Chapter 90
Edith had thrown a tantrum that evening. When Mark entered the room, she hurled a box that grazed the corner of his eye.
Unlike the Seymours who might have retaliated, Mark simply watched her calmly as she raged.
The sight of blood on his face finally snapped Edith back to reality. She froze, suddenly remembering who she was dealing with.
Mark had been Sebastian's right-hand man for seven or eight years—practically his spokesman. Everyone in their circles knew him, and no one dared treat him carelessly.
Though the cut wasn't serious, such an incident clearly shouldn't have happened. Yet Mark maintained his composure.
"Ms. Seymour, please get in the car," he said, his tone as respectful as always.
With the engagement party approaching, Edith didn't dare make any more trouble—the last thing she wanted was to anger Sebastian.
Once inside the vehicle, she nervously attempted damage control.
"Mr. Rogers, I didn't mean to... please don't—"
"Don't worry, Ms. Seymour," Mark interrupted smoothly. "I accidentally scratched myself."
Relieved by his discretion, Edith smiled. The black Maybach lingered briefly outside the Seymour Villa before driving away.
---
By the time Mark arrived at Evercrest Memorial Hospital, his eye had stopped bleeding, but he still found a doctor to treat the wound.
Afterward, he made his way to Sebastian's room, knocking on the outer door.
"Come in," Sebastian called without looking up.
Mark entered, his tone even. "Mr. Howard, Ms. Seymour has gone home."
He made no mention of his injury, but with the small bandage at the corner of his eye, it was impossible to miss.
Sebastian glanced up. "She lost her temper?" He seemed unsurprised by the outcome.
Mark nodded.
"Have you contacted the media?" Sebastian asked, continuing with business as usual rather than inquiring about Mark's injury as Edith might have expected.
"Yes, sir." As Mark spoke, his gaze lingered momentarily on the door to the adjoining room. It was closed, creating two separate spaces.
Though he knew the patient inside couldn't hear them, Mark still lowered his voice. "Mr. Howard, are you sure about arranging Ms. Seymour's discharge?"
Given their special relationship, discharging Scarlett under these circumstances struck Mark as a poor decision.
Sebastian lit a cigarette. "Just do as you're told," he said, completely ignoring the question.
Mark nodded immediately.
---
On the day of Scarlett's discharge, only Libbie showed up. The wounds on Scarlett's face had begun to scab over, requiring only daily medication.
Despite being small and numerous, the cuts didn't detract from her beauty—if anything, they only made people feel more sympathetic toward her.
She tilted her face up, allowing the nurse to apply medicine while news of Sebastian's engagement spread throughout Sovereign City.
People had heard rumors before, but they were just that—rumors. No one from the Howard family had ever confirmed it, while the Seymours had been bragging non-stop.
But in the early hours of that morning, a media outlet broke the news that Sebastian Howard would be engaged to Edith Seymour. Every other source rushed to report it afterward.
Scarlett knew about it only because of the pitying looks everyone in the hospital gave her—looks she wasn't unfamiliar with.
She had seen those same expressions when another woman had been abandoned by her wealthy benefactor. Now that they were directed at her, Scarlett felt deeply uncomfortable.
She didn't believe Sebastian would abandon her. After all, Libbie was still by her side.
But the more she thought about it, the more absurd the situation seemed. In the future, she would be sharing Sebastian with Edith. The thought made her sick.
So as soon as she returned to Windchime Villa, she began packing her things with Libbie silently helping.
Scarlett was careful about what she took—only items she had purchased herself went into her suitcases. Everything Sebastian had given her remained untouched in the closets and storage cabinets.
"Did you find a place?" Libbie asked worriedly.
Scarlett's hands paused. "The company assigned me an apartment." That apartment hadn't been taken back, which saved her the trouble of finding a new place on short notice.
She left with two suitcases. The taxi had barely exited the villa district when a call came through to Sebastian.
"Ms. Seymour has left."
Sebastian, who had just entered his office and was unbuttoning his suit jacket, simply replied, "Noted."
After ending the call, he sat for a moment, then pressed the intercom button. "Send Teddy in."
---
Brianna had been riding high these past few days. It had been ages since she'd been welcomed at gatherings with the wealthy ladies, where she had always been a peripheral figure.
While the Seymour family wasn't poor, Sovereign City had far too many wealthy families. Being merely "not poor" wasn't enough to catch the attention of those elite women.
But once the engagement was officially announced, Brianna received no fewer than ten invitations from the wives of prominent families.
That afternoon, after a light rain, she changed clothes with the help of her servants and headed out to the Myers family gathering.
Because of the recent rain, the party had been moved from the small garden to the sunroom.
Water droplets still clung to the glass, sparkling in the sunlight and enhancing the atmosphere.
Several wealthy women sat in small groups, laughing and chatting until a servant announced, "Mrs. Seymour has arrived."
The women immediately paused their conversations. Tiffany Myers, the hostess, smiled and waved. "Show her in."
When Brianna entered, several women immediately greeted her with smiles. "Finally we meet the future in-law of the Howard family!"
Hearing the flattery, Brianna couldn't help but feel proud. "It's my Edith who's fortunate."
"Where is she then? Didn't she say she'd be free today?" Tiffany looked toward the door.
Brianna immediately thought of her daughter rushing out at noon. Suppressing her unease, she smiled. "She went out at noon today, probably meeting friends."
Everyone expressed their disappointment. After all, Edith would be the future mistress of the Howard household, and establishing connections early would be beneficial.
This was precisely why all the prominent families had been busy forming ties with the Seymour family lately.
Brianna saw this opportunity, but in her pride, she maintained an air of superiority, expecting these women—who had long been established as elite wives—to flatter her.
Midway through the gathering, Brianna stepped away to take a phone call.
"I really don't understand what the old Howard is thinking, wanting to form a connection with such a family," Tiffany remarked once Brianna was out of earshot.
She held her teacup delicately, slightly raising an eyebrow to hide her mocking smile.
The other women laughed along before someone added, "Previously, the engagement was supposed to be with a child from the main branch of the Seymour family, but they only have Michael. Now that the second branch is in charge, the engagement naturally falls to Edith."
Someone spread their hands and shook their head with a sigh.
At the mention of Michael, another woman joined in, "Didn't Michael have a sister with him before?"
"She's not a Seymour child," Tiffany explained with a smile. "I heard she's the daughter of a friend of Michael's father, Sawyer. She was just staying at the Seymour Villa temporarily."
Meanwhile, Brianna had no idea that these elite women looked down on her. At that moment, she was answering a call from Edith.
"Mom." Edith's voice broke with tears as soon as she spoke.