Chapter 193 How Could You Be a Substitute
He called out to Waverly so affectionately. And when the word "substitute" came from Daniel's thin lips, Scarlett felt a sharp sting in her nose.
Her lips trembled slightly as she stared at Daniel, choking up as she asked.
"That year when James knelt at The Wilson Mansion's entrance behind my back, and you carried me back to The Wilson Mansion and treated me so well—was it because you thought of Waverly?
You gave me orange-flavored candy—was it because that was Waverly's favorite candy?
And you called me Lily—wasn't it because Waverly's nickname was Milly?"
Scarlett had never wanted to expose this directly.
Because such a truth was too cruel for her, too unbearable.
It was something even she didn't want to face. She still wanted to keep a bit of dignity and self-respect.
But she never expected Daniel to be so hateful.
He had found Waverly, yet Daniel still refused to let go and divorce Scarlett.
The suppressed emotions erupted like a flood at this moment. Scarlett's accusations and questions were almost like cries of anguish.
Daniel's face darkened, his thin lips pressed tight. Whether it was because his thoughts had been exposed or not, he couldn't say.
But his grip on her arm was still very tight, showing that he had heard her words and was not unmoved.
His heart was far from calm, yet he remained silent.
He didn't argue, nor did he explain.
Scarlett's heart turned to ashes. She smiled bitterly, but tears streamed down her face.
She felt so pathetic—even at this point, she was still hoping he would tell her things weren't as she thought.
"Say something! Have you got nothing to say?"
Scarlett struggled hard. Daniel didn't let go. With a sudden pull, Scarlett fell into his arms, held tightly by him.
Unable to break free, Scarlett beat his shoulders and back with force.
"Let go! Daniel, I hate you so much! You're a complete liar, making me think there was someone in this world who genuinely cared about me, but you were just treating me as Waverly's..."
Scarlett's tears kept falling, instantly soaking Daniel's black shirt.
Those scalding wet tears seemed to flow straight into Daniel's heart, making his cold, hard heart collapse and soften in an instant.
His heart felt like it had a huge hole in it, and words he never wanted to share with anyone couldn't help but escape from his tightly pressed lips, interrupting Scarlett's words.
"It's not what you think..."
His voice was hoarse, right by Scarlett's ear. As he spoke, he gently kissed her earlobe and neck, tender and soothing.
Scarlett's body stiffened, then she shook her head hard.
She pushed him away forcefully, looking at him with tear-filled, burning red eyes.
"I don't believe you anymore. If it's not true, then how do you explain all those things I mentioned?
You've kept all of Waverly's things so well, you wouldn't even let me touch them. And you abandoned me, and went to find her despite all the danger, and you got all those injuries.
And the baby in Alice's belly—do you really care about it just because it's Tobias's unborn child?
You didn't tell me the truth last time. You didn't mention Waverly at all—that's because you felt guilty, right?"
Scarlett questioned him, stepping backward.
She wanted to get away from Daniel. She didn't want to be deceived and manipulated by him anymore.
Even when lying, he looked so handsome, so steady and reliable, so trustworthy and heart-stirring.
He was truly hateful.
She didn't realize she had backed up to the edge of the bed.
Scarlett cried out. At the same time, she missed a step, her body tilted, about to fall off the bed.
Daniel quickly leaned forward, caught her, and pulled her back.
The next second, they both tumbled onto the bed.
Daniel was underneath, Scarlett on top, protected firmly by him.
Scarlett was still shaken, breathing hard. When she came to her senses, she tried to struggle again.
But Daniel tightened his arms around her waist and suddenly spoke.
"I admit that snowy night years ago, when I saw you beaten black and blue, I did think of Waverly. And I admit the first orange candy I gave you was Waverly's favorite."
Just hearing Daniel say these things made Scarlett's heart feel like it was being cut by knives, tears falling uncontrollably.
Every tear was full of her grievance and heartbreak, dropping directly from her eyes onto Daniel's forehead, nose, eyelids, and lips.
Daniel frowned, kissing her heartbroken face.
"Don't cry, let me finish!"
"No, I don't want to hear anymore. You love her so much, go tell her all about your deep feelings. She'd probably love to hear it and be very moved. Don't tell me—I don't want to be a witness to your love story!"
Scarlett covered her ears, scrambling off Daniel in a mess, getting off the bed to escape.
But she had only taken one step when Daniel pulled her back by the waist.
He sat her on his lap, one arm circling her waist, forcefully pulling down her hands covering her ears, bringing them to his lips to kiss.
"Silly girl, how could you be a substitute? When Waverly went missing, we weren't even twelve years old yet. What did kids that age know about love? Do you think I'm some reincarnated god of love?"
Daniel felt that no matter how you looked at it, he didn't seem like someone who would fall in love at just over ten years old, right?
People had only ever said Daniel was cold-hearted and unfeeling. She was really overestimating him.
"What... what do you mean?" Scarlett looked at Daniel in a daze.
Daniel gripped Scarlett's hand tightly, pressing it against his heart before saying.
"Waverly is a childhood friend to me."
Scarlett was stunned again. This was clearly the answer she had been hoping for and wanting to hear for so long.
But Scarlett felt somewhat dazed, not knowing whether to believe it.
"Even if you don't believe that, Waverly is six years older than you. Your personalities, appearances, and interests are completely different. How could I possibly treat you as her substitute?"
Daniel tapped Scarlett's head with his finger.
"I never knew your imagination was this powerful."
Scarlett felt the pain from his tap, but that bit of pain made her clear-headed and grounded, knowing she wasn't in a dream right now.
She bit her lip. "But those injuries on your body aren't fake, right? You said it yourself last time—you got hurt looking for someone. Wasn't that person Waverly?"
"It was her."
Daniel admitted.
Scarlett's heart stung again. "See, you've been looking for her all these years..."
Waverly's parents Benjamin and Ella, and Waverly's brother Tobias, none of them had run off to Sylvanor for years just for a bit of news about Waverly.
Scarlett remembered very clearly that the year Daniel went abroad, Tobias normally took his university entrance exam. Tobias went to university in Shadow City too.
If Daniel wasn't feeling guilty, why didn't he mention Waverly when he brought up the White family's matter that time?
Waverly had been found for so long now, and Daniel kept hiding it, not letting her, Scarlett, know at all.
Scarlett clenched her fists . She wouldn't believe him easily. She didn't dare believe him easily or fall in love with him again.