Chapter 101
No matter how uncomfortable Mason felt about Scarlett's behavior, when she said the word, he rushed over immediately.
At 2 AM, when he arrived at the apartment he'd bought for Scarlett, before he could even catch his breath, Scarlett came up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.
This move startled Mason.
He rationally pushed her away, looking completely surprised, "Scarlett, do you know what you're doing?"
Scarlett was completely blinded by jealousy.
She didn't want to stay faithful to Joshua anymore, and threw herself at Mason out of spite.
"Mason, I know you like me. I'll give myself to you tonight, but you have to promise to help me with something, okay?"
There was no need to pretend in front of Mason anymore.
Joshua was heartless to her, so she'd pay him back a hundred times over.
After all, she had plenty of backup options.
"What are you talking about?"
Mason couldn't deny that he wanted Scarlett but couldn't have her, and sometimes she drove him nearly crazy.
But given the pressure from his parents, he didn't dare show his feelings for Scarlett.
In the end, he could only interact with her as an older brother figure.
Scarlett hooked her arms around Mason's neck, stood on her tiptoes close to his handsome face, her eyes seductive, "I want to be your woman. As long as you send someone to get rid of Ella for me, I'll listen to you from now on. I'll have your children and marry you, okay?"
She knew that during this time, Joshua had been sending people to investigate her.
She couldn't leave any trace, and couldn't get rid of Ella through her own hands anymore.
So she could only use Mason.
He would definitely do it for her.
After all, they had over twenty years of history together.
"Scarlett, you..."
Mason was shocked. The Scarlett he knew—well-mannered, gentle, kind, and helpful—when had she become so frightening?
For the sake of getting rid of Ella, she was actually throwing herself at him.
Mason tried hard to stay rational and wanted to push her away.
But Scarlett wouldn't let him, and kissed his lips again.
He tried to push her off several times but couldn't, and finally, driven by desire, he gave in to her.
Tranquil Villa.
When Ella woke up, she was surprised to find Joshua still sitting properly by the bed watching over her.
He hadn't gotten into bed, and hadn't done anything inappropriate to her.
He was so gentlemanly that it made people think he was still that refined, easygoing, mature and steady good man from before.
Ella laughed coldly.
No matter how well he treated her now, she would never forget how when she begged him, he coldly pushed her away.
A man who refused to save someone, who could watch Aurora die right before his eyes—she would never have any feelings for him again in this lifetime.
Thinking that Dorian still needed her very much, Ella got up and out of bed to wash up. She had to go be with Dorian today.
When Joshua woke up and saw she was gone, he quickly got up and followed, "Ella, where are you going?"
Seeing her go into the bathroom, he stopped following and stood outside waiting.
Karen came upstairs to report, "Mr. Thomas, Ms. Lewis is here again."
Thinking of Scarlett's aggressive behavior last night, Joshua suddenly felt a headache coming on.
But he wasn't comfortable leaving, worried Ella might do something foolish, so he reminded Karen, "Watch Ella and take good care of her. I'll go downstairs."
Karen nodded.
When Joshua went downstairs, he found that Scarlett wasn't being unreasonable like last night. Instead, she sat quietly on the living room sofa, well-dressed, with a gentle expression, looking so elegant and comfortable.
Joshua suppressed his dissatisfaction and walked over to ask her, "What are you doing here?"
Scarlett stood up and walked toward him, acting gracious, "Joshua, I came to apologize to you. I was too impulsive last night. Don't take it to heart."
"I can understand Ella's situation now. Since you consider her family, I'll treat her as family too."
Scarlett wanted to try one more time.
To see if, after getting rid of Ella, Joshua would marry her and truly care about her.
If Joshua still didn't love her then, she would settle for Mason as her second choice.
After all, she was already Mason's woman now, and Mason had promised her he would help her get rid of Ella.
Seeing that Scarlett had changed her attitude, Joshua naturally treated her much better, "I'm glad you understand. When Ella's in a better state, I'll make it up to you."
Thinking that Ella didn't like Scarlett, he added, "But you'd better not come over anymore. Ella's not in a good state lately, and I'm afraid she might hurt you again."
This meant he wanted her to leave and stop bothering Ella.
How could Scarlett agree to that? She acted generous and understanding, "Ella probably treated me that way before because she misunderstood me. I've already forgiven her. I believe she won't do that again."
"Joshua, you still have work to do. Why don't you go take care of business, and I'll help you keep Ella company."
Given what happened before, how could Joshua let the two of them be together again?
He was about to refuse when Ella came downstairs.
Scarlett pretended to be sympathetic as she approached her, "Ella, are you okay? I just found out your daughter died. My condolences."
Ella stood on the stairs, looking down at Scarlett.
Seeing Scarlett's smug face, her eyes were cold as ice. After walking down the stairs, she acted even more fake than Scarlett, "I also just found out you and Joshua are engaged. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked Joshua to stay and keep me company last night."
Scarlett's expression changed slightly, but she smiled, "It's fine. Joshua considers you family, so naturally I consider you family too. I don't mind."
After all, she went to find Mason last night.
However Joshua treated her, she would strike back the same way.
She wouldn't be stupid enough to stay faithful to just one man.
Ella walked up to Joshua and said to him very calmly and peacefully, "I'm in a much better state now. I won't be like before. You go take care of your business. Having Scarlett keep me company is enough."
Joshua looked at the two women beside him.
This was the first time he'd seen them get along so well.
He still wasn't comfortable with it, and looked at Scarlett, "You should go home."
Scarlett didn't want to leave, and deliberately raised her hand to link arms with Ella, "Ella, you probably need someone to keep you company right now. We won't hold up Joshua's work. Can I keep you company?"
Ella smiled and went along with her, "Sure, with you here, I won't be lonely."
She ignored Joshua and turned to go to the dining room.
Joshua felt like something was off between the two of them, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.
In the end, he went along with them. Before leaving, he gave Karen several reminders.
As soon as Joshua left, Scarlett dropped her act. Across the dining table, she looked at Ella with a cold smile, "You think I care that you seduced him into sleeping with you?"
Mason's performance last night wasn't bad either.
After getting rid of Ella, when Joshua wanted to marry her, she would publicly break off the engagement to get her revenge.
Joshua, this fickle, promiscuous man—she didn't absolutely have to have him.
Ella played dumb, "I didn't know you two were engaged. If I had known, I definitely wouldn't have let him touch me."
"Stop pretending, Ella. Even your daughter's death couldn't teach you a lesson, could it!"
Scarlett completely changed her expression. She stood up smugly and leaned close to her, lowering her voice, "Didn't you want to die with your daughter? I'm not stopping you now. Go ahead."
Ella glared at her coldly, suppressing her anger, her fists clenched tight, "If you want Joshua, I'll give him to you. Why did you have to hurt my daughter and kill Grandpa?"
She had a recording device hidden on her, hoping to force Scarlett to admit to her crimes.
But Scarlett wasn't stupid. She smiled and sat back down, "I don't know what you're talking about. Your daughter's and Mr. Thomas's deaths have nothing to do with me."
Ella gritted her teeth, sitting there trembling with anger.
She tried hard to stay calm, "You're right. You have no motive to kill them at all. After all, you're just a marriage tool raised by a wealthy family. Joshua doesn't even like you, so you should know your place. How could you possibly harm me and my child just to get Joshua?"
Scarlett instantly looked like she'd been provoked, and shouted at her, "You're saying I'm not good enough for Joshua? And you, an orphan living off the Thomas family, are?"
"But I did become his wife. If it weren't to keep me out of jail, Joshua wouldn't have divorced me and pretended to be engaged to you."
"Look, even though I had another man's child, as long as I want, he still stands by my side. Even if you're engaged to him, he might not marry you."
"You..."
Scarlett's face twisted with rage. She glared at Ella with extreme hatred and lowered her voice to make a threat, "Don't celebrate too soon. Maybe before long you'll be joining your daughter. That little bastard died without even knowing who her father was. How pathetic."