hapter 19 Sweet Tears and Sour Hearts

Scarlett faked illnessb, /bcut ties with her family just to make a scene, and now she was clinging to some washed–up senior?

How perfect.

Did she really not understand that what mattered most now was getting his mother’s forgivenessb? /b

He’d spoiled her too much before.

Turning a statusless orphan into a high–society heiress.

Well-

It was time to let her stew.

Let her see just how little she actually mattered.

Once the world beat her down, she’de crawling back, sobbing and begging him for forgiveness.

“Enough!” Connor snapped, frowning as he raised his ss. Amber liquid clinked against ice, catching the light with a cold gleam. “We broke up. Don’t bring her up in front of me again.”

The whole room fell silent.

Rowan gave a sheepish grin. “Alright, alright–drink up!”

Three rounds of drinkster-

A knock came at the door. A server leaned in. “Excuse me, a Ms. Scarlett is asking if she maye in?”

They were all a little buzzed, and hearing that name lit up the room instantly.

“Scarlett’s just now showing up? That’s a record.”

“Connor, you gotta punish her properly or she’ll never learn.”

“She should drink three shots as penalty.”

“No, no–make her stand by the trash can at the door for thirty minutes, likest time.”

“I liked the cigarette–ash–on–the–face one best.”

“Better yet, make her chew on ice cubes! I recorded thatst time and sent it to my girlfriend–she stopped arguing with me for a week.”

Connor chuckled coldly.

Guess sucking up to that senior hadn’t gone so smoothly.

So now she’d realized life wasn’t so easy after all?

bHe /bbwas /bnning to ignore her for a while longer, but then remembered she’d gone through ba /btraumatic fire. bMaybe /bthis time, he’d let it slide.

Still, it irritated him that he kept going soft on her–that’s probably why she had the nerve to dump him.

“Let her in,” he said tly.

Seeing he wasn’t angry, Rowan quickly waved at the server.

Then he nudged Connor’s arm.

“She came all the way here. Come on, at least smile a little. Don’t scare her off.”

Connor scoffed. “Depends on how she behaves.”

Rowan took that as approval and grinned, heading for the door.

But the moment he opened it, he froze.

“Reb… Reba?”

Reba stood in a flowing white dress, her long hair draped over her shoulders. A diamond charm sparkled on her white Chanel clutch under the sharp lighting, making her look ethereal.

But the monochrome color scheme also gave her a quiet elegance.

Hearing the name, Connor shot up and rushed over, his face full of concern.

“Reba? What are you doing here?”

Reba looked up and locked eyes with his worried expression. Her eyes instantly reddened.

“Connor, can you help Scarlett? Please?”

Connor gently took her arm and led her inside. He turned off the music, waved for tea and desserts to be brought in, and finally asked,

“Did she make youe plead for her? I already told you–you have to learn how to say no.”

Reba shook her head, tears shimmering. “She didn’t make mee. I wanted to.”

Her sweet, fragile demeanor tugged hard at his heartstrings. His voice rose, agitated.

“She’s been bullying you for so long, it’s second nature to her now! Even after breaking ties, she’s still pushing you like this!”

And to think, he’d actually considered giving Scarlett another chance.

Women like her deserved to be chewed up by society.

Reba dabbed her eyes and clutched his hand tightly.

“Connor, Scarlett saw my professor helping me with my thesis and thought he didn’t care about her

anymoreb. /bbShe /bgot upset and…b” /b

She bit her lip.

As if she didn’t want to speak ill of her sister.

But if she didn’t say something, she wouldn’t be able to help Scarlett. So she lowered her voice and went ollion. /li/ol

b“/bScarlett publicly imed the professor’s medicine didn’t work… and said some awful things about Stanley The professor kicked her out of theb, and Stanley refused to help her anymore. Connor…”

She gently shook his hand, her soft fingertips brushing against his palm like a feather, sending a strange ache straight to his chest.

He nearly exploded with anger.

He wanted nothing more than to drag Scarlett over here and make her apologize to Reba.

But he held back, afraid his rage would scare her.

“Don’t cry,” he said, fumbling to grab some tissues and wipe her tears.

“Connor, can you help rent ab for Scarlett? She’s almost done with her thesis. I just… I don’t want her research to be cut off halfway.”

Her tears kept falling, like they’d never stop.

One dropnded right on the back of his hand–idrip/i–as if it hit him right in the heart.

His protective instinct surged again,ced with frustration.

“If iyou’re /inot helping her, then I sure as hell won’t. We’re broken up. She’s no one to me now.”

Bodger scoffed from the side. “She embarrassed her mentor in public–what did she think was gonna happen?”

“And now she can’t face the consequences, so she pushes you toe beg on her behalf? Reba, you’re way too kind!”

96