Free Web NovelChapter 152: Spend the night (3)
"You are always being watched, Scarlet."
"That doesn’t mean the little spies can go back to speak of what they saw. This is all my family land and men are walking around to protect it. Anyone caught sneaking around will be questioned and placed in a good place if they seem dangerous," said Scarlet.
"Leave it to you to be this way," Ian said, no longer worried.
"I can’t take credit for it. My father was this way and my grandfather. The estate has always been well protected. I know that Jack has been watching me. He must be fuming because he’s missing a few spies," Scarlet laughed.
How could someone be so foolish to be watching her and keep passing by the front gates? There wasn’t much to see around here other than the estate so it was obvious what they were doing.
"I have them in my dungeon but I don’t know what to do with them yet. I don’t need the town guards bothering me. Luke would do what he could to get me thrown into some cell. If not for Dorothy, I would put Jack in a cell," Scarlet said.
Most of her troubles would go away if she did that.
"Dorothy must have been extremely nice for you to have spared her son and tell her about Beth," Ian noted.
"She was. She didn’t cuddle Jack and make excuses for him. Most importantly like my parents, she didn’t try to meddle. Would it bother you if I continued to meet with her from time to time? She was also good friends with my mother at one point," Scarlet said, wanting to hear his thoughts.
"Who am I to stop you from meeting with someone you knew before me? As long as she isn’t saying a good word for her son, then I certainly have no problem with it," Ian replied, honestly.
"Dorothy has made it quite clear that I should not get back with Jack. She would be disappointed if I were to do so. I feel sorry for her because she feels that despite her best efforts, Jack has turned out to be like his father. I think aside from having their family business do well, she wanted to raise a good son," Scarlet explained.
"Now that we are at this point, can you please tell me how you came to marry Jack? It certainly wasn’t arranged," Ian said, failing to believe that Leonard allowed her to be set up with Jack.
"I did love him at one point. We both had businesses to take over in the future and back then, I enjoyed having someone who understood the nervousness. We saw each other often at parties and he courted me. It wasn’t bad then. I would never criticise the man that he was then," Scarlet replied, thinking back to the past.
Back then, Jack was the best among the men who courted her. He had been eager to take after his father and Scarlet enjoyed hearing his plans.
"After we wed, the comparison came and he wanted me to dim my light so he could shine. I could not do that as I had a lot to prove. I wanted him to stand beside me but he wanted to be in front."
"I still place part of the blame for the marriage ending on me. I can get lost in work at times so I will try to change that and accept your gifts without questioning it. There is a lot that I need to change," Scarlet admitted.
"Do not change too much because I enjoy the way that you are now. Don’t try to change to the woman that you think I would like-"
"Why in this world would I do that? That sounds like a headache," Scarlet interjected. "Should you exit my life, would I have to be that way with another man?"
As he said earlier, Ian kissed her for saying something he considered to be foolish. "What other man?" Ian asked, his jealousy showing. "You cannot get rid of me now."
"Do not doubt my ability to make anyone disappear," Scarlet joked. "I was only saying that there are some flaws I need to fix but I am not changing who I am. No need to get so concerned. It is only working less and accepting gifts that I am working on."
"And why can’t you accept gifts?" Ian asked, playing with her hair which had suddenly become interesting.
"Because most times the person offering is only doing it to get something in return. I asked to leave school and be taught at home once because I knew the other students were only trying to get close because of my last name. It didn’t help being connected to the Callahans and Castros. I cannot trust everyone who comes near," Scarlet said.
As a result, her friends mainly consisted of her relatives or families who had been close to her family over the years. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
"So, you didn’t trust me when met the first few times?" Ian asked.
"I thought I made that very clear from the beginning. Why should I trust a man who no one has seen for years?" Scarlet replied.
"You made a contract with me quite early," Ian reminded Scarlet.
"By then, I wasn’t that concerned about you and the contract was there because I needed to ensure something else would keep your mouth shut. I did enjoy that when we met you said you understood what it was like to have the town focused on you," Scarlet confessed, looking up at Ian.
"Outside of my parents, it felt like everyone else was interested in picking apart my divorce. You, on the other hand, spoke of what the town was doing. You were still a cheeky flirty bastard- Oh," she regretted her choice of words. "I’m sorry."
"For what? Calling me a bastard? I’ve heard that word plenty in my life and even used it to describe myself here and there," Ian replied, not feeling hurt that she used it. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"Still, I should refrain from using it. If anyone is a bastard, it is your father for not protecting you enough and taking care of his responsibility. I don’t understand how this town shifts blame. You were constantly reminded of your birth while your father wasn’t called a cheater," Scarlet said, finding Lockwood to be a backward place.
"And what of your mother?" Scarlet questioned as she had not heard much about the woman. Was she present in Ian’s life?
Ian shrugged his shoulders. "She is off somewhere enjoying her life or perhaps, close for my father to see her. They believed they were in love yet he placed her in a small cottage. When I ran away, I didn’t tell her where I was going. I have not searched for her. I do not care for her."
His mother was more interested in getting the lord’s attention than caring for her son. Ian always thought that she was waiting for when she would get to enter the Kingsley family.
"She used to serve him tea. I knew that when she was called from the cottage to serve tea, she was going to sleep with him. Leave me in the cottage alone, but thankfully Noelle would stay. Layla made all the effort to send me far away and my mother made all the effort to push me into a family that did not care for me," Ian said, sharing something he ignored for years.
"She might enjoy that I have money of my own and my father is trying to get me to follow him. Should she come before me now, I shall treat her as a stranger."
