Chapter 4 His Punishment
"Did you call her here?" Ambrose asked Aiden.
Tonight, Aiden had invited Ambrose to dinner, hoping to improve their relationship while also trying to win over Scarlett, which was why he'd invited her. Unfortunately, he'd managed to irritate Ambrose instead.
Knowing Ambrose's methods, Aiden realized that admitting the truth now would only bring trouble. He quickly responded.
"No, she's been pursuing me lately. She found out I had a dinner meeting tonight and showed up on her own."
Scarlett couldn't argue with that—technically, she had come here of her own accord, but for the project, not to pursue anyone.
"Is that so?" Ambrose turned to Scarlett, clearly directing the question at her.
She met his gaze, finding his dark eyes unfathomable, filled with something inscrutable. Given the situation, was she expected to take the blame?
Her clenched fist relaxed as she resigned herself to the situation.
"I've been pursuing Mr. Smith's project recently," she admitted. "We've been negotiating for over a month without signing a contract. My company has been pressuring me, so I've had to be persistent. I have a child to support and can't afford to lose this job."
She'd skillfully shifted the narrative from romantic pursuit to business pursuit, while mentioning her role as a mother to make it clear she wasn't there to seduce anyone.
In the private room, everyone except Ambrose—whose face remained expressionless—looked shocked.
Scarlett had a child?
To these wealthy men, a woman who had been married and had children was like secondhand clothing. Even though Scarlett was stunningly beautiful, her value had diminished in their eyes.
"What's going on here?" After a long silence, Ambrose turned to Aiden, his gaze still intimidating.
Aiden snapped out of his surprise and nodded respectfully. "We are indeed discussing a project. I'm still considering it."
Ambrose smirked. "Your abilities haven't improved at all. You spend this much time considering, and this is the quality you choose?"
With Ambrose's words, Aiden immediately understood his meaning and played along. "You're right, it's not ideal. I won't be signing it."
Just like that, the project was dead.
Scarlett couldn't quite describe her feelings. Although she hadn't particularly wanted this project, having it canceled this way left her feeling incredibly frustrated.
Because she had rejected Ambrose, the project was gone.
She didn't pursue it further and simply said, "I won't bother Mr. Smith again."
As she spoke, she glanced at Ambrose. Was this her punishment for breaking his rules?
"May I leave now?" She asked tentatively.
Ambrose looked up at her, his voice as cold as his eyes.
"Get out."
So he had terminated her contract as punishment for rejecting him.
She couldn't blame anyone else. This was what happened when you crossed someone like him.
With mixed emotions, Scarlett left the private room and immediately pulled out her phone to frantically text Wesley, asking about Yara's whereabouts.
Yara was the child she had given birth to four years ago after Wesley forced her to keep a pregnancy resulting from a one-night stand with a stranger. He had said he wanted to nail her to a cross of shame.
After waiting half a minute with no reply, she sent a threat: [Don't make me come find you in your room.]
She understood clearly that in the scene that had just played out, Wesley had remained silent as the contract failed because he didn't want her to drag the company down further.
If she appeared again, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Sure enough, less than a minute later, she received a room number.
Scarlett hurried toward the indicated room, but when she arrived, there was no sign of Yara. Panicking, she called Wesley.
"Yara isn't in the room."
"I left her there. Ask the servers," Wesley replied impatiently before hanging up.
With no choice, Scarlett asked the Culinary Haven staff, who confirmed that Yara had been in the private room but had apparently slipped out. Scarlett immediately began searching for her.
Meanwhile, the very child being sought was walking down the hallway with her little backpack, a lollipop in her mouth, and her short legs carrying her along.
Passing by a private room, she would turn the doorknob, peek her little head in to look around, and then continue to the next one when she didn't see Scarlett.
As she reached a corner, she suddenly bumped into someone and bounced backward, landing on her bottom.
With a yelp, the lollipop fell from her small hand onto the floor.
Yara looked at her fallen candy with dismay before angrily tilting her head up.
Before her stood a very tall man with an icy demeanor.
How frustrating! He had bumped into her, ruining her lollipop, yet he looked even more displeased than she was.
"You bumped into me and ruined my lollipop..." Yara's voice was utterly adorable.
The person who had collided with Yara was Ambrose. He looked down at the angel-like child and froze.
His bodyguard immediately rushed forward, saw Yara on the floor, hesitated momentarily, then reached out to help her up.
"Don't touch me," Yara said, crossing her arms defensively and glaring with her bright, big eyes.
Ambrose came to his senses, dismissed his bodyguard, and crouched down to Yara's eye level.
"I'll buy you another lollipop. Come on, get up," he said calmly.
Hearing that he would replace her candy, Yara's anger subsided. Blinking her big eyes, she said pitifully, "My bottom hurts."
Ambrose thought she was injured. "Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"
Yara nodded seriously, pursing her lips and watching Ambrose's reaction intently.
"Where are your parents?" He asked.
"I can't find my mommy, but you can call her and tell her I fell down," she replied, having thought of a way to find Scarlett. She then recited a phone number.
Ambrose instructed his bodyguard to dial the number.
Scarlett, who was checking security footage, received the call from an unknown number and rushed out of the monitoring room after hearing what the caller said.
Scarlett hurried to the scene and saw Yara rubbing her bottom. She immediately crouched down and embraced her.
"Yara."
Her anxious heart finally calmed once Yara was in her arms.
She would never again allow Wesley to take Yara away. It was time to end this marriage.
"Mommy, I looked for you for so, so long," Yara said.
Inhaling Scarlett's familiar scent, she wrapped her little arms around her mother's neck, her voice sweet yet filled with complaint as she pressed her face against Scarlett's.
Scarlett felt her heart clench painfully. "It won't happen again," she reassured her.
After embracing for a moment, Scarlett pulled back to check if Yara was injured, as she had claimed on the phone.
"I'm not hurt," Yara said in her sweet childlike voice, looking up to see Ambrose standing nearby.
"You promised to replace my candy!" She reminded him.
Ambrose, having finished the call, watched the mother and daughter embrace before slowly walking over.
"I will," he said.
Scarlett had her back to Ambrose, but upon hearing his voice, she turned and froze.
Why him? The man who still wanted to sleep with her.
Yara didn't forget to ask when he would replace her candy.
Ambrose stopped two steps away, acting as if he didn't recognize Scarlett, and responded to Yara.
"Come with me now to get it."
This was exactly what Yara wanted. She happily took Scarlett's hand, her little mouth continuously explaining to Scarlett that Ambrose was going to take her to get candy.