Chapter 4: The Price of One NightScarlett’s POV
1073 Words
I returned to the room after soaking in the bath for more than an hour. “Lola must be worried sick.” I murmured to myself while looking around for my dress, which I spotted in a far corner. When I picked it up it was torn all over. There was no way I could possibly wear it out.
That was when I spotted a dress hung on the wardrobe. It was part of Prada’s latest collection and it was exactly my size. I quickly put it on while thinking, “If Alison was actually behind this, why would she arrange a new dress for me? An expensive one at that.” I was genuinely confused.
I took my phone from my bag which was on the chair and checked it. Just as I had predicted, there were at least a thousand missed calls from Lola, but I decided to just reply to them all when I got home.
I open the door slightly to survey the floor. The floor was empty except for two hotel staff pushing laundry carts. I hear them whispering, “The press is waiting on the other floor, I wonder what happened. But I heard it has something to do with Nathan Brookes and some new actress.”
Then it all clicked to me. In my confused state last night I must have taken the elevator to the wrong floor. No wonder my keys weren’t working for any door, “If I had been clear headed enough to make it to my room last night, I would have been billeted by Nathan Brookes and my face would be all over the entertainment news this morning.” I gasped.
I quickly collected my thoughts and decided on my next move. I had to leave this place without being spotted. I decided to use the service stairs instead of the normal stairs which led me to a back alley.
When I got home I saw my father’s driver driving his car to the garage. That meant my dad was back from his business trip. My head started throbbing because I knew Helena would have told him what happened yesterday, twisting the entire story. And because she had him wrapped her finger, I was definitely going to receive an earful of words.
Inside the main living room, my father, Helena, and Alison were seated like they had been waiting for me. My father looked furious as expected, while Helena had an aggrieved look on her face. I also noticed that Alison kept checking her phone, as if she was expecting some kind of news.
Of course I knew what she was checking for. I bet she was expecting to see my name all over the entertainment news, I smiled inwardly because she wasn’t going to get what she wanted. She took a glance at me, eyed my dress suspiciously but didn’t say anything.
I was just going to ignore the trio and go up to my room when my father called me, “Scarlett Taylor! Didn’t you see me and your mom sitting here?”
“Oh sorry dad, I didn’t see you there, I was distracted by my thoughts. Plus, I’ve said this a hundred times before, that woman is not my mother.” I said with a plain look.
“Helena practically raised you and after all these years you still don’t acknowledge her as your mother?” Dad said, clearly angered by my words.
Helena also chimed in pretentiously, “Scarlett, I’ve tried my best to be a mother to you ever since the death of your mother who was my best friend, I owe her so much and I see you like my flesh and blood.”
Anyone who saw that scene would think I was some evil step daughter who hated her kind step mother. Helena should actually consider debuting as an actress, I bet it won’t take her longer than a year to become an A-list actress.
“Let’s put that aside for now. Scarlett, what happened between you and Helena yesterday? And why did you lay your hands on her” Dad suddenly said.
“She said she told you about the marriage proposal that my business partner offered and you snapped at her. Scarlett, you know all we want is the best for you, but if you don’t keep this unruly attitude of yours under control, I’ll be forced to leave you to fend for yourself.” He continued without giving me the chance to defend myself.
What he said was quite funny because he had never actually fended for me. After I graduated, he had never spent a single penny on me. I fed on their leftovers and wore hand me downs from Alison, but there was nothing I could do to change my situation for now.
“Now apologize!” he bellowed.
I gritted my teeth and murmured an apology to Helena, because I knew dad wasn’t going to let it go until I apologized.
After that I rushed to my room to process what happened last night, but I noticed Alison didn’t say anything throughout the entire exchange which was weird. Was she anticipating my downfall that bad? I guess so. But she was destined to be disappointed this time around.
When I got to my room, I locked my door and stood in front of the mirror. I slid my dress down while looking at how bruised I was. I had hickeys in the most indecent places and my inner thighs still ached badly.
I entered the bathroom and turned on the shower. I let the hot water run down my body as a blurry image of the man kept appearing in mind.
I remembered how he first yelled at me when I barged into the room, then he had a sudden change of attitude for some reason. He then tried to help me relieve the effect of the d**g by soaking me in cold water, but that didn’t work. I could see the restraint in his eyes when he saw he had to sleep with me to help. I decided to just put these thoughts aside for a while.
I stepped out of the shower, put on some clean clothes and was about to reply to Lola's messages when a message from an unknown number came in.
Seven words,“You shouldn’t drink things you don’t trust.”
- Writer
