The Enemy Alpha's Beta
"I'm sorry, Ethan. I chased money and thought it was love. I didn't even know what love was. I just knew what money looked like, and I chose that instead."
Ethan didn't say anything. He just stood there, quiet, watching her with an expression that was hard to read.
Scarlett wiped her face again, straightening her shoulders with whatever pride she had left. "I understand now," she said softly. "Too late to matter, I guess. But I understand it now."
Without waiting for anyone to respond, she turned and walked away, back toward the lights and music of the party, her heels clicking uneven against the stone path until she disappeared around the corner of the house.