Chapter 2
The next morning, I walked out of my house to find Maya leaning against my doorframe.
“Scarlett,” she sauntered over to me, “think having an arranged engagement makes you special?”
I gave her a cold stare:
“At least I don’t fake illnesses for sympathy.”
Her smile faltered for a split second before she put on that pitiful act again:
“But yesterday, Reid did abandon you, didn’t he?”
“Did he?” I laughed. “If he really loved you, why didn’t he just cancel the wedding outright instead of postponing it?”
Maya’s brow furrowed:
“That’s because he pities you! I mean, getting dumped in front of everyone must’ve sucked, right?”
“Maya, do you think faking a heart condition is gonna work forever?”
She suddenly leaned in close, whispering in my ear:
“But right now, he chose me.”
I shoved her away hard. “You-!”
“Scar!”
A sharp voice cut through the air from behind me.
I spun around to see Reid striding toward us, his face thunderous.
He caught Maya as she stumbled backward and glared at me venomously: “Scarlett! What did you do to Maya?”
Maya’s eyes instantly welled up with tears as she collapsed weakly against his shoulder:
“Reid, don’t blame Scarlett. It’s my fault-I shouldn’t have come to see her…”
Reid’s expression grew even colder as he gestured to the bodyguards behind him:
“Take her away.”
Two men in black suits immediately stepped forward, grabbing my arms on either side.
“Reid!” I struggled against them. “Have you lost your damn mind?”
He stared at me expressionlessly: “Apologize.”
“I’ll apologize to your ass!” I was shaking with rage. “What the hell did I do wrong? I’m the one who got screwed over here!”
Reid’s eyes darkened as he coldly told the guards:
“Take her to the basement. Let her cool off.”
I was handcuffed to a chair, my wrists raw and burning.
Reid stood in front of me, looking down:
“Last chance. Are you going to apologize or not?”
1 glared up at him: “Reid, you’re gonna regret this.”
He sneered and turned to leave:
“When you come to your senses, I’ll let you out.”
For the next three days, I was locked in that basement like a dog.
The handcuffs had rubbed my wrists raw from struggling, sending sharp pain through me with every tiny movement.
A guard would throw in one stale piece of bread and half a bottle of water each day at the same time. With my hands cuffed, I had no choice but to get on the
floor like an animal to eat.
So this was what he called “cooling off.”
On the fourth night, the basement door suddenly swung open.
I squinted and saw Maya clicking in on her high heels.
“Oh my, haven’t seen you in a few days, Scarlett. How did you end up like this?” She covered her mouth in mock horror, though her voice was dripping with barely concealed satisfaction. “Reid really went too far-how could he treat his fiancée this way?”
She crouched down and pulled out a handkerchief, pretending to dab at the dried blood on my face:
“Does it hurt? Want me to put in a good word for you?”
I turned my face away.
“Get lost.”
“Don’t be so mean~” She giggled softly. “You know, Reid’s been by my side these past few days. He said seeing how stubborn you are just makes him angrier.”
She leaned close to my ear and lowered her voice:
“Actually, I don’t have a heart condition at all. I was totally faking it at the wedding. But Reid believes every word I say. Doesn’t that just eat you up inside?”
I stared daggers at that fake face of hers:
“Karma’s gonna bite you in the ass.”
“Karma?” She suddenly raised her voice, pretending to back away in alarm. “Scarlett, I just came here out of concern for you. How can you curse me like that…”
