Scarlett's POV
The moment Adrian leaves, I lock the conference room door.
My hands are shaking so hard I can barely turn the lock. The click echoes in the empty room. Then the dam breaks.
I slide down the door until I'm sitting on the floor, knees pulled to my chest, and I cry. Really cry. Not the silent tears from when Adrian was here. These are ugly, gasping sobs that tear through my chest like earthquakes.
He knows about the baby.
He's known for six months.
All this time I thought he was living his perfect life, guilt-free, while I carried the weight of our loss alone. But he knows. He's been carrying it too. Torturing himself with it.
And he cried. Adrian Blackwell, billionaire CEO, cried in my conference room about losing me.
I don't know what to do with that information. Don't know how to reconcile the man who just confessed his guilt with the man who destroyed me three years ago.
There's a soft knock on the door. Scarlett? Let me in.
Devon. Of course he's been listening from his desk, waiting for Adrian to leave.
I unlock the door without standing. Devon slips inside, sees me on the floor, and immediately sits down beside me. Doesn't say anything. Just puts his arm around my shoulders and lets me cry into his shirt.
He knows, I finally gasp out. About the baby. His father kept files. Documentation. He's known for six months and it's been destroying him.
Shit, Devon breathes.
And he thinks about me every day. Every single day for three years. He's still in love with Lettie. I pull back, wipe my face with my hands. My makeup is probably destroyed. Devon, he still loves me. The real me. Not Scarlett. Lettie.
What did you expect?
I don't know! I thought he'd be cold. Indifferent. The villain I've been building up in my head for three years. I stand on shaky legs, pace the room. But he's not. He's broken. Guilty. He made a terrible choice trying to protect me and it destroyed both of us.
Devon watches me carefully. So what are you going to do?
I don't know.
You could tell him the truth. Right now. Call him back and say 'Hey, Adrian, surprise! I'm Lettie. I changed my name and my entire identity because you broke me, but I've been sitting here the whole time and heard every word you said.'
I laugh. It's slightly hysterical. That would go well.
Or, Devon continues, standing up to face me, you could walk away. Don't take the case. Refer him to another firm. Go back to your life and let him be someone else's problem.
I can't.
Why not?
Good question. Why can't I?
Because I need to know, I say slowly, working it out as I speak. I need to know if he can fall for Scarlett. If he can love this version of me. The strong one. The one who doesn't need saving. The one who built herself from nothing.
Devon's eyes widen. Scarlett. That's not revenge. That's
Hope, I finish. I know. And hope is dangerous. You told me that yesterday.
So what's the plan? Seduce him as Scarlett, make him fall in love, then reveal who you are and walk away? Make him hurt the way he hurt you?
I sink into one of the conference room chairs. The leather is cold against my back. I don't know. Maybe. Or maybe I see if we can start over. If we can build something real this time. Without his father's threats. Without lies. Just… us.
That's insane.
I know.
He destroyed you, Scarlett. You lost your job, your apartment, your baby, your entire identity. You had to become someone else just to survive.
I know.
So why are you even considering this?
I look at Devon. My friend. The only person besides Emma who knows all my secrets. Because what if his father really was threatening me? What if Adrian really did leave to protect me? That doesn't excuse how he did it ghosting me was cruel and cowardly. But what if his intentions were good?
Intentions don't matter. Actions do. Devon sits across from me. He could have told you the truth. Could have fought beside you. Instead, he made the choice for both of you. That's not love, Scarlett. That's control.
You sound like Emma.
Because we're both right.
He probably is right. They probably both are.
But sitting here, remembering the look in Adrian's eyes when he talked about losing me, remembering his tears I can't quite hate him the way I used to.
And that terrifies me.
I'm taking the case, I say. Making the decision out loud makes it real. I'm going to help him end his engagement to Victoria. But I'm also going to make him fall for Scarlett. Make him see that I'm not the weak girl he left behind. I'm stronger now. Better.
And then?
And then I'll decide. When he's in love with me, when he's vulnerable, when he trusts me completely I'll decide if I tell him the truth and give us a second chance, or if I walk away and give him a taste of his own medicine.
Devon is quiet for a long moment. Then: You're playing with fire.
I know.
You could get hurt again. Worse than before.
I know.
And what about Victoria? She's trapped in this engagement too. Does she deserve to be a pawn in your revenge-slash-redemption plan?
I hadn't thought about that. Victoria Ashford. Adrian said they're friends. That she wants out of the engagement as much as he does.
I'll make sure she gets what she wants too, I say. Freedom from her father. Freedom from an engagement she never chose. I can help both of them.
While also seducing one of them and lying about your identity?
It's complicated.
It's a disaster waiting to happen. Devon pulls out his phone. But I'll help you anyway. Because that's what friends do, apparently. Enable each other's terrible decisions.
Despite everything, I smile. Thank you.
Don't thank me yet. Thank me when this doesn't blow up in your face. He opens a notes app. Okay. So what's the actual strategy? How do you help Adrian end his engagement while also making him fall for you?
I think about it. About what Adrian told me. About Victoria being his friend. About Gregory Ashford's power and control.
We need to make it Victoria's choice, I say slowly. If Adrian just breaks up with her, Gregory will destroy him. But if Victoria ends it if she's the one who walks away then Gregory has to accept it to protect his daughter's dignity.
How do we make Victoria want to end it?
We give her a better option. We make her fall in love with someone else. I'm gaining confidence now, seeing the pieces fall into place. Or at least make it look like she's fallen for someone else. An affair. Gregory would have to let her leave Adrian to save face.
That could work. But it requires Victoria's cooperation.
Which means I need to meet with her. Feel her out. See if she's willing to play along.
Devon makes a note. And the part where you make Adrian fall for you?
My stomach flips. That's where it gets complicated. He can't know I'm his breakup strategist turned love interest. That's too obvious. Too convenient. He'd see through it immediately.
So you need a cover story. A reason to be in his life that's not professionally suspicious.
I think back to the meeting. To the way Adrian looked at me. The familiarity he sensed but couldn't place.
He invited me to his penthouse tomorrow night. To discuss strategy in private.
Devon's eyebrows shoot up. His penthouse? Where he
Where he humiliated me three years ago. Yes. The thought makes my stomach hurt. But this time I'm not the naive girl who doesn't belong there. This time I'm a professional consultant. I have a reason to be there. And if things get… personal… it'll seem natural. Organic.
This is such a bad idea.
Probably. I stand, straighten my suit, check my reflection in the window. My makeup is a disaster mascara streaked, eyes red and puffy. I look like I've been crying.
Because I have been.
I need to go home. Clean up. Think about tomorrow night. I grab my bag, the contract Adrian signed, the check for one million dollars. And I need to call Emma. She's going to have opinions about this.
Strong opinions, Devon agrees. Your sister doesn't sugarcoat.
No, she doesn't. Emma is going to tell me I'm being stupid. That I'm confusing closure with second chances. That Adrian doesn't deserve another shot at breaking my heart.
And she'll be right.
But I'm doing this anyway.
Devon walks me to the elevator. Call me tonight. After you talk to Emma. After you've had time to think about whether this is really what you want.
I will.
And Scarlett? He catches my arm before I can step into the elevator. Whatever you decide revenge or redemption or something in between just remember one thing.
What?
You survived losing Adrian Blackwell once. You became someone stronger, smarter, more successful. You built an empire from the ashes of what he destroyed. Devon's eyes are serious. Don't forget that. Don't let him or the memory of who you used to be make you feel small again.
The elevator arrives. I step inside, turn to face Devon.
I won't, I promise.
But as the doors close and I'm alone with my reflection, I'm not sure if that's true.
Because the truth is, seeing Adrian again didn't make me feel strong. It made me feel everything I've spent three years trying not to feel.
Hurt. Angry. Confused.
And something else. Something I don't want to admit even to myself.
Hope.
At home, I shower off the day. Wash away the makeup and the tears and the remnants of Scarlett Monroe's armor. Stand under the hot water until my skin turns pink.
In the mirror afterward, I see both versions of myself. The platinum blonde who runs a million-dollar business. The ghost of brown-haired Lettie underneath.
Who am I really? Scarlett or Lettie? The woman I became or the girl I was?
Maybe I'm both. Maybe that's the point.
My phone rings. Emma. Like she sensed I needed her.
Hey, I answer.
You saw him. It's not a question. Emma always knows.
Yeah.
And?
And everything is more complicated than I thought. I wrap myself in my bathrobe, curl up on my bed. He knows about the baby, Emma. His father kept records. Adrian's been carrying that guilt for six months.
Good. He should feel guilty.
He cried. Right there in my conference room. Cried about losing me.
Emma is quiet for a moment. How do you feel about that?
I don't know. Confused. Angry. Sad. Hopeful. All of it at once.
Hopeful is dangerous, Lettie.
Everyone keeps saying that. They're probably right.
I'm taking his case, I say. I'm going to help him end his engagement. But I'm also going to make him fall for me as Scarlett. See if he can love this version of me.
And then what? You reveal yourself and live happily ever after?
I don't know. Maybe. Or maybe I walk away once he's in love and let him hurt the way I hurt.
Emma sighs. I can't tell you what to do. You're a grown woman who makes her own choices. But Lettie? Be careful. Adrian Blackwell broke you once. Don't give him the power to do it again.
I'm stronger now.
I know you are. Just don't forget it.
We talk for another hour. About the meeting. About my plan. About whether I'm brave or stupid or both.
When we hang up, it's late. Almost midnight. But I can't sleep.
Tomorrow night I'm going to Adrian's penthouse. The place where everything ended.
Maybe it's where everything begins again.
Or maybe it's where I finally get my revenge.
I honestly don't know which one I want more.
My phone buzzes. A text from an unknown number.
My heart stops. Then I realize it's probably Adrian. He has my number from the contract.
I open it.
Ms. Monroe, this is Adrian Blackwell. Thank you again for taking my case. I realize I was quite emotional during our meeting today. I apologize if that was unprofessional. I look forward to working with you. Tomorrow at 8pm? I'll send a car. - AB
I stare at the message for a long time.
Then I type back: Tomorrow at 8pm works. I'll find my own transportation. See you then.
His response is immediate: You don't have to. I'm happy to send
I prefer to drive myself. Thank you.
A pause. Then: Of course. Whatever makes you comfortable. Goodnight, Ms. Monroe.
I set the phone down. Don't respond to the goodnight.
Because there's nothing good about this night. Nothing comfortable about what I'm planning.
Tomorrow I walk back into Adrian Blackwell's penthouse.
And I have no idea who's going to walk back out.