Chapter 4 Scumbag, I Didn’t Sleep All Night Because of You
Just as Rebecca left, Wanda came running back in a panic.
“Mr. Stanley! It’s bad, really bad!”
Stanley rubbed his ear, clearly annoyed.
“I’m perfectly fine, Wanda. Can you be a little calmer?”
Wanda leaned against the doorframe, struggling to catch her breath.
“Ms. Joyner isn’t outside!”
Stanley scoffed. “She must’ve climbed the wall again last night. I’ll go to her room and wake her up.”
Without giving Wanda a chance to speak, he turned and went upstairs.
He didn’t bother knocking. With a swift kick, he burst the door open.
The room was quiet.
The bed was perfectly made. The curtains fluttered in the morning breeze. The family portrait that had once sat on the desk lay shattered on the floor.
His heart sank.
He strode in and yanked the wardrobe doors open. Only three neatly matched outfits hung inside.
Come to think of it, Scarlett had only ever worn those three sets. When it was cold, she added a coat. When it was hot, she took it off.
Had she never bought new clothes?
Had their parents never given her money?
Suddenly, his phone rang.
It was Rebecca.
“Stanley, is Scarlett not home?”
Her voice was cautious and hushed, like she was afraid someone else might hear.
Stanley paused. “Why?”
“I… I saw her coming out of a hotel with a man this morning. I’m worried… worried she might get taken advantage of.”
Stanley’s expression turned dark. “Give me the address!”
So much for having a backbone. He’d thought maybe Scarlett had finally left the Joyner family for real.
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But no. She must’ve realized they were disappointed in her, and immediately ran off to cozy up to someone else!
She was really that desperate? Selling herself already?
Seething with anger, he stormed out – not even noticing he’d stepped on the shattered family photo
frame.
It was completely destroyed.
Outside a hotel, a well–dressed, refined man smiled at Scarlett.
“Honestly, with your skills, you should’ve been able to tell. The patient doesn’t need a kidney transplant.”
Scarlett thought back to the Joyner family’s conversation before the party. Her smile turned bitter. “But a lot of people don’t trust alternative medicine. They think transplanting is the best solution.”
James Logan looked at her with admiration. “Professor Hamilton reviewed your prescription. Based on what you said, if the patient continues herbal treatment for another month, they’ll recover.”
Scarlett nodded. That matched her own assessment.
But that patient would never get to use her herbal supplements again.
James hesitated, then tried to persuade her again. “Are you sure you won’t consider Professor Hamilton’s offer? The papers you’ve published this year are all classified. He really values your talent.”
Scarlett let out a quiet sigh. “Sorry, James. I’ve already decided to leave Trenwyn.”
James looked surprised. “Is it because of the conditions? I can ask Professor Hamilton for a better lab.”
Scarlett shook her head and took a deep breath.
“You’ve probably heard about the Joyner family’s mistaken heiress story. I’m just tired of all the infighting.”
James frowned. “That’s a damn shame. The Joyner family couldn’t tell gold from garbage. Absolute idiots.”
Scarlett laughed. “Come on, don’t make it sound like we’re parting forever. Who knows? Maybe we’ll bump into each other at an academic conference someday.”
“Scarlett?” A familiar voice rang out behind them.
Scarlett’s smile vanished instantly. Her disgust was plain as day.
“You were with this man last night? Scarlett, how could you be so shameless? Connor cares about you so much. How do you think this makes him feel?”
Running into the one person she couldn’t stand first thing in the morning – just her luck.
Scarlett turned around, her tone cold as ice. “I’ve already cut ties with the Joyner family. Don’t act familiar.
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And my business is none of yours. Kindly stay away from me.”
Rebecca looked hurt. “Scarlett, I’m just worried about your safety.”
Scarlett laughed out of sheer exasperation. “Great. Then why not give me your.driver and private car? That way I don’t have to squeeze onto a bus every morning to get to class.”
They’d lived in the same house, but Scarlett always left later due to preparing herbal supplements. The car and driver were never arranged for her. She had to walk a kilometer to catch the bus.
They said she was the Joyner family’s heiress. But even the maids had it better grocery shopping.
Rebecca’s face froze, but the tears came rushing down right after.
She backed away, stumbling a little.
–
they got a nanny car for
Scarlett frowned, about to speak, when a tall figure swooped in and caught Rebecca.
“Rebecca, are you alright? Is it your vertigo again?”
Rebecca turned her pale face to him and choked up when she saw who it was.
“I’m fine, Connor. I was just worried Scarlett might be deceived by a stranger. I spoke up… Don’t be mad at her. She didn’t mean it.”
Connor didn’t even bother asking what had happened. He turned to Scarlett and gave James a once–over, his voice low and full of warning. “Still causing trouble? Haven’t you had enough? Apologize to Rebecca right now!”
He’d been humiliated yesterday and become a laughingstock in his circle.
But after a night to think it over, he came to a conclusion.
To fix his image, Scarlett had to make a statement. Ideally, she’d beg his mother for forgiveness publicly, then they could announce the engagement.
That way, yesterday’s chaos would look like a desperate push from Scarlett to force the engagement.
It would restore the Jude family’s reputation, let the Joyners cleanly blame the mistaken heiress, and allow Scarlett to stay on as the public face of the Joyner heiress.
Sure, Scarlett would suffer a little.
But he had noble status
–
he couldn’t marry some nobody with no background.
Scarlett would understand.
So early that morning, he’d gone to the Joyners to discuss it.
He hadn’t expected to get a call from Rebecca saying Scarlett had been seen outside a hotel.
And seeing James had ignited a strange fury in him.
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to realis
“I didn’t sleep all night because I was trying to help you stay in the Joyner family. And you’re out here fooling around with some other man? You’ve really let me down!”
Even though he knew Scarlett adored him and would never do anything out of line, he still chose to accuse her.
After all, no matter what the reason, whenever he got mad, Scarlett would always back down immediately.
So she’d definitely apologize now too, and fully cooperate with his plan to spin the party incident.
Except… today, Scarlett had pushed too far. He had to wait until she was crying her heart out before he’d agree to forgive her.
But the next moment, Scarlett’s face turned frosty.
“Did your brain spring a leak? I already told you I have nothing to do with you. What gives you the right to order me around?”
Connor froze, staring at her in disbelief.
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