Chapter 165 A Tamed Cat Since Childhood Won't Run Away
Scarlett stopped in her tracks, her heart sank deeper and deeper.
So Daniel had gotten hurt on purpose.
Scarlett instantly felt like Daniel had played her for a fool—all her genuine concern and fear made her look like an idiot.
He had schemed so carefully to deceive her, all for the baby.
Was he just like Blair, only caring about the babyneglecting every other thing in his life?
When Scarlett came back to her senses, she realized the two bodyguards who had been smoking were already gone. Her legs had gone numb from standing.
Scarlett slowly hugged her knees and crouched down. After a long while, as her legs began to function better, she finally stood up again.
She carried the thermos to Daniel's hospital room, wanting to ask him properly, to hear directly from Daniel why he had to lie to her.
However, just as she pushed the door open a crack, she heard voices inside.
"Daniel, you've already made up with your wife? Didn't Scarlett cry and make a fuss about divorcing you and going abroad before?"
It was Chris's voice she was certain of it, followed by Alton's mocking laugh.
"Women are all bluffing. Can't Daniel handle a little girl? Scarlett's not stupid—as a matter of fact, I find her to be very cunning as she spent plenty of time trying to become Daniel's wife back then."
Scarlett listened to their teasing, unsure if she was being too sensitive, but she felt extremely uncomfortable.
Over the years, Scarlett had heard plenty of gossip and contemptuous remarks. Even though Chris and Alton's tone and words weren't too harsh, the contempt in their words still stung.
She knew the gap between her and Daniel's status was real, and she shouldn't care too much about what others said or thought.
But she really hoped Daniel would speak up for her, say she wasn't like that, or at least ask Alton and the others to say less.
However, at that moment, Daniel's familiar voice lazily spoke up with a mocking laugh.
"Can a cat raised from childhood leave its owner? She can't run away."
The casual arrogance in Daniel's words matched the contempt from Alton and the others perfectly. They were all in sync in making derogatory remarks about her.
In Daniel's heart, that's probably what she really was.
He crooks his finger, uses a little trick, and she stupidly comes back to him.
Scarlett didn't want to rush in and lose it, giving them something to laugh at.
She didn't want to hear any more. The words she heard already did enough damage. Clutching the thermos tightly, she turned and quickly fled.
Inside the room, Alton and Chris didn't want to see Daniel's smug, sickening look.
Chris shook his head with a smile and teased, "Daniel, don't forget—house cats scratch too. Watch out or Scarlett will claw your face bloody tomorrow!"
"If everyone spent as much as Daniel does keeping a cat, the cost would be way too high."
Alton chimed in. Daniel's smile faded as he said coldly, "You guys don't get it." As they further laughed,in a composed manner, her uttered, "Alright, get lost."
Chris understood—Daniel was annoyed they'd interfere with his time alone with Scarlett later.
Chris tactfully stood up, putting his arm around Alton's shoulder. "Let's go, let's go have some fun."
Alton waved his hand and left with Chris.
When Scarlett got in the car, her heart ached in waves. Her phone buzzed.
Scarlett looked down to see a message from an unknown number.
[Have you asked about your husband keeping a woman in your wedding house? I bet you don't dare ask. Scarlett, you're just a pathetic coward!]
Scarlett's already tight chest suddenly clenched even harder from this message, making her clutch her heart in pain.
Her hands were almost trembling as she turned off the screen.
But just then, a call came in.
Scarlett thought it was Alice again and answered sharply, "Will you stop already!"
"Girl, what's wrong?"
But it was Bruce's voice on the other end. Scarlett froze, glanced at the screen, and quickly said, "Bruce, sorry, I thought it was a spam call."
"Girl! Did you see today's trending topics? Don't you have anything to say?"
Scarlett was stunned. She'd been taking care of Daniel these past two days, caught up in his sweet words, and hadn't paid attention to outside news.
"What trending topics?"
"Girl! You really break our hearts!"
"Scarlett, you don't care about us anymore!"
The phone was clearly on speaker. As soon as Scarlett spoke, the boy band members all chimed in, collectively complaining about Scarlett.
Scarlett didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Bruce grabbed the phone back.
"Girl, our album dropped today and it blew up! We've been on the top trending spots all day, and you're our choreography teacher—couldn't you at least pay attention? That's too much! We even tagged you!"
Scarlett's head was still foggy. She quickly apologized.
"Sorry, I've been so busy. Congratulations, you guys are amazing!"
Bruce huffed lightly, "Just apologizing isn't enough. We're celebrating at Tipsy Tonight, and you have to come."
Scarlett had already switched to her Instagram homepage and glanced through it. To her great surprise, because the boy band had tagged her today, she'd gained nearly 300,000 followers in one day.
She couldn't refuse again. Her heart felt stiff, and she wanted to relax, so she agreed right away. After hanging up, her phone rang again.
Scarlett thought it was Bruce with more details, but when she looked down, she saw it was Daniel calling.
Her finger paused over the answer button. The ringtone kept ringing persistently.
Scarlett still answered. Daniel's deep voice sounded in her ear.
"Why aren't you here yet?"
Scarlett thought, why would I go there and let you and your friends mock me to my face?
Having decided to go to Tipsy Tonight, she couldn't go to the hospital anymore, so she said, "I'm not feeling well, so I'm not coming."
Hearing her listless voice, Daniel thought she was tired from taking care of him these past few days and said, "Then rest well at home. If anything comes up, call Jane right away, or call me, okay?"
Hearing his seemingly caring words, Scarlett's nose tingled.
She could barely tell anymore which of his words were true and which were false.
"Okay."
She answered and hung up, then logged onto Instagram to respond to Bruce and the others, and replied to some messages.
At Tipsy Tonight, when Scarlett arrived, Bruce and the others were already there.
Scarlett had become quite familiar with Bruce and the group during training. She was ushered to sit right in the middle of the booth.
Bruce and the others had earned recognition and glory today. They were obviously energetic and excited, extremely enthusiastic, all competing to talk to Scarlett and show off. Scarlett could barely keep up.
Meanwhile, when Chris and Alton entered Tipsy Tonight and headed upstairs to a private room, they were attracted by the commotion. They glanced over and saw Scarlett surrounded by boys like a star.
Chris immediately took out his phone, snapped a photo, and sent it to their three-person Facebook group.
[Daniel, your little cat seems to have run away!]
Alton laughed too and added a message.
[Daniel, the boy in blue and the boy in the red baseball cap are arguing about whether to give Scarlett milk or orange juice. They're about to fight!]
Scarlett didn't know she'd been photographed celebrating with Bruce and the others. She toasted the seven boys with juice instead of alcohol, played a couple rounds of games, then got up.
With things on her mind, she couldn't really get into it and found it a bit too noisy.
She told Bruce she was stepping out, grabbed her bag, crossed the dance floor, and headed toward the exit.
She wanted to go outside for some air and clear her head.
But as she reached the entrance area, she saw Ingrid Howard in a red bodycon dress being supported on both sides by two men coming this way.
"Alright, alright, we're going home now, stop making a fuss."
"Don't struggle anymore or you'll fall."
The two men supporting Ingrid were speaking loudly.
Scarlett only glanced casually at first, but quickly noticed something was wrong.
Ingrid had clearly lost the ability to move on her own and was being dragged outside by the two men.
Her body language screamed resistance, and one of the men, Jagger, was covering Ingrid's mouth.
A flash of light passed, and Scarlett saw Ingrid's terrified, pleading eyes beneath her disheveled hair.
Scarlett thought of how some men specifically lurked around places like bars, looking for drunk women alone to take advantage of.
Scarlett was instantly alarmed. She didn't rush forward rashly, thinking she'd wait for them to pass, then immediately go find security.
But unexpectedly, as the three passed by her, Ingrid suddenly grabbed hard at Scarlett's hair.
Scarlett's scalp hurt from the pull, and she stumbled, bumping into the burly man Jagger.
"Sorry, she's had too much to drink..."
Jagger instinctively apologized to Scarlett, but when he turned to see Scarlett's stunningly beautiful, fresh face, his voice cut off abruptly, and his eyes immediately flashed with lust and malice.