Chapter 6

Samuel froze for a second, then stood up. When he turned around, he saw Scarlett and Julian walking over, their hands linked. He stared at their intertwined fingers for a moment, saying nothing.

It took Scarlett a beat to react before she hurried to explain. "Julian was coming anyway, so I just brought him along on the way."

Samuel wouldn't believe a single word she said anymore. Before she could finish speaking, he grabbed his things and started down the mountain. "I'm done here. I'm heading back."

He'd barely taken a few steps when Julian spoke up in a small voice. "Sam, do you hate me now? Is it because of what happened at my birthday party? It was all my fault. I'll apologize to you, okay?"

There was even a tremor in his voice, which made Scarlett's expression instantly darken. She said reproachfully, "Samuel, I told you what happened last time wasn't Julian's fault. What's with the attitude you're giving him now?"

Samuel found her completely unreasonable. He turned to look at her. "I'm not."

But she was convinced he was throwing a fit and made the call on the spot. "Then you can stay here with Julian while he pays his respects. We'll leave together later."

Seeing how determined she was to take Julian's side without hearing him out, Samuel felt a dull ache in his chest. In the end, he said nothing and stayed.

He no longer hoped she would ever choose him. All he hoped for was that in a few days, he could finally leave her for good.

Julian walked up to Samuel's mother's grave and set a bouquet before it. Scarlett stayed by his side to keep him company, while Samuel stood a little ways back, watching.

He had zoned out when Julian suddenly yelled. He snapped back to his senses and saw that Julian had accidentally set the weeds around the grave on fire. The hillside was covered in dry grass, and the flames spread fast.

Samuel's heart lurched. He rushed over at once to stamp out the fire, and Scarlett jumped in to help, too. Just as the flames were about to die down, Julian suddenly stumbled back and shouted, "Scarlett, I'm scared!"

Scarlett immediately turned around, grabbed Julian, and bolted down the mountain with him. She didn't spare Samuel so much as a glance, no matter how loudly he shouted after her.

He watched as the fire grew, swallowing his mother's grave whole. No matter how desperately he tried to put it out, it barely made a difference.

In the end, the blaze got so big that someone spotted it and called the cops. Samuel was the only one left at the scene, so they hauled him in as the arson suspect.

The police said they'd notified his family, but Scarlett didn't show up until the third day. The heavy scent of Julian's cologne clung to her clothes.

The moment Samuel caught a whiff of it, he knew she was late because she'd been with Julian. A flash of self-deprecation crossed his eyes. Of course Julian was always her top priority.

Samuel was brought into the visitation room. He thought Scarlett had come to bail him out. Instead, she was there to ask him not to rat on Julian.

"Sam, just stay here for a couple more days. Arson is a serious crime, and Julian's still a suspect. Once he's cleared, I'll come get you," she said.

Samuel stared at her in disbelief. "This has nothing to do with me. Why should I be the one stuck in here? It was Julian's fault. Why should I take the fall for him?"

He wanted to ask her so many things—why she had lied to him for 40 years and why Julian had betrayed him. She'd once loved him so much, and they'd been madly in love.

But none of that meant anything anymore. He was about to walk out of her life, and she and Julian already had a baby on the way.

Samuel looked at her, about to say more, when a ringtone cut him off.

Scarlett answered the call. Julian's voice came through the receiver clearly. "Scarlett, where'd you go? When are you coming back?"

She shot to her feet almost instantly and walked out without a backward glance, leaving Samuel to be taken away again.

This time, the cops didn't send him back to a holding cell. They sent him to prison.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. Pierce."

Samuel went rigid. He turned warily to face Tim Ward, the heir of the Ward family who had long since lost his former shine.

Just a year ago, Tim had tried to take advantage of Scarlett when she was drunk. Samuel had walked in on it, and the two of them had had a huge fight afterward.

Not long after that, the Ward family had gone downhill fast and then vanished without a trace. Samuel had vaguely guessed Scarlett was behind it, but he hadn't thought much of it at the time.

Now, the karma had come back around to kick him square in the ass.

"Got tossed aside, did you, Samuel?" Tim sneered. "You must really be out of favor if Scarlett didn't pull strings to get you out."

He yanked his shirt up, revealing a vicious scar across his abdomen. "Look at this. I got this when Scarlett sent people to cause trouble on my turf. I was just collateral damage."

He ticked off everything Scarlett had done to him, and he pinned all of it on Samuel. He and his people knew how things worked in prison. As long as they didn't cross certain lines, they could take their time making Samuel's life hell.

The next two days were the longest of Samuel's life.

They starved him, beat him black and blue, forced him to swallow a silicone spoon, and ground their heels over the wound on his palm again and again…

By the time Scarlett came for him, he hadn't eaten for two days. Every inch of skin under his clothes was bruised, and he moved like a dead man walking.

She showed up in a sharp suit, her voice as gentle as ever. "Sam, I'm here to take you home."

Samuel's eyes were empty as he walked past her without even a glance.

His indifference stunned her. For a split second, she felt him slipping away from her. That sense that she was losing her grip on him grew stronger than ever.

But she ultimately pushed it down. She'd hidden the truth too well. In her mind, he had no reason to leave her.