Chapter 2 He Doesn't Really Love Her
How far would they go to trample her?
All these years, Scarlett had endured every humiliation, but now she refused to take any more.
"Fine, I'll leave," Scarlett stated firmly before heading upstairs.
Opal hadn't expected such defiance. Fuming, she pointed and hurled insults. "Don't bother coming back! Don't think you're still some precious heiress—you're nothing but a pathetic beggar now."
Scarlett pretended not to hear.
Fifteen minutes later, she came downstairs carrying her sleeping daughter, Yara Mellon, with Veda following behind pulling her suitcase as they left the Ross Villa.
She checked into a hotel for the night. Tomorrow, she would start looking for a place to live—there was no going back to the Ross Villa.
The next morning, after dropping Yara at preschool, Scarlett went to work at the Ross Group. At ten o'clock, Wesley called her on the intercom, summoning her to his office.
The issue Opal had raised last night would need to be addressed eventually. Better to get everything out in the open now.
She knocked and entered the CEO's office, standing expressionless before his desk as she faced him.
Wesley's gaze settled on Scarlett's beautiful face. "There's a dinner tonight. Aiden has invited an important guest. Go keep them happy, and Aiden promises to approve the project you're working on."
Scarlett was stunned. She'd expected him to mention her leaving the Ross Villa last night, not ask her to entertain other men.
He actually wanted her to entertain other men?
She let out a cold, incredulous laugh. "Wesley, you've managed to shock me again. You're sending your own wife to entertain other men for a business deal?"
Wesley's gaze instantly transformed from casual to vicious.
"I'm asking you to have drinks, not sleep with him. Though it's not like you haven't slept with your lover already—you even had his bastard child."
Scarlett's pupils constricted as rage filled her.
Her face turned ashen, but her hands clenched into fists at her sides. She'd become pregnant a month after being drugged and taken advantage of, and he had forced her to keep the baby. Was it just so he could use it to humiliate and control her forever?
Her voice broke as she asked, "Why don't you believe me? I was set up."
She'd dated Wesley since college. He knew her character better than anyone. She'd explained the circumstances of that night so many times—why wouldn't he believe her?
"I don't believe you," Wesley said bluntly.
She closed her eyes briefly.
Why didn't he trust her? Hadn't he loved her back then?
Why had he changed the moment Owen was imprisoned? Even if she had lost her virtue, did that justify such cruelty?
Unless he had never truly loved her at all.
Scarlett opened her eyes and coldly voiced the doubt she'd harbored. "When you said you liked me before our marriage—was that only because of my family status?"
Wesley's dark eyes caught the pain in Scarlett's expression. She looked so fragile, as if she might shatter at the slightest touch. For the first time in four years, he felt a twinge of softness. He averted his gaze and replied flatly.
"What's the point of discussing this now? The most important thing is securing the project."
Seeing him dodge the question, noticing his evasive glance, Scarlett had her answer.
He couldn't respond because he felt guilty.
So it was true—he had approached her only because she was the mayor's daughter, and that's why he married her.
Scarlett stepped back, lowering her head with a bitter smile.
All those vows of loving her more than life itself—nothing but lies. Just an elaborate con.
How laughable that she had believed it, even defying Owen, who truly loved her, for this fabrication.
She laughed until tears streamed down her face. After wiping them away, she straightened up, her eyes cold and distant. "I won't be attending tonight's dinner."
With that, Scarlett turned toward the door. As her hand touched the handle, she paused and shot Wesley one last fierce glare.
"No matter how good your acting, you can't outplay fate. You ended up with nothing, and now you've been betrayed by me."
Since Wesley insisted on believing she had an affair, she would give him exactly what he wanted!
With a cold, merciless smile playing on her lips, she walked out of his office with measured steps. She would no longer tolerate this.
Owen had been framed on her wedding day, and she had fallen from being the mayor's cherished daughter to a disgraced woman everyone felt entitled to judge.
Perhaps that was why Wesley had felt free to hurt her these past four years.
His refusal to touch her wasn't because she'd lost her purity that night, but because he never loved her.
He had only wanted to use her.
Someday, Scarlett would make him taste the bitter fruit of his own planting.
After being glared at so fiercely, Wesley swept the items off his desk with one angry motion before collapsing back into his leather chair.
So she wasn't the pushover he thought. She had fangs and had finally bared them.
But what did it matter if she had fangs? Without her father, the mayor, how much damage could she really do?
After leaving Wesley's office, Scarlett took a long time to calm herself. Once her emotions had settled, she called Briar to ask for help finding an apartment.
When Briar learned Scarlett was staying in a hotel, she offered her own place as temporary accommodation.
Scarlett didn't refuse. After all, finding a suitable place would take time, and she couldn't stay in a hotel indefinitely.
She spent the day planning her next moves, and before she knew it, it was time to pick up Yara from school.
"Ms. Mellon, Yara has been picked up by her father," the preschool teacher informed her as she stood at the kindergarten entrance looking for her daughter.
Scarlett's heart skipped a beat. Wesley could barely stand to look at Yara—why would he suddenly pick her up today?
After saying goodbye to the teacher, she walked toward her car while dialing Wesley's number. He answered quickly.
"I've taken your daughter. You can see her after you attend tonight's dinner," Wesley's cold, threatening voice came through the phone.
So that was his plan all along.
She gripped her phone tightly, seething through clenched teeth, "Wesley, you're an absolute monster without a shred of humanity."
Wesley remained unmoved, simply stating, "Culinary Haven, Room 1313, seven o'clock."
Then he hung up.
Standing by the roadside, Scarlett felt helpless and lost, clutching her phone. This was the Wesley she had loved for seven years? How could she have been so blind?
At seven that evening, Scarlett entered Culinary Haven, an exclusive venue where the elite held their gatherings.
Outside Room 1313, she called Wesley one more time.
"I'm here. Before I come in, I want to hear Yara's voice."
As she spoke, the door opened, and Wesley emerged. She lowered her phone and ended the call, asking him as he stepped out, "Where's Yara?"
Wesley gave her a cold look. "Once you secure the project tonight, you'll see her."
Scarlett's eyes reddened with anger. "You've really shown me the depths of your cruelty."
Wesley remained coldly indifferent. "Nothing matters more than the project. Control your emotions—there are important people inside."
With that, he turned and went back into the private room.
At this point, no matter how much she hated him, she had no choice but to follow.
As she entered, the room was filled with the sound of men's laughter and crude jokes. She clenched her fists, knowing exactly what kind of gathering this was.
"Why is Ms. Mellon here?" A snide male voice rang out.
The speaker was Aiden Smith, who had organized this dinner. He had repeatedly tried to sleep with her, and after her rejections, he'd been deliberately stalling on her project—neither approving nor rejecting it.
Scarlett looked up, and in the next moment, she froze. The man sitting beside Aiden was the same one who had tried to force himself on her at the hotel last night.