CH 21

21 – Long Time No See

While muttering, they were not fools, and muttering Scarlett was the fool. They mumbled incomprehensibly into her clothes. Scarlett laughed. 

The drivers looked at her with worry.

After soothing the children, Scarlett took her dress from the sack and put it back on.

It took a while to get changed, as she had deliberately worn lace gloves and even a bonnet to avoid looking like a repairer.

Meanwhile, the drivers chatted to forget their fear.

“Who was that naval officer earlier? If it weren’t for that officer, we would surely have been in strife.”

“When they came, the police cleared the warehouse.”

The voices were still shaken with fear.

Meanwhile, Mr Powell’s wife, Amanda, arrived to help with the change of clothes.

“Madam, are you okay?”

“I’m okay.”

“Come on, go home. I brought tea here, so please drink.”

As Scarlett greeted her with a smile and took a sip of tea, Amanda loudly grumbled to everyone listening.

“Why are you calling on such a fragile young lady because you can’t fix this one thing?”

“I’m really fine. The tea is delicious.”

Whether she felt appeased or not, Amanda still pointed accusingly at the drivers.

Amanda wiped her face while Scarlett drank the tea, and the other drivers lit a brazier and placed it in front of her.

Soon after Scarlett calmed down, she dissuaded the drivers and went back to the store. But not before patting the siblings whose eyes were swollen from their crying.

Andrei, who had been waiting for her to come in so he could leave work, complained. As soon as he saw Scarlett’s face, he closed his briefcase.

“What were you doing up till now? I can’t go home from work.”

“Why didn’t you go first? I’m sorry.”

“Do you know what other dangerous things you are doing?”

Andrei grunted as he grabbed her bag, and hurried away, embarrassed that he couldn’t get off work because he was worried about her. 

Scarlett was grateful to Andrei and laughed at the same time. She relaxed a little.

In the fireplace, firewood burned. After locking the door, Scarlett sat on the sofa to warm herself.

When she looked at the table, she saw Andrei had bought her soup and salmon fried in butter.

“Looks delicious.”

Andrei was cynical, but he was also the one who knew Scarlett best and cared for her.

She had a late dinner after warming her soup and salmon on a griddle hanging from the fireplace.

After alleviating her uneasiness with the meal, she soaked in the steaming bathtub for a while. As her body relaxed, Viktor’s gaze as he looked down at her kept coming to mind. She thought she might run into him again, but she didn’t think today would be that day.

“I owe you today...”

As she murmured, she heard a knock on the door.

Startled, Scarlett quickly dried herself and hastily threw on her dress. She walked to the glass wall and opened the curtains.

Immediately, her body stiffened.

Parked outside was a carriage with the naval emblem upon it. Standing directly in front of it was her ex-husband, Viktor. He wasn’t alone, but a few of his men also accompanied him.

The Rubied here comprised the special forces of the navy. They were selected from amongst the elite of the military academy.

Dressed in black coats and uniforms, they boasted a superior lineage and physique.

She closed the curtains and pretended not to be there when she heard a groan.

Startled by the sound, Scarlett opened the curtains once again to see Viktor looking down at a masked man on his knees.

He turned towards her as he smoked a cigarette, and then his eyes met Scarlett’s.

His lips moved, commanding her to ‘open’ the door.

His appearance at work and home would inevitably be different, but Viktor had a tremendous sense of disparity. She had lived with him for two years, and the Viktor seen now was ferocious enough to overthrow her thoughts on the Viktor Dumfelt she knew.

She immediately opened the door. Viktor took another pull from his cigarette, threw it on the ground, and entered her shop.

Scarlett unconsciously drew her hands together defensively and took a step back. She pressed them against her chest under her chin.

She knew that Viktor had approached right in front of her and was gazing down at her, but she could not raise her head willingly. The scent of the blood from the masked man kneeling outside permeated.

“That person… Who is he?”

She asked in a trembling voice as Viktor took off his black leather gloves one by one.

“Long time no see.”