**SCARLET**
No one ever really showed they cared about me. I’m still my mother’s daughter. Here I was sitting alone at a corner, in a crowd of people I didn’t know, watching my mother and her new husband having their first dance.
She seemed happy; she deserved to be, because my father, who was supposed to take care of her, had left her. I didn’t even know what he looked like; he left Mom when I was conceived and we’d heard nothing about him since. Mom absolutely deserved happiness with someone who’d take care of her for the rest of her life. I was happy for her.
But why was I not happy for myself?
I’d thought my life would change because I would finally have a new family, but I was wrong. My stepbrother didn’t seem to like me at all.
His name was Lucas Alejandro—the only son of Thomas Alejandro, the billionaire owner of Alejandro Technologies. Luke was eight years older than me, and I thought that maybe we could not get along because of the large age gap. When Mom introduced me to him before the wedding ceremony, he ignored me as if I was invisible.
I spotted him—my twenty-six-year-old stepbrother—now sitting alone by the bar as he watched our parents dance. I could admit that he was probably the most handsome man I’d ever laid eyes on.
He had dark hair and compelling gray eyes, looking very formal and regal in his blue suit, pristine white shirt, and silver tie. He’d been his father’s best man today. Right now, he had a glass of liquor in his hand.
Maybe I should talk to him? We were family now, right? Even though I knew I wouldn’t live with them because I was flying out for Harvard tomorrow.
My heart almost jumped out of my chest when his gaze shifted to me and he caught my eyes. I felt suddenly warm inside, but my skin felt incredibly cold. I was confused by it.
I tried to smile back at him in return, and Luke was unsmiling but holding my gaze—then he sipped on his liquor. My cheeks heated, but a blonde woman approached him and his attention diverted to her.
I slipped another glance at the woman; she was definitely closer to Luke’s age. She was tall, super pretty, mature, and sexy. Was she his girlfriend? Was that the kind of woman he liked?
Wait, wait. Why did I care? I was not supposed to think like this towards my stepbrother.
God, but why was my heart disappointed at that? Was I getting a crush on him now?
I shook my head.
No. I wouldn’t see him at all for the next couple of years. After all, his father was sending me to Harvard and would support my education there. What more could I ask?
Well. Good luck to me.