Chapter 2

“Get out of my room!” Scarlett screamed, standing on the bed and pointing straight at the door. "Get out, Tobias!"

His expression shifted in an instant. The meek, coaxing act dissolved into sheer irritation. “Can you stop overreacting, Scarlett? I know you’re mad, but I can’t keep catering to your tantrums. My patience has limits.”

Scarlett’s mind flashed back to the dreams they had mapped out before the wedding. It was all planned: two kids, Sundays reserved for family, and two trips abroad every year. Now, every single promise lay in ashes. Just empty words.

“I don’t care about your patience! Are you deaf? Get out!” Her voice didn't falter—if anything, it grew louder, sharper. "Are you going out or not?!"

Tobias ran a heavy hand over his face with a bitter sigh. "Scarlett, we’re married. Whatever you saw or heard, it’s in the past. I won't do it again. I’m changing. I’m focusing on us—on our family."

A serial cheater is like trash on the street, Scarlett thought coldly. Once a liar, always a liar, no matter how many promises he made.

She snatched her pillow from the mattress. The thought of sleeping next to him made her skin crawl. He had destroyed everything, and she would never forgive him.

“If you won’t leave, I will. I’m sleeping in the guest room.”

Tobias clenched his fists, his jaw tight with anger. In the past, a simple apology would have bought his forgiveness. Not anymore. Scarlett had finally learned her lesson.

“Go ahead. Sleep wherever you want.”

Without another word, she turned her back on him. She walked over to the desk, grabbed her phone and laptop, and made a fast exit.

Behind her, she heard him throw himself back onto the mattress. Just as she crossed the threshold, his voice cut through the quiet.

“Don’t forget the family banquet tomorrow. Everyone expects you there. You’re an Aldama now. Don’t make me drag you there myself, Scarlett. Don't push me.”

She didn't bother answering, though the disdain on her face said enough. She wasn't going because he ordered her to. She was going because she knew his favorite tactic: threatening to sell off the company her late mother had left her, the business her mother had poured her sweat and blood into building.

That was always his play. He held her mother's legacy hostage because he knew it was the one leverage he had over her.

**

The next day, Scarlett dressed up and accompanied Tobias to the family banquet, just as he wanted. The Aldama family was legendary, standing at the very top of the country's business elite.

"Smile," Tobias snapped as the grand gates came into view. "Don't go acting like you're above it all in front of my family."

"You can barely keep a smile on your own face in front of them," Scarlett shot back with a roll of her eyes.

Tobias shot her a venomous look, but before he could snap back, the car ground to a halt outside the iron gates. A security guard stepped forward, blocking their path.

"This gate is strictly for the family," the guard said, devoid of any respect despite recognizing Tobias. "All outsiders need to use the side entrance."

Scarlett wasn't even surprised. It wasn't the first time someone had treated Tobias like an outcast. Even with the Aldama surname, the family treated him like a shadow.

Tobias’s mother, Magdalene, was merely Don Anton Aldama’s illegitimate daughter. Years ago, she had married a poor man against Don Anton’s furious objections. As punishment, the Don disowned her. It was only when Tobias was growing up that Magdalene realized she couldn't afford the life she wanted for him, prompting her to beg Don Anton to take them back. The patriarch relented, but nothing really changed.

Every time they set foot in the Aldama mansion, they were met with sarcastic sneers. Yet Tobias remained naively convinced that he could prove his worth to them—that one day, he’d make them proud.

Even the company Tobias ran today had been built on Scarlett’s money. He had taken five million pesos from her trust fund, backed by resources from her mother's estate, to establish his business.

Regret pooled in her stomach. Blinded by love, she had given him everything, only to learn she would never be enough for him.

Scarlett glanced toward the side entrance. A long line of vehicles stretched down the road. It seemed the Aldamas weren't the only ones attending tonight.

"Are you telling me I have to line up like a nobody just to enter my own grandfather's home?" Tobias barked at the guard, losing his composure.

The guard didn't flinch. "My apologies, sir. I'm just following Madame Elena's orders. She explicitly stated that only legitimate family members use this gate. Your mother used the side entrance as well."

Tobias’s face darkened, his hands shaking as he fought the urge to throw a punch.

Watching him squirm in humiliation brought a small, petty satisfaction to Scarlett’s lips.

"Better get in line at the other gate then," she remarked, her tone laced with quiet mockery. "Let's get this over with."

Just then, a fleet of sleek black sedans glided into the driveway. The guard’s posture straightened instantly. Panic flickered across his face as he frantically motioned for Tobias to move.

"Sir, please move your vehicle immediately! Sir Darius’s motorcade is arriving!"

Darius Aldama was Don Anton’s only and youngest son—Tobias’s uncle, and the sole heir to the vast Aldama empire. Scarlett had never met him; he was notoriously reclusive, though rumors about his ruthless nature were endless. Seeing the guard practically trembling confirmed every rumor she’d heard.

"Move the car, Tobias. Do you really want to give your family another reason to target you?" Scarlett pressed, glaring at him when he didn't immediately shift into gear. "You said it yourself—your Uncle Darius isn't someone you want to cross."

That snapped Tobias out of his stupor. He pulled the car to the side just as the lead sedan in Darius’s convoy stopped at the gate. The dark-tinted window rolled down.

Curious, Scarlett leaned forward slightly to catch a glimpse of the enigmatic heir. She couldn't see his face, only his hand resting casually against the window frame.

A moment later, the door swung open. Darius stepped out slowly, his tailored suit and pristine leather shoes catching the afternoon light. Authority radiated from him in waves, a command so absolute it instinctively made everyone around him hold their breath.

Scarlett’s eyes drifted to his arm, where his dress shirt sleeve was rolled up slightly to reveal a lean, muscular forearm.

She froze.

Inked into his skin was a distinct, intricate rose tattoo.

Her breath hitched in her throat. She recognized that tattoo. She had seen it in the dim light of that hotel room, the night she stumbled into the wrong door for a reckless one-night stand with a complete stranger.

How... How could it be him?

A sudden tremor ran through her body. Terrified, her heart thudding violently against her ribs, she looked up and met his gaze—deep-set, dark, and utterly unreadable.

"What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost," Tobias muttered beside her, patting her shoulder.

Oh God...

The man she had slept with... was her husband's uncle.