Chapter 3

The warm milk was laced with sleeping pills.

I furrowed my brow and pretended to lift the covers, shoving him away forcefully.

"Scarlett's all grown up now, yet she still can't sleep peacefully," Damien said with a smile, pulling me tightly into his arms once again. This time, no matter how hard I pushed, I couldn't break free.

The alarm clock rang promptly at six in the morning. Usually, I would reflexively get up.

Just to make chicken soup for Damien, but this time, I acted as if I hadn't heard a thing.

The alarm's shrill cry abruptly ceased. Damien gently placed a kiss on my tightly shut eyelids.

The sound of a door being unlocked echoed from downstairs, followed by the click of a woman's high heels.

"Damien, using my birthday as your house's lock code... isn't that a bit risky? What if Scarlett finds out..."

"It's fine, she'll never know."

My eyelashes fluttered slightly. I once asked Damien why he set that code, and he smiled, saying it was the day he fell in love with me.

How ironic.

The clatter of kitchen utensils resonated from the kitchen. Suddenly, an overwhelming scent of gardenias enveloped me.

Aria leaned close to my ear, her soft voice filled with hatred.

"Scarlett, you don't deserve Damien at all."

I was caught off guard as two heavy slaps landed on her face, leaving a stinging sensation that quickly swelled up.

She opened her eyes to meet Aria's malicious gaze, who stood towering over her with arms crossed.

A smile played on that extraordinarily beautiful face.

"Scarlett, why won't you just die? You should have kicked the bucket like that short-lived brother of yours. He died so pathetically, you know? He was staring at the door with those lifeless eyes of his, desperately waiting for you to show up. But you never came!"

"You really let him down, didn't you?"

Anger surged through My heart. I had barely raised her hand when Aria violently shoved me to the ground.

Aria leaned down, her smile growing even brighter.

"You think you can hit me? Why don't you try and see if Damien will let you off the hook?"

Footsteps echoed from the doorway as Damien rushed over, bending down to help Scarlett up.

"Scarlett, why are you on the floor? Is the ground more comfortable or something?"

His hand had barely touched my arm when Aria let out a gentle cough.

Damien withdrew his hand as if he'd been electrocuted, his eyes brimming with anxiety.

"Aria, are you coughing? Should we take you to the hospital to get that checked out?"

Aria shook her head as Damien helped her downstairs, rushing about to find medicine for her.

He completely forgot about me lying on the floor, as if he hadn't even noticed the swelling on my face or the darkness in my eyes.

I got dressed and went downstairs to see Aria holding a jade bowl in the dining room. My pupils constricted sharply.

Noticing my gaze, Aria seemed to deliberately scratch the surface of the bowl with her long nails, making a piercing crisp sound.

I rushed over, about to snatch the bowl away.

"Ah!" With Aria's scream, the jade bowl fell vertically to the ground, shattering instantly.

"Aria, are you alright?" Damien quickly took Aria into his arms.

Aria looked startled and spoke softly.

"I...I'm fine, I just accidentally broke the bowl. Scarlett seemed to care a lot about this bowl."

"It's just a bowl, can't we just buy another one?"

Anger spread across Damien's face as he looked at me with displeasure.

"What's wrong with you, Scarlett? This is Aria's first time at our home, is this how you treat a guest? You've scared her. It's just a stupid bowl. If you like it so much, I'll have my assistant buy a whole crate of them."

I stared at him in disbelief, my eyes red, my voice shaking uncontrollably.