Chapter 8
When Parker regained consciousness, he looked around frantically. “Where’s Scarlett?”
The others exchanged awkward glances. “She… left… We heard she went to the airport…”
“WHAT?!” Parker violently ripped the IV from the back of his hand, blood immediately gushing out. As if immune to pain, he stumbled out of the hospital bed, dragging his right
arm in a fresh cast.
When others tried to stop him, his fist connected with their jaws and chests. “GET THE
HELL OUT OF MY WAY!”
He bolted from the hospital and flagged down a taxi. “Airport! NOW!”
In the crowded terminal, he shouted like a madman, “SCARLETT! SCARLETT!”
Then–BAM–he stopped dead, like someone had slammed the emergency brakes on his
entire existence.
Through the sea of travelers, I stood quietly at the security checkpoint.
“Scarlett!” He stumbled toward me, his bloodshot eyes brimming with tears. “Don’t go…”
In that moment, my heart felt the faintest pinprick of emotion. In that fleeting second, I saw
the Parker I first met–the one whose eyes held such beautiful light in the sunshine that I
naively believed would be forever.
But it had all been a lie. His illness was fake. His poverty was fake. The love I poured into
him with everything I had was nothing but a cruel game to him.
“Goodbye, Parker. I’m going back to England.”
“NO!” He suddenly dropped to his knees in front of everyone, his kneecaps hitting the hard floor with a sickening thud. “Scarlett! I was wrong! Please forgive me! Whatever you want! I’ll give you anything!”
With trembling hands, he pulled out a velvet box from his pocket containing a sparkling diamond ring.
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Chapter 8
“This ring–I’ve wanted to give it to you for so long!”
“Every day without you has been like living death. Please, just give me one chance to make
things right?”
I stepped back, gently shaking my head. “It’s too late.”
“In your eyes, the fifty thousand dollars I desperately scraped together was worth less than your dog.”
Looking at his ashen face, my voice was soft as a sigh.
“Parker, love isn’t infinite. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.”
The boarding announcement echoed through the terminal as Ethan waited quietly beside
- me.
I turned and walked toward security with Ethan, never looking back.
The London rain wouldn’t let up. I never expected to see Parker again.
He stood at the entrance of my estate, his suit soaked through, dark hair plastered to his pallid forehead.
Before I could speak, Ethan stepped forward beside me like my personal bodyguard, his
voice cold as ice. “Mr. Reynolds, if you continue harassing my fiancée, I won’t hesitate to
involve the police.”
“Fiancée?” The word punched all the oxygen from Parker’s lungs, his pupils contracting to
pinpoints.
He frowned. “What exactly are you to her?”
I deliberately took Ethan’s hand. “Leave now, or I’ll call the police for criminal trespassing.”
“Scarlett…” his voice cracked. “I know I was a complete asshole, but I swear later…”
“I was a monster for deceiving you. But I promise you, from this day forward, I’ll be absolutely honest. No more lies, ever. Okay?”
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Chapter 8
Before I could respond, his phone rang.
Rachel’s hysterical screams were so loud even I could hear them clearly. “Parker! Are you trying to drive me to suicide? My family’s completely bankrupt! Are you satisfied now?!”
After hanging up, he desperately explained, “She kept saying you ruined her life. That’s why I wanted revenge.”
I let out a soft laugh. “Parker, you’re no different from her.”
On my wedding day with Ethan, the weather was picture–perfect.
Parker crashed the ceremony reeking of alcohol. He stumbled down the aisle and fell to his knees on the red carpet, his face streaked with tears.
“Scarlett! Baby! I was wrong! Please, don’t marry him! In my heart, you’ve always been my
wife!”
I frowned in disgust. “Please stop disrupting our ceremony.”
“Scarlett, how can you marry someone else? Didn’t you promise marry me once I recovered? To grow old together?!”
In his emotional state, he raised his wrist, revealing horrific self–inflicted cuts.
“Every time I think about what I did wrong, I give myself another cut. Scarlett, I genuinely
know I messed up!”
As psychiatric staff dragged him from the church, he continued screaming, “SCARLETT! I’M
THE ONE WHO TRULY LOVES YOU! I’M NOT LYING THIS TIME–I’M REALLY SICK!”
Meanwhile, Ethan’s steady fingers entwined with mine, slowly sliding the wedding ring
onto my finger.
“Scarlett. Whether times are prosperous or lean, in sickness and in health, I will cherish you
with all my heart.”
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