Chapter 43

**SCARLET**

Luke went out of the door and then came back with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. He sat on the bedside table and filled the glasses. He handed me one.
“So, shall we start?”
“How about you ask the questions?” I suggested.
“Hmm.” He nodded, then gulped the liquor straight. “All right.”
I took a deep breath, getting ready for the possible questions he might ask. I must remember, too, that Luke had possessive tendencies.
“Where did you meet the guy?”
Okay. Not harmful as the first question.
“I met him at a club.”
He frowned. “What the hell are you doing in a club?”
“I came with friends. Girls’ night.”
“Okay. So, you met him there, asked for a drink, got to know each other, and then you became close.” He gulped another shot of his drink. “So typical. You fell in love, and then you married him. Why didn’t you know he’s married?”
My mouth dropped open. “Whoa! That’s a heavy conclusion. That’s not what happened.” I stared at him, surprised. “Are you writing a movie script?”
He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. It keeps getting in my head.”
“Um…” I pressed my lips together tightly. “I didn’t love him. Never. How many times do I have to tell you?”
“You didn’t?” He frowned, confused. “Then, how?”
“I had a friend. Her name was Diana. She liked him. I introduced her to him so I could avoid him, but he kept bothering me. I knew I was a bad friend because I pushed Dianna to him instead. And also because I liked someone else.”
Because I like you.
Luke was listening, and he was watching my lips, my eyes, and my face. The real conversation began.
“Then?”
“Then he became her boyfriend.” I shut my eyes, remembering each painful memory I had to dig up again. “Diana was happy with him. I thought Raoul had learned to love her back. But I was wrong. He didn’t.”
“If he didn’t like your friend, why did they become... Wait, I don’t think I understand.”
“Just listen, okay?” I touched his face “until the end.” I didn’t notice that I’d emptied my glass until Luke filled it again.
“He was just using her to get to me,” I went on. “He’d planned something heartless, cruel... Something only a devil could do. One day, Dianna went missing. Her parents were asking about her, but we didn’t know where she was. Raoul stopped coming to the club, and the employees didn’t see him. Then we received a text from Raoul.”
“He took her.” His jaw clenched.
“Yes. He kidnapped her.”
“This fucker is a lunatic. Why did he kidnap your friend? You said he didn’t like her. Didn’t you call for help?”
“We didn’t. We never thought of asking for help because we were scared for Dianna’s safety. He threatened us that he would kill her.” I exhaled a deep breath; my hands began sweating. “To save her, he asked for something in exchange.”
“We?”
“Nate and Katherine knew.”
“And what did he ask?” His expression darkened. He already had an idea.
“He asked me to marry him.”
Luke set his glass down on the table with a harsh thud.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t have much choice. Dianna was desperate.”
“It’s her fault she was kidnapped in the first place. She went with him. Didn’t you think of that?”
“I couldn’t think of anything, Luke. I just wanted to save her.”
“And you ended up losing yourself.” His voice was cold with fury. “It’s because you are too kind—too naive. You always think of other people when you should be taking care of yourself. People are selfish, Scarlet. You should learn that.”
I sat back next to him. I emptied my glass. Then I took his glass and drank it too. My vision began to fuzz. My head felt a bit heavy. It must be the wine.
“I was innocent. I’d never even seen a naked man’s body.” I breathed heavily. “How could I marry someone I didn’t love? How could I marry someone who threatened my friend’s life?” I didn’t know I was crying. I just felt an itch when a cold liquid flowed down my cheeks. I wiped it immediately. “And most of all, he was powerful enough to ruin someone’s life.”
“I don’t even know his name. How is he even powerful?” he mocked.
“Just because you haven’t heard about him doesn’t mean he isn’t.” I looked at him. “You’ll soon find out who he is, or what kind of a person he is, or what he does for a living.”
“I don’t care. I don’t care who he is. What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?”
I gulped. Should I tell him? I already started this. I chose to tell him about my darkest past. Now, I should trust him. I bit my lower lip hard. I nodded.
“He… he…” I blinked my eyes. “He locked me up for days, and I was always... alone with insufficient food to eat. At night, he would force me to have sex with him.”
He brushed his scalp with his fingers. “I’m going to kill him.” He cursed under his breath, “How about your friends? What were they doing? You were gone. Forget it. I don’t want to know. It’s fucking too much to hear.” He blew out a sharp breath, looking all frustrated. I didn’t know what else I should be telling him. I bit my lower lip.
“But how did you get out? How did you break free?” he again asked.
“I didn’t. He left.”
“Why, after all his depravity? I swear to you. I’m going to fucking kill him!”
“I don’t know, and I don’t want to know. But he did tell me he’d come back.”
“That’s why I need to find him first.” He clenched his fist. Rage filled him with an intent to kill. “I’ll find him, and I will crush him. That’s a promise.”
“Luke, I don’t want your hands to get dirty for someone like him. It’s not worth it.”
He stood up, and he pressed his forehead against mine. “You are worth it.”
He deeply kissed my lips and wrapped his arms around me. I felt his mouth nuzzle my temple.
This was enough for me. Me and him.
“Do you think we could find any information about that fucker?”
“Luke…” I breathed as realization suddenly took over me. “He owns the club…”


**
LUKE**
I threw my fists at someone’s face before. He was my cousin, a trusted friend, and we both went to Harvard. I’d almost killed him. He was hospitalized for three days, and his parents loathed me. He had broken ribs, and I fractured his fingers. My father always thought that I did it for fun. He even apologized to my uncle and gave them compensation. He used to think lowly of me. He didn’t even know what had happened.
Jonas had been throwing rocks behind my back by dating Stacy. He knew I loved her. He knew she was going to be the woman I’d marry. But what did he do? He broke my trust. He ruined our friendship. The day I found out the child wasn’t mine was the day I wanted to kill a person.
But I didn’t, because it wasn’t worth it.
I’d changed. A lot. My father resented having a son like me. But I did not care. He wanted me to take over the company as his only son, but I built my own. I helped him, sure, but it was a way of showing him that I hated him for taking Jonas’ side and calling me useless. My chest felt as if it had been covered with stone.
I’d never thought of opening my heart to anyone.
Until a broken soul came to me and shook my world.
How many days had it been? Was it a week? No. It was more than two weeks. I’d known her for a short time, but she had already captured me genuinely.
Gently, I held her arms, feeling the coldness of her sweat against my palm.
“He owns the club, Luke,” she murmured, and she wasn’t even blinking.
“Do you still remember the name?”
She gulped hard. “I…”
“It’s okay.” I pulled her close and squeezed her tight. “It’s okay… you don’t have to remember,” I whispered, stroking her hair softly. She was still shaking. “I’m so sorry, Scarlet. I shouldn’t have pressured you.”
I remembered she’d broken down at Aries’ clinic and forced her to tell me what happened. It was my fucking fault.
How was I supposed to leave her now? How was I supposed to stop? Two months? Fuck. I don’t think I could even bear to leave her alone again. She was feeble and longing for affection. Someone that would cherish her beside her mother. I kept telling myself that it should not be me. I was incapable.
This was fucking frustrating. She was Gene’s daughter, and what I was asking was a grave mistake.
I searched for Scarlet’s face as she sobbed. This woman got me. She had broken the stone in my heart.
I think I’d fallen for her, which was a huge problem.


**SCARLET**

I opened my eyes and found myself in Luke’s room. Only he was holding me in his arms. My head rested on his chest. I shifted my head up to search for his face. I found him looking back at me. Had he been awake all along?
“Hey…”
“Hi.”
“What happened to me?” I murmured.
“You fell asleep.”
“Did I?” I sat up.
“Don’t worry, I got you.” He sprang up as well and kissed my temple. “Are you hungry? Do you need anything?”
“No, it’s okay. What time is it?”
“It’s five in the morning.”
“And you didn’t sleep?”
He shook his head. “I need to make sure I’m conscious when you wake up.” He flashed a reassuring smile. When did he become so sweet?
“But you need a rest too.”
“I’ll be fine. You can go back to sleep. I will wake you up at seven.”
Suddenly, I wished this wasn’t only temporary. I remembered what happened last night. He said he was going to help me. He was going to do everything for me. I wanted to appreciate it, but it would only get me more attached.
What’s going to happen when this is all over?
“What are you thinking?”
I shook my head, then I laid back on the bed. I shifted to the other side, so I wouldn’t face him. His sudden care for me was alarming.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” He pulled me close—his chest against my back.
I squeezed my eyes shut and let the tears fall. He might be next to me, but he will be gone later. He was my stepbrother, and I knew that from the start.
“I’m scared…” I whispered.
“Of what?”
“Of this… of everything.”
“I promised that I was going to help you. Don’t you trust me?”
No, it’s not that. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him. I wanted to ask him if he felt the same. All the care he showed me was only going to make me obsessed with him. I was afraid that I might lose myself again.
“I trust you,” I replied with a hitched breath. “I’m going back to sleep. Good night, Luke.”
Those were my last words. I closed my eyes because I still felt exhausted. I heard some words I didn’t know were real or part of my dream.
Do you want me to break our two-month rule?