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Scarlett’s cheek burned, her ears rang, the metallic tang of blood filling her mouth. Tears streamed down her face.
A flash of satisfaction crossed Anya’s eyes. She quickly embraced Chase’s arm, her voice laced with concern.“Chase, calm down! Violence is never the solution!”
Chase’s eyes blazed with fury, as if he wanted to incinerate Scarlett. He gritted his teeth, spitting out the words, “I can’t believe how cheap you are.”
Scarlett wiped the blood from her lip with the back of her hand, her gaze icy as she met his. She lunged forward, slapping him hard across the face.
Chase’s face twisted. Anya screamed, clutching his
clutching his arm.“Chase, are you alright?” Scarlett asked coldly, “Cheap? You called me to Siren’s Call and sent me to Uri. Now you’re calling me cheap?!”
Anya’s eyes flickered.“How could you hit Chase? No one dares to do that!” The elevator doors opened, revealing a crowd of onlookers, their eyes gleaming with gossip at the three of them.
Scarlett stepped out first, followed by Chase and Anya, whose faces were grim. As they exited the police station, they were swarmed by fans, reporters, paparazzi, and internet celebrities.
“Miss Taylor, how did you get out? Did you really hire someone to hurt Miss Louis?”
“Mr. Miller, two women are fighting over you. One even hired someone to attack the other. How do
you feel now?”
“Mr. Miller, do you prefer Miss Louis or Miss Taylor? They look SO alike!”
“Miss Louis, did Miss Taylor really try to hurt you? Will you press charges, or will you forgive her?”
The three remained silent. Chase was shielding Anya as they pushed through the crowd. Scarlett forged ahead alone.
Suddenly, a rotten egg was smashed into Scarlett’s forehead. Anya’s fans screamed insults.
“Bitch! Whore! Apologize to Anya!”
“You whore! Die!”
“How dare you hurt my idol!”
Anya, looking terrified, shielded herself behind her fans and pleaded, “Scarlett, please don’t be angry! My fans are just worried about me; they didn’t mean to insult you. Take your anger out on me, please don’t hurt them, I beg you…”
Her voice cracked, plaintive and vulnerable. Her fans‘ anger escalated; another rotten egg hit Scarlett. It splattered, inevitably hitting Anya.
eyes
Chase pulled Anya into his arms.“Let’s get out of here!” He glanced at Scarlett, his cold and indifferent.
Another egg hit Scarlett, the stench nauseating. She numbly watched Chase escort Anya through the chaotic crowd, into the waiting car, and drive away.
She felt like a withered leaf in a blizzard, alone and freezing. Luckily, she was in front of the
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police station, the officers quickly dispersed the crowd.
A female officer handed Scarlett a towel, sighing sympathetically.“Here, let me drive you home.” Scarlett accepted the towel, wiping the egg from her face.“Thank you.” In her current state covered in paint and egg
she wouldn’t have found a cab.
The kind officer drove her to the parking lot of Siren’s Call. Once inside her car, the pent–up grief and anguish overwhelmed her. She buried her face in the steering wheel, sobbing uncontrollably.
She’d already decided to leave, prepared herself mentally, but the pain, the injustice, was still too
much for her.
