Loving Adam Scott

A Viper's Rage

Adam's P.O.V

I slammed my fist on the table. The sound echoed across the boardroom like a gunshot.

"You thought this was a good idea!" I growled, my voice slicing through the silence. Elara had barely gotten halfway through her presentation.

She blinked, stunned, her hand frozen over the touchscreen. Slowly, her gaze swept the room, clearly taken aback that I’d called her out in front of the entire board.

"You heard me right," I snapped, not letting her recover. "You rudely stopped my presentation for this? What exactly are we selling to our clients—class with no substance or substance with no class? What makes you think the materials you’re pushing are good enough for the penthouse project?"

She faltered.

“But... but we talked about this six months ago,” she stammered.

The first time I’d ever heard Elara Vermont stammer. But it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because I had done my research. I’d read through the specifications, tested the suggested materials, contacted architects and engineers. It was all aesthetic. Cheap, pretty garbage.

"It will cost less, yes. It’ll look fantastic in photos. But it won’t last," I spat. "You think people want a glass palace that crumbles in ten years? We’re not building a fashion set, we’re building a legacy. A home that can carry generations."

My voice had turned ice-cold. “Scott Industries doesn't trade in fairy tales. We're building history.”

The silence in the room was suffocating.

“We’re done for today,” I barked. "Do your research. We reconvene tomorrow.”

Everyone scrambled to gather their files. I could feel their discomfort as they left one by one, heads down, whispering. When the last one click the door shut, I didn’t move. Neither did she.

Elara stood there like a statue—seething.

“Did you really have to humiliate me?” she asked, her voice low and simmering with venom.

“Yes,” I said bluntly. “Because this is not your father’s company. It’s mine. And I won’t watch you burn it to the ground.”

Her face twisted. “We built this together, Adam.”

“No,” I said with a bitter laugh. "I built this. The only thing your name contributed was a bank transfer. Your family funded it because mine needed a lifeline. And you, what are you even doing in the business world? You dropped out of veterinary school just to snoop around here? Was that your grand plan? Follow me around and play the CEO’s wife while sabotaging everything?”

Her eyes flared. But she didn’t deny it.

Instead, she walked to the edge of the table, sat down, crossed her legs, and began tapping her nails at a slow, deliberate pace.

“I hate animals,” she said simply.

The words were knives.

“Then why the hell were you in veterinary school?”

“Because my grandfather told me to be. He didn’t want me anywhere near the business. Didn’t want me to be a threat to his golden grandson. So, he wanted to bury me in a profession that has no connection with business.”

"And yet here you are," I muttered. "Bossing around my board like this is Vermont Enterprises."

She smiled coldly. “Don’t be naïve, Adam. You think this marriage was ever about love or strategy? I was married off to your family to be someone’s problem. Your family needed funding. Mine needed to get rid of the black sheep. It was a transaction—nothing more.”

Her heels clicked as she walked toward me. With every step, her presence grew more menacing.

“My family didn’t stoop to marry into yours,” she continued. “They made a move. The Vermont are power. With a snap of my grandfather’s fingers, your entire family business would be erased from the stock market. You’re not the hunter, Adam. You’re the hunted.”

“You’re delusional,” I said, laughing bitterly. “If your family’s so powerful, then leave. Divorce me. Be free. Why suffer? Neither of us are happy. I can’t stand you, and you hate me. So why are we still pretending?”

"Because we don't have a choice!" she shouted, her calm demeanor cracking. “We’re both pawns, Adam. You don’t get it. Grandfather married me off to your family not because I was unmarriageable—but because I was a stain in his eyes. No man in my circle would accept a lesbian as a wife. And my family can't buy their silence. But yours? Are perfect. Poor. Quiet. Desperate. Easy to bribe into silence.”

Her laugh was sharp and cruel. “Your family was played. Grandfather protected the Vermont name and swept me under the rug by tying me to you. He invested in your company not out of goodwill, but to bury his shame.”

I stared at her, stunned by the confession, though deep down, I’d always known something was wrong. Yes, I knew she was a lesbian. Yes, I knew Vermont and Scott weren’t in the same league. But I thought her grandfather admired our family values, that he wanted to forge something real.

Naïve. So damn naïve.

She leaned in, her eyes daring me to say a word. “You want to know why I quit veterinary school and got into business? Because I’ve always wanted to be in business. But my life has never been mine to live. Not with my grandfather deciding who I marry, what I study, what I wear. Everyone controls me—even your little girlfriend Addison.”

The name hit me like a bullet.

“Don’t bring her into this,” I growled.

She smirked. “Oh, I will. Because ever since she got off that plane, you’ve been acting like a ghost. Not even a week and you’re already spiraling.”

“I didn’t spiral because of her,” I lied.

“You think I’m dumb like she does?” she snapped.

Her voice softened, but the words grew more cruel. “You chose wealth over love. And now you're choking on your decision.”

She walked behind me and whispered into my ear, “But I am not choking. I have Clarissa. And she’s far more obedient and loving than Addison will ever be to you.”

That was the final blow. I turned around, seething, but she was already pulling her coat on.

“I’m going to see Clarissa,” she said sweetly, walking to the door. “I’ll be back to our little love nest in a week. Don’t miss me too much.”

She paused at the doorway and smiled without warmth. “Tell Addison I said hello.”

Then she disappeared. Heels clicking like a funeral march echoing behind her.

And I stood there alone, staring at the empty room, fists clenched, heart pounding, and nothing but fire in my chest.

I married a viper to...

To build an empire.