SCARLET“And you’ve got yourself a date, honey.” My best friend wiggled her eyebrows, smiling meaningfully. “He’s been head over heels for you ever since forever. I can’t believe you just don’t want to see the other things around.”“You know why, Katherine.”Katherine and I went to the cafeteria for lunch, and Nate still didn’t show up.“I don’t know if I would ever see Anthony that way,” I went on as we settled at a table. “He’s polite, and he doesn’t seem to get tired doing what he does.”“Or maybe you are just refusing to see the big picture.”I shrugged. “I see it, but it’s just not for me.”When I learned about Katherine and Nate, I knew they were a match made in heaven. Katherine was a beautiful, intelligent, and sweet girl, while Nate was a charming guy who believed in a happy ending. But for me, I was damaged enough to know that my soul mate (if they existed) wasn’t born yet. No one could ever keep up with my issues. All of them would end up getting sick and tired of me.“Anth
SCARLETMy best friends were at the restaurant with Anthony when I arrived. The Knights restaurant was a semi-casual-semi-formal restaurant bar with bright yellow string lights that hung on the windows. It wasn’t crowded, and soft jazz music was playing inside.Fortunately, it wasn’t all awkward since I found my friends laughing about something. I knew Nate didn’t like Anthony, but he could be very understanding most of the time.Honestly, I wanted to go home after my encounter with Luke, but I didn’t want to disappoint my friends by leaving them. It was rude. I waltzed towards their table, and they already had an iced cold tea.“Oh, you’re here. What happened?” Katherine asked. “That was quick. This is for you.” She pushed one glass of red tea to my side.“He left early,” I said with a quick smile.“Hey, I heard your brother came, is everything alright?” Anthony asked, and he sounded sincere.“I’m fine, thanks.” I smiled. “What’s up now?”“We’re just talking about Professor Sanders,”
SCARLETWhen we arrived at the apartment, I jumped straight to my bed. Katherine seemed to understand that I wasn’t in the mood, so she asked Nate to go home. I lay on my bed and buried my face in the pillows.I wasn’t a crybaby, but I’d cried a lot before, whenever I missed Mom when I was forced to marry Raoul or the other heartbreaks in the past. I let out my emotions moderately, but it was never like this. Hearing Luke’s name alone could make me cry.I was in too deep. I kept remembering the night I was in his arms, his body, his scent, and the warmth of his skin against mine. It was only one night, and I had already missed him. I doubted I would ever meet another man who would make me feel the same. Katherine came back to my door an hour later. I was reading Luke’s messages from back when he was still Jax.I felt Katherine sit on the edge of my bed.“Hey, you can’t be like this all the time, you know?” she said softly.I sobbed hard. “He’s still texting me, and I’m itching to resp
SCARLET Of course, I was only going to meet Luke to return the earrings. I asked Katherine not to mention anything to Nate.Here I was, being cautious again with Nate. He was only my best friend, but what he would say to me always seemed like a big deal. Perhaps it was because he saved me a couple of times in the past. I just didn’t want to disappoint him.The night after my classes, I received a text from Luke that he would have me picked up by his driver. He asked me if I could come to the office first.A middle-aged, well-built man in a crisp gray suit approached me as soon as I was at the gate. He was standing next to a limousine, which made me instantly realize he was the driver.“Good evening, Miss Carter.” He greeted me with a slight nod. “Mr. Alejandro sent me to give you a lift.”“Good evening, Mister…?”“Call me Rey, miss.” Rey opened the door of the car. “If you please.” He gestured to hop in.“Thank you, Rey.” I stepped inside.The moment I was in, I smelled Luke’s scent
SCARLETLuke kissed me as if my mouth was his favorite meal. He was aggressive, needy, and hungry, as if he were searching for something. My muscles tensed, and my senses stirred up. His hand dropped to my waist, then his fingers slowly slipped into my shirt. I shivered. Immediately, I caught his hand. I’d almost forgotten we were in his office. Anyone could enter at any moment.He stopped the kiss. Our mouths parted slightly, but his gaze remained on mine. My lips felt swollen. I didn’t think I could resist him anymore. I wanted him to kiss me again, but I feared the aftermath. This wouldn’t change the fact that he was hiding something from me. I know I shouldn’t care because it’s his life, but everything becomes a real deal when it comes to Luke.“We can’t.” I swallowed hard. “We can’t make this work.”“Why not?” he muttered. He brushed his fingers along my jaw, eyes fixed intently on mine.“I think you know why. You’ve been lying to me.”“No. I never lied to you, Scarlet.”“But yo
SCARLETLuke pulled away from one of our longest kisses and whispered, “I hate to break it to you, but I kinda have someone to talk to. This won’t take long, I promise.”I frowned. “Do you often have a meeting at this hour? It’s seven-thirty.”“Mm.” He pressed a quick kiss on my lips. “Will you wait for me here?”“Where would I go?”“Don’t walk out on me again, please.”I chuckled. “Okay.”Whenever I was in the same room as him, I tended to lose myself, like there was no point in resisting. It was frustrating. He didn’t even get to tell me about Stacy. All I got was his reputation for being honest—or maybe he was just like me. He wasn’t ready to share this part of his life, just as I wasn’t ready to tell him about my past.It shouldn’t be a big deal for him. Our relationship would be over in two months, and he’d be my stepbrother forever.While waiting for him, I took out my phone and called Katherine. She knew I was going to return the earrings, but she didn’t know I wouldn’t be home
SCARLETWhen I left the building, Nate immediately came in front of me, but he was alone. He stepped out of his car, and his facial expression was indescribable.“Nate, what are you doing? What is your problem?” I shouted. “Where’s Anthony? I thought you were with him.”“He left. He thinks he shouldn’t meddle with your family matters,” he explained. “But it doesn’t matter. I’m telling your stepbrother to stay away from you.”I looked around me, and people were staring. They were watching us with their insulting eyes. I pulled my hand away from Nate before we finally entered the building.“Stop it, Nate. The people are staring!”He seethed. “But you’re not afraid of what the people will say if they find out about you and your stepbrother?”My mouth opened slightly. I hadn’t seen Nate act like this before. Sure, he was furious if I went on a date with some losers, and he had always backed me up. Even if he had to pick me up drunk from a club, get me out of jail, or save me from dying be
LUKEIt wasn’t like me to confess something personal. She had utterly bewitched me and had me bound under her magic spell.I wasn’t my usual self anymore. Normally, I would find another woman after a senseless fuck, but I just wanted to fuck her again. Seeing her enveloped in another man’s arms just made my blood boil.Her lips parted. The only thing we heard was the sound of our breaths.“Why aren’t you saying anything?” I asked.“I’m not allowed to think?”“I think what I said was clear.”“You still don’t believe me. You only see what you want to see.”“Can you blame me?” My eyebrow raised. “I think what I want is simple. I want you and don’t want to see you with any other man. What’s so hard with that?”“I can say the same,” she uttered. “Is that so hard?”I trailed a finger across her lips. “I can promise you that. Will you promise me?”She heaved a sigh, and eventually, she nodded.“Yes. I promise.”“Good.” I set her back in the passenger seat and roared up the car. She sat there