Scarlett Ariadne Luthor or Mrs. Keller as she'd been known to most for some time now sat at the dining table staring at her meal and doubting her life choices just as she'd done for the two years they'd been married. How could the man she'd chosen to spend her life with treat her so abominably? She stared at the ring on her finger as though she'd never seen it before. Though if she was to be completely honest with herself, she wasn't particularly surprised.
She remembered clearly when they'd started dating. He wasn't quite sure what he wanted after their accidental night together, but she knew that she wanted him.
Alexander Keller, the man of her dreams, a great businessman and hot as hell man so how could she possibly not want him for herself? He was her best friend's brother as well as one of her brothers', Charles's somewhat rival. She and Iris had never wanted to be part of whatever rivalry they had going neither did they have an idea of why they'd stopped being friends. They could never pinpoint at what exact moment their friendship had turned into rivalry. It was difficult to understand and neither of them wanted to explain. She'd always liked him since they were young and was certain that he'd liked her back, but then he'd left the country and by the time he'd come back, he was different. Treated her differently and her woman's instinct told her that he'd met someone else. And just like that, her chance was gone. But she simply couldn't give up and so she'd tried for friendship first which was impossible for them to maintain because of her attraction to him.
She remembered how much she'd planned and plotted, determined to have him for herself but then it happened, and it suddenly changed everything; their accidental night, the night when everything in her life began not going according to her plan. Scratch that because for a while she'd thought she'd succeeded, and he'd fallen in love with her.
On the morning of the night, she'd always termed as their accidental encounter, she'd woken up in a strange bed, next to the man of her dreams who looked at her as though she'd killed his pet. At first, his look was filled with confusion as though trying to understand how they'd ended up in bed together. Then came his disgust, anger and loathing. The look in his eyes made her feel as though she was being gutted alive. She clearly felt that he hated her. A look, a feeling she'd become accustomed to for the past two years.
"You drugged me? Your finally succeeded to get me into your bed, are you happy now?" He asked her. His eyes looking at her, were filled with utter disgust for her and she couldn't even meet his gaze. She was afraid that the hate that shone in those dazzling eyes would kill her.
"I...I...I..." She stammered. She was innocent but knew he wouldn't believe her after all she'd tried it before and failed. Back then when she was found out, she wasn't embarrassed nor did she cower but today, innocent as she was, she was embarrassed. She zoned out and heard the bathroom door open and close after a while.
Then his cold voice reached her,
"Don't let anyone learn about what happened between us. I hope you don't expect me to take responsibility. That's what I owe you, after all, you'd tried so hard."
He then tossed something on the table before slamming the door and leaving. Color flooded her cheeks as she realized it was several bills. What he owed her, he'd said. Evidently, he treated her as a hooker.
She pulled herself together and left for Iris's place. She needed some comfort and who better than her best friend? That night, they crashed in Iris's room and watched Rom-coms, but she didn't say a word about their night. She decided that she'd keep it to herself because knowing Iris, she'd be utterly heartbroken on her behalf. Besides they were siblings. She didn't want to come between them or to affect their friendship.
The next day she woke up later than her usual eight am, at ten. Iris had already left to check on her bakery and restaurant, leaving a note behind.
"There's some chocolate cake in the fridge. Don't eat too much. You know it makes your tummy ache." She smiled on reading it. Iris was still Iris, sweet just like the deserts she made.
Dressed in her pajamas, she stuffed herself with some chocolate cake and ice cream, mourning her sad love life while ugly crying and watching some sad romantic movies, waiting for Iris to get back. Soon, she heard the door unlock and a male voice she was all too familiar with came to her ears.
"Sis? Anybody home?"
"Sh*t!" She cursed. And she choked. She began coughing while still trying to look dignified. A very difficult task to accomplish especially in her current attire. She was most definitely cursed. Her whole week was cursed.
"Ariadne?!" He exclaimed and his face immediately went back to its usual indifference when around her.
"Yeah..., she just stepped out."
She inwardly scolded herself when she realized that the first part of her sentence sounded sort of like a mosquito. This wasn't like her. She was a beautiful, sexy, intelligent and confident woman and that voice was definitely not hers.
"Tell her that I stopped by when she gets back." He said as if ordering a maid before shutting the door and leaving without a backward glance. She was left both angered and speechless. She suddenly got the idea to check herself in the living room mirror and almost fainted at the sight of her reflection. Her hair looked like a bird's nest whereas her lips and some parts of her cheeks were smeared with chocolate. She looked like a toddler with a reckless mother. Couldn't she at least have left herself some dignity? She suddenly began laughing and crying all at once. 'I really am turning into a leaky faucet.'
She had to get back to work on Wednesday as she had several contracts to review. She'd started her own jewelry and fashion company aside from taking over one of her family's branches, a big club, Royal Palace. Which meant that she had only that day to pull herself together. Both companies had acting CEOs, so no one thought that the beautiful woman had any brains. They all thought she was all beauty, no brains. It didn't help her case that both her parents and two elder brothers pampered her to no end. Despite this fact, she liked handling the business end of things herself. She was kind of a control freak like that.