Ch 7: Loyalty

*A Few Hours Ago*

Ryder is studying the woman in front of him. She’s not broken and is completely calm but he can see the redness in her eyes. There’s no doubt that she must have been crying for hours.

Scarlett is staring at the paper in front of her. This is the only way for her. She has little money and nothing else other than a desire for revenge. The gap between her and the Hawkins family is now starkly clear to her. Without power, she can’t take them down.

They’ve taken her soul, her happiness, and her peace. She can live without them.

But what they did to her mother is inexcusable. There’s no way Isabella would kill herself. Her mother was not like that.

She picks up the pen to sign the marriage contract but Ryder speaks up.

“Think about it,” he warns her. “If you sign that, you’ll have to live with me. There’s no love, nor any duty in this marriage. You’ll get revenge but it might not be what you want. You’ll be trapped with me in a very dangerous world.”

“I don’t care about l