Chapter 191 She Is Not His First Choice
Scarlett didn't sleep well at all.
In her dream, she seemed to be back in summer when she was eleven.
That day, she got prize money from a competition and ran a long way after school to the mall to buy a diamond-studded business pen she'd been eyeing for ages.
It was a gift she wanted to give Daniel, but when she got back to The Wilson Mansion, she learnt that Daniel was going abroad to study. He'd be gone for years.
She crouched on the tree-lined path outside The Wilson Mansion and waited until midnight for him to come back from hanging out with friends.
When he got out of the car, she stumbled toward him, hugged his waist, and looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
"Daniel, can you please not go? There are good universities here too. Why do you have to go abroad?"
"I can't. I have reasons I have to go."
"But I don't want to be apart from Daniel."
"I'm sorry, I can't be there while Scarlett grows up."
"Can't I go with Daniel?"
"No, I'll be very busy. I won't have time to look after you."
"But I don't need you to take care of me. I can take care of Daniel. You definitely won't like the food abroad. I can cook for Daniel. I'm really good at it."
She kept trying, attempting to convince him.
But he touched her head and firmly shook his head. "Scarlett, be good. It's really not possible."
Back then, she didn't know why he had to go abroad, but now she understood.
The reason he had to leave was Waverly.
He left Scarlett to go abroad, and all those years were spent searching for Waverly.
The dream shifted bizarrely, and suddenly Scarlett was in an operating room.
She was being held down on the operating table, and Blair was shouting at the doctor with a vicious look on her face.
"Cut Scarlett's belly open! I need to save my Elliot. If we're late, it'll be too late!"
The doctor approached with a scalpel, and Scarlett struggled and screamed violently.
"You can't do this to me. Daniel won't let you hurt us like this."
"What are you? Milly is back. She's Daniel's wife. She's already pregnant and about to marry Daniel. The baby in your belly is just a tool to save Elliot! Give up!"
"No, that's not true. It's impossible!"
Scarlett struggled in disbelief, but then she saw Daniel walk in with a pregnant Waverly by his side.
Daniel gently supported Waverly and looked at Scarlett coldly, ordering the doctor.
"Cut her open!"
"No! Don't! Get away!" Scarlett suddenly cried out, her hands flailing wildly in the air.
Until a warm, steady force gripped her, and Daniel's familiar voice called to her.
"Scarlett! Wake up!"
Scarlett's eyes flew open to see Daniel's familiar handsome face.
He was lying beside her, his brow slightly furrowed, his eyes showing obvious concern.
"Had a nightmare? Don't be afraid. I'm here."
Seeing her wake up, he spoke softly, one large hand gently patting Scarlett's thin back.
For a moment, Scarlett looked dazed, as if still caught in the dream.
When she had nightmares as a child, he used to comfort her just like this.
If only he hadn't gone abroad, if there was no Waverly, if they hadn't grown distant, if things could have stayed like when they were kids—how wonderful that would be.
But that year, she wasn't even his first choice.
Now, she certainly wouldn't be.
"I'm fine now."
Scarlett's eyes gradually cleared. She pushed Daniel away, trying to sit up.
But Daniel pulled her waist and held her in his arms again, saying softly.
"Even if you're fine, lie down properly. The doctor said you need to rest in bed for two days."
Scarlett leaned against his chest, listening to his steady, strong heartbeat, her whole body stiff.
How could Daniel not feel her silent resistance?
Daniel's eyes darkened. He lowered his head and kissed her slightly damp hair, asking.
"What nightmare did you have?"
Scarlett didn't want to say. Instead of answering, she asked back, "When did you get back? Did you figure things out?"
Daniel's arm around Scarlett's waist tightened slightly, his eyes growing even darker.
Her frightened expression and reaction in her sleep just now made his heart ache, and it felt familiar.
When she was little, she often had nightmares too.
When he woke her up, she would actively burrow into his arms and, without waiting for him to ask, would chatter on and on.
Back then, Scarlett would say confidently that if she told him all about her nightmares, she wouldn't be scared anymore.
Actually, she just wanted to stay in his arms a little longer.
But now, her reaction was completely opposite.
She was becoming less and less close to him.
A shadow flashed through Daniel's eyes. His Adam's apple bobbed as he suppressed his displeasure before telling her what he'd found out and how he'd handled it.
"You won't see Jane again. As for my mother, guards are watching her, so she can't cause you trouble anymore either."
Scarlett felt somewhat moved hearing this.
Jane was one thing, but Scarlett hadn't expected Daniel to have guards constantly watching Blair.
Blair was his mother, after all—the mother of Daniel, the Wilson family heir.
Pampered and proud her whole life.
Being followed and watched by two guards all day, monitored constantly—for Blair, it must feel as humiliating and unbearable as being in prison.
Scarlett really hadn't expected Daniel to go this far.
Her nose tingled slightly, but she bit her lip hard to stay clear-headed, not to let his small kindnesses cloud her judgment again.
Bunny was his child too. He was probably doing this just for his child.
It was what he should do anyway.
Besides, Scarlett hadn't forgotten—he mentioned Jane, mentioned Blair, but didn't mention Alice.
"What about Alice?"
Alice was carrying Tobias's posthumous child, and Tobias was Waverly's brother.
Daniel was willing to severely punish Blair, but was he still going to protect Alice no matter what?
Scarlett held her breath slightly, her hand slipping under her clothes to rest on her belly.
Alice was the real culprit.
Bunny was fine this time, but what about next time?
Alice kept causing trouble, relying on the fact that she carried the White family's bloodline, knowing Daniel wouldn't severely punish her.
If Daniel let her off easy again this time, Scarlett would truly give up completely.
"The Brown family's investment is cancelled." Daniel said coldly.
Without the investment, the Brown family would go completely bankrupt.
Alice had always cared a lot about her status as a Brown family socialite and saw herself as nobility, above others.
If the Brown family went completely bankrupt, it would be a huge blow to someone like Alice.
After all, Bunny was fine. For Daniel to do this much already showed he was clearly taking Scarlett and Bunny's side.
Scarlett felt she should be satisfied, but somehow, she still felt uncomfortable.
Maybe it was because compared to driving Jane's family out of Shadow City and directly restricting Blair's freedom, Daniel still held back with Alice.
"Daniel, you're not punishing Alice, only going after the Brown family. You're still thinking about the child in Alice's belly, aren't you?"
Scarlett asked softly.
She was answered with a moment of silence, then Daniel spoke.
"Scarlett, nothing can happen to Tobias's child."
Because it involved the White family, did it carry more weight in Daniel's heart than even his own mother Blair?
Waverly's brother, Tobias's child—they were all so important. What about Waverly herself then?
Scarlett's heart went cold. She was disappointed after all.
"Why did you suddenly go quiet?" Not hearing Scarlett speak for a while, Daniel looked down at her.