5
Agony ripped through me, blood instantly staining my clothes.
I looked at his bloodshot eyes, filled with madness and hatred.
“I never wronged you. Why do you hate me so much?”
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I asked weakly, using my last ounce of strength. “Was all
by companionship fake?”
Roman’s gaze was complicated, his voice cold: “You shouldn’t have, Scarlett, you absolutely shouldn’t have provoked Isabella! I can tolerate anything else you do, but you can’t lay a finger on her!”
His handsome face was twisted with cruelty; for the first time, I felt the brutal ruthlessness of the crime lord he truly
was.
A chill rose from the depths of my heart.
I finally understood. He wasn’t my protector; he was the villain Isabella had driven mad.
My redemption had utterly failed.
“Don’t look at me like that!” he suddenly said, frowning, his voice low.
My vision went black, and I almost passed out.
Just then, Isabella “fainted.”
Roman didn’t hesitate. He pulled the dagger from my shoulder, casually tossing it to the ground, and along with the other two men, rushed to her side.
As I lost consciousness, I thought I was finally going to be free, to go home and see Grandma.
But through the haze, I saw a gentle yet stern face, filled with frantic worry, his eyes brimming with concern.
That expression.., it mirrored Sebastian from my memories.
Sebastian, the powerful scion from an influential family, was once the only one who’d openly confirmed a romantic relationship with Isabella.
Yet, she betrayed him when he loved her most.
After she left him, he became even colder and more distant, keeping everyone at arm’s length.
8.37 PM d
<
At a party once, I gathered my courage and, in front of everyone, shot him a provocative glance.
I asked him if I had the honor of being his date.
He paused, then, amid everyone’s mocking laughter, coolly grunted, “Hmm.”
I don’t know if he was doing it to get back at Isabella, or if he pitied me.
In any case, from then on, I became his constant companion.
He once showered me with boundless affection, tender and considerate, spending so much time with me.
But the moment Isabella appeared, he would give her everything he had promised me.
Claiming it was out of kindness, remembering their bond from the orphanage.
Time and again, I heard from others how he was lavishing money and pulling strings for Isabella.
His calls and messages to me grew fewer and fewer until they vanished entirely.
I knew. I had failed again.
Later, I stopped looking for him, and he stopped contacting me, as if we had never had any connection at all.
Our next meeting was at Isabella’s wedding, where I lay bleeding, stabbed by Roman, barely clinging to life.
How ironic. Only Isabella could bring these four men together.
When I woke up again, I felt much better. I heard Ryder say, “Keep drawing my blood for Scarlett, as much as she needs.”
It turned out that by the time Sebastian arrived, I had lost too much blood.
Seeing me awake, Ryder immediately came over, complaining why I had to provoke Roman: “Just wait a little longer, and we could have saved both of you!”
The other men also arrived, all accusing me of being manipulative, trying to gain their attention, and causing Isabella to
faint.
I scoffed, “You think I’m manipulative? What if I told you I really just wanted to die? Even without Isabella’s kidnapping, I couldn’t have lived much longer.”
Isabella, hearing this, quickly explained: “No, that’s not it, I was kidnapped too! How could I possibly want to worry you all?”
Roman, however, reacted as if I’d hit a raw nerve. He roared at me:
“Scarlett, you’re hopeless! Are you really trying to kill yourself just because Isabella and I got married?! So, your past strength was all an act, all to win people over! Will you finally behave once you’re dead?!”
My heart was cold and dead: “I don’t expect you to remember my kindness, but I never thought you’d all wish for my death. Since that’s what you want, I’ll grant your wish!”
With that, I struggled to get out of bed.
Just then, Sebastian rushed over and grabbed me: “Scarlett, I don’t want you to die!”
He held me so tightly I could barely breathe.
