Chapter 92
David arrived at the Seymour Villa to find Edith and Brianna waiting in the living room, their emotions carefully composed.
Both women immediately stood when he entered.
"What the hell is going on? Why would he show up now of all times?" Even after five years, the mere mention of that name filled David with rage.
His cold gaze swept over Edith, lingering on her deliberately covered neck. His face twitched as his heart sank further.
With the servants dismissed from the main house, the family could speak freely.
"How should we know?" Brianna snapped, her voice rising with frustration. "What, did Adele send him a message from beyond the grave? The engagement party is just around the corner—how could this happen now?"
David remained silent, his face dark with anger.
"Dad, it's just eighty million dollars," Edith ventured cautiously. "Why don't we just pay him and be done with it?"
David immediately shot her a glare. "Eighty million dollars! You say that like it's nothing!"
Edith shrank back, her eyes instantly welling with tears.
Brianna's protective instincts flared. "This isn't Edie's fault! Why are you yelling at her?"
"Not her fault?" David pointed an accusatory finger at Brianna, his features contorted with rage. "If she hadn't been so promiscuous in high school, we wouldn't have a child to deal with! You're always criticizing Scarlett, but when has she ever caused this kind of trouble?"
At this comparison, Brianna froze momentarily before her eyes reddened. "How dare you say that? What kind of father compares his daughter to an illegitimate child?"
David frowned, thinking of that woman with the gentle smile, a knot of emotions tightening in his chest.
Seeing his silence, Brianna couldn't hold back her tears while Edith kept her head lowered, not daring to speak.
"Are you really going to stand by and watch our daughter be threatened?" Brianna cried. "Are you willing to give up our position as in-laws to the Howard family?"
That outcome was certainly not what David wanted. His expression hardened. "I'll get the money together."
The Seymour family's company had only recently begun to recover, but producing eighty million dollars outright would be difficult.
The family hadn't completely separated their finances, with each branch taking a portion of the company's profits. This amount might deplete everything David had saved over the years.
However, once the Seymour family officially became connected to the Howard family through marriage, wouldn't that eighty million quickly be repaid many times over?
With that thought, David's pain at parting with the money lessened considerably.
---
After many days away, Scarlett's return to work caused a small stir.
Everyone was curious about Adele's whereabouts, but Scarlett knew nothing about that, so such conversations quickly died out.
The injuries on her face were still quite visible, prompting questions from almost everyone she encountered.
In the afternoon, Shawn arrived. When Scarlett received this news, she had just come down from Orion's office, where he had strangely insisted that she accompany him to a banquet that evening.
Normally, such invitations wouldn't surprise her. But with her injured face, unable to wear makeup, his insistence seemed oddly purposeful.
"Mr. Wright," she greeted him in her office.
Shawn's gaze lingered on her injured cheek before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a jar of ointment. "For you," he said.
Scarlett hadn't expected him to bring medicine. She took it, unable to suppress a small smile. "Thank you, Mr. Wright."
"It's nothing. All women care about their appearance—scars can be distressing," Shawn said gently.
He had come about the city's comprehensive building project. The preliminary work was complete, and now they needed designers to visit the site.
"We don't need too many people this time," Shawn explained. "Some officials will be coming for an inspection. The documents and passes will be delivered to you tomorrow."
Scarlett nodded. This wasn't her first government project.
Shawn was busy and left shortly after.
---
After work, Scarlett returned to her apartment to change into evening wear.
Standing before the full-length mirror, she frowned at her reflection.
Her figure was as perfect as ever—the wine-red mermaid dress accentuated her pale skin and curves beautifully. But her injured cheek was far too noticeable.
Scarlett prided herself on her appearance. Attending an event looking like this felt worse than death.
She removed the carefully selected dress and went to make a meal for herself.
Suddenly, a knock came from the door.
She was in the middle of making chicken noodle soup. After checking the peephole, she opened the door. "Mr. Watson?"
It was indeed Orion standing outside. He clicked his tongue disapprovingly, looking her up and down. "Why aren't you dressed yet?"
Scarlett was bewildered. "My face—"
Before she could finish, Orion thrust a veil into her hands. "Just cover it up."
"Why do I have to go?" Scarlett still didn't understand his insistence.
"Because I'm proud to be seen with you, of course."
Scarlett didn't buy this explanation for a second. Nevertheless, unable to argue with him further, she changed into her evening dress and accompanied him out.
---
At the entrance to the banquet, veiled women were everywhere—almost every man had a veiled woman by his side. Among them, Scarlett didn't look out of place at all.
What she hadn't expected was Sebastian's presence. He arrived almost simultaneously with Orion.
When Orion brought Scarlett over to greet him, Sebastian's gaze lingered on her briefly.
Scarlett, arm linked with Orion's, felt nervous under Sebastian's scrutiny.
Being stared at like that gave her the feeling of being caught in betrayal, especially standing beside a man she barely knew.
Orion always wore cologne—a slightly cloying musk that Scarlett didn't particularly like.
She had expected Edith to accompany Sebastian but was surprised to see him alone.
"Mr. Howard, where's your fiancée?" Orion asked directly.
"She had something to attend to," Sebastian replied flatly, his gaze sliding over Scarlett again. "Mr. Watson has a new companion, I see."
"Isn't that my standard operating procedure?" Orion countered.
Sebastian gave a light chuckle. "Indeed it is."
The three entered together. Once inside, Scarlett immediately understood why Orion had been so insistent on bringing her—it was a jewelry showcase.
Guests could freely try on the pieces, and if satisfied, purchase them on the spot. The veiled women were essentially models brought by the guests.
"Some people pay for models when they could use existing resources," Orion said with a smirk, finally revealing his true motive.
Scarlett resisted the urge to roll her eyes as he fastened a bracelet around her wrist.
"You're a rich man yourself—are you really that concerned about saving money?" she asked, finding Orion increasingly difficult to understand.
"Of course not. Like I said, I'm just proud to be seen with you. I'll buy all of these for you later as compensation," Orion said magnanimously.
"No need. I'm not interested," Scarlett replied flatly, immediately refusing.
Sebastian wasn't there to sell jewelry—he'd been invited by the hosts to discuss business. After entering the banquet, he was escorted upstairs by an attendant.
Scarlett's gaze followed his figure briefly before she looked away.
She couldn't help but think about the engagement party scheduled for the day after tomorrow.