Chapter 2

Scarlett's POV

Reading those comments felt like falling into an arctic lake.

If Tristan had always had someone else in his heart, what was I?

A convenient warm body? A high-end toy?

I didn't want to believe it. I told myself there had to be an explanation.

But now, seeing Tristan carry Chloe into that hotel with my own eyes, I couldn't play pretend anymore.

My eyes stung, and a sharp, physical pain bloomed in my chest.

But I didn't jump out of the cab. I didn't scream, and I didn't make a scene.

Instead, I pulled out my phone and called my father.

"You wanted me to marry that crippled billionaire in San Francisco, right? Fine. I'll do it."

"Are you serious, Scarlett?" My father's voice practically squealed with excitement.

I felt a wave of disgust. "I have one condition."

"Anything! Just name it!"

"I'll tell you when I get home."

I hung up and took one last look at the hotel entrance.

My pride wouldn't let me crawl to Tristan and beg for answers. I wouldn't ask him why he slept with me for eight months while loving someone else.

Men like him were just like my father. Unfaithful, garbage human beings.

I would just treat this past year like a bad fever dream.

I gave the driver my father's address.

The moment I walked into the Vance estate, my father rushed over. "You're really agreeing to the San Francisco marriage? What is your condition? Tell me."

My stepmother, Winona, stood beside him, her eyes gleaming with greed.

"My condition is simple," I said, my voice steady. "I want to legally cut ties with you. I want a total severance of our relationship."

The air in the room froze.

My father's face turned purple. "Are you insane?! Do you hear what you're saying?"

"Perfectly," I cold-smiled. "You cheated on my mother. You brought this cheap woman into our house and drove my mother to jump off a building. The day she died, I stopped recognizing you as my father anyway."

I stared at his flushed face. "Now, the Sinclair family in San Francisco is offering a ten-billion-dollar merger deal for a bride. You don't care that the guy is in a wheelchair. You don't care about my happiness. You've been trying to force me into this for two months."

"If I didn't agree today, you would have drugged me and shipped me there yourself, wouldn't you?"

"You're a selfish monster. You killed your wife, and now you're selling your daughter to a disabled man. Why should I keep your last name?" I sneered.

"Besides, once I'm gone, you can finally bring your mistress's daughter into this house. You three can play happy family."

My father trembled with rage. "Fine. We will cut ties. But you are getting on that plane to San Francisco in two weeks. They are coming to collect you."

He paused, then spat, "And as for Winona's daughter, Chloe, she is already back. I only kept her away to spare your dramatic feelings. Since you are being so cooperative, she is moving in tonight."

I laughed out loud. "Raising another man's kid while selling your own biological daughter. You really are a special kind of trash."

"Because Chloe is nothing like you! She is sweet, polite, and respectful! All you do is scream and ruin my reputation!"

My chest throbbed with pain, but I forced my chin up. "Great! Since she's so perfect, go ahead and adopt her. From today on, we are strangers."

I turned to walk upstairs.

Winona stepped in front of me, pretending to be the victim. "Scarlett, how can you talk to your father like that? The Vance Group is struggling. He's only doing this marriage alliance to save us. Can't you show some gratitude?"

I stopped.

I looked at her, the hatred I had suppressed for years boiling over. "What? Now that I'm leaving, you think you can play the lady of the house and lecture me?"

I took a step closer, crowding her. "Listen to me, Winona. Even if my mother and I are gone, it doesn't change the fact that you are a cheap home-wrecker. Your daughter can inherit this whole house, but she will always be the offspring of a mistress."

Winona's face went pale. She couldn't find a single word to say.

My father lost his mind. He rushed over and slapped me across the face.

The loud slap echoed in the foyer.

I had insulted him, and he was just angry. But the moment I insulted Winona, he resorted to violence.

This was my father.

He would hit his own flesh and blood to protect his mistress.

I held my burning left cheek, my eyes dry. I didn't even feel disappointment anymore. Just absolute, dead silence.

I didn't say another word. I turned and walked up to my room.

Once the door was shut, my knees buckled, and I slid down to the floor, burying my face in my knees.

I let myself cry. I let all the hurt and betrayal wash over me.

When I was done, I wiped my tears, got up, and dragged out my suitcase. I packed only the things that truly belonged to me.

Tristan was gone. This house was gone. I was leaving it all behind.

As I dragged my suitcase downstairs, I saw maids carrying pink luggage into the house.

"Whose stuff is this?" I asked the butler.

The butler whispered nervously, "Miss Vance, it's... Chloe's..."

Before he could finish, a familiar figure appeared at the door.

Chloe, wearing her innocent white dress, stood there looking fragile.