! I’m going to the kitchen. I’m starving!”
He flashed out a half-smile. “So am I.”
I shook my head, then picked up the towel I used and threw it at him. “Take a shower now, please? And I don’t want delivery right now.”
He chuckled. “There’s a restaurant two blocks away.” He stepped out of bed and kissed my forehead.
I crossed my arms. “I also need to go home, Luke.”
“I’ll take you.” He shook his head, still smiling. “I don’t understand what you do to me.”
He slipped into the bathroom.
While I waited for him, I checked my phone, and there were no messages, so I opened my Facebook instead. I had 35 notifications. Gee.
There were likes and comments with my new profile picture. I took it at Thomas’ with the ocean view behind me. I was very active on all the big social media sites. I was also planning to create a blog, but I would need a lot of time to create one since I was also busy with my thesis. However, I really had no interest in using a dating site. The only reason I created an account on Pro-Express was for professional use, and it was only Luke, aka Jax, whom I talked to.
I exited the app and found something on YouTube. I pressed a thumbnail with an exciting title.
“Christopher Emerson’s signed up for a new Rom-Com movie,” I mumbled aloud.
Cool.
Suddenly, the sound of a beep and light from another phone caught my attention. It was Luke’s iPhone over on the bedside table. I ignored the first tone, but it beeped again, and a message popped.
‘Call me.’
‘I read your message. I’m happy to know that you’re back! Let’s see if we can meet tonight as per your request. Sorry for not answering your call last night.’ :x Stacy

I caught my mouth. My heartbeat instantly quickened. I didn’t mean to read the message. According to what I just read, a woman called Stacey called him by his real name, which means she wasn’t from some dating site.
Stacy said she was sorry for not answering his call last night. It means he called her. He texted her. He called her while he was with me.
Luke’s girlfriend?
No, no. She couldn’t be. I was aware that Luke wasn’t into relationships, but certainly, she was something more.
My heart clenched. Suddenly, my sight was getting fuzzy, and my hands were shaking. He said he wouldn’t see another woman while he was with me. But what was this?
I needed to go. I needed air.
Hastily, I sprang up, picked up my suitcase, and packed my things inside. I needed to leave immediately. I wasn’t sure what the text was about, but I didn’t have a good feeling about it. I wanted to go home. I needed to see Katherine and Nate.
Who was I kidding? Of course, he had tons of women. I should know what he was like by now, and I still let him fuck me.
I walked out of the room, carefully dragging the luggage with me, and ran to the elevator. I felt relieved when the elevator moved down.
I phoned Katherine’s number. She answered right away.
“Hey, Scar! Thank God you called. I thought you were coming last night, so I had an early flight to see you, but you’re not in the apartment. Where are you?” Her voice was worried.
“Hey, yes,” I breathed and swallowed hard. “I did arrive last night.”
“Gee, you don’t sound fine! Are you crying?”
I wiped my tears away. I didn’t realize I was already crying. “No. I’m fine. Can we meet?”
“Sure. Does this have something to do with your stepbrother? Nate told me you went off with him.”
“It’s complicated. I’ll tell you everything. I’m at the Atmark right now.”
“Atmark? Why would you be there?”
“I’ll explain later.” The elevator touched down the ground floor, and I stepped out.
“Okay. We’ll be right there.”
“Not right here. Meet me at Starbucks. I’ll text you once I get there.”
“Sure. See you.”
“See you.”
I hung up. Quickly, I headed out of the hotel and found a cab. I slipped in.
“Where to, miss?” the driver asked.
“Take me to the square, please.”
“Harvard?”
“Yes.” I wiped away the tears left on my cheeks. “Yes, please. Thank you.”
“Right away.”
It took us only ten minutes of driving, and I rushed towards Starbucks. I could feel my stomach churning, realizing I hadn’t had breakfast.
I ran straight to the counter and ordered a cinnamon latte and a Belgian chocolate cake. I found myself a seat near the window and immediately texted Katherine.
I felt so pathetic. I’d promised myself that I was done with this. I had experienced a painful past, but my obsession with Luke was different. He was the only man who made me feel that a feeling for one person could never fade. I thought he was just a crush, but he was my first love.
I always read about him on the news. I looked at his photographs on google almost every day. Sometimes I wished he would visit me despite being my stepbrother. I only saw him once at our parent’s wedding, and I was already drawn to him. There were times I thought that there was something wrong with me.
When I was forced to marry Raoul, it was the biggest mistake I’d ever made in my life. I was young and weak and had no sense of knowing what was right and wrong. But fate must have been on my side, as the marriage was invalid.
I’d tried many times to bury the horror I went through and live a normal life, but what he did to me was unforgivable. I couldn’t love him, and he abused me, used me.
Later after my nightmare, I knew I was not the person my mother would be proud of. I had seven boyfriends and several flings I couldn’t count anymore.
I tried to move on, but I became insecure. I had become obsessive… possessive. I was always paranoid. I accused them of cheating, read messages on their phone, asked them for their passwords, and changed them. But my obsession drove them to leave anyway, so I shut myself down and promised to stop trying to find the real deal.
Unfortunately, I was obsessing over Luke now, and it wasn’t healthy, not to mention he was Thomas’ son. A relationship with him would only mess up my feelings or my mind.
I didn’t want to be the person I’d become in the past. I don’t want anything like that with Luke, so I agreed to the short, no-strings-attached relationship.
But what I was doing right now was the same. It was all coming back. I accidentally read a text message, and I’d gone ran away. I didn’t want to create another demon that would haunt me for the rest of my life. I’d had enough of the heartache.
A text suddenly popped on my screen; I checked it, thinking it was Katherine. Instead, Luke’s name appeared on my screen.
Where are you?