Filed to story: When His Wife Can’t Forgive
Jaida’s voice carried a note of concern.
“She’s just stepping into adulthood, still blind to the world’s darker corners. Since you’re there, please watch over her and ensure no harm comes her way.”
Kenji was displeased.
“You said she’s an adult now, so why does she need a guardian?”
“Kenji, as a man, protecting a woman falls under your duties,” Jaida began, but before she could finish, the phone was wrestled from her grasp.
Ellis’ authoritative voice cut through the line.
“Are you dismissing your mother’s wishes now? If anything happens to Scarlette, you’ll answer to me personally.”
The call had barely ended when Kenji’s attention snapped to Scarlette, who was accepting a drink from a charming stranger with her characteristic bright-eyed trust. How utterly naive. Did she have any idea who she was dealing with?
His features hardening into a mask of disapproval, Kenji rose and strode purposefully toward Scarlette.
Scarlette had just wrapped up a pleasant conversation with the charming man and was raising the glass to her lips when a hand suddenly clamped over her mouth.
Her eyes widened with shock as she whirled around to face the intruder. The moment she recognized Kenji, her expression twisted with revulsion.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Frantically searching for a napkin, Scarlette finally resorted to wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, her disgust evident in every movement.
Unmoved by her display of revulsion, Kenji smoothly confiscated the glass from her grip and maneuvered her away from her would-be companion.
The charming man’s confident demeanor cracked upon recognizing Kenji.
“Ah, Kenji… What a surprise to see you here,” he managed with a nervous chuckle.
Kenji’s jaw tightened as he recognized one of the area’s most notorious womanizers.
“Why don’t you find someone else to drink with?” His voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.
“Perhaps I could join you instead?”
The charming man’s survival instincts kicked in, and with a forced laugh, he made himself scarce.
“What’s with that look?” Scarlette bristled, her voice sharp with indignation.
Kenji gazed down at her, taking in her defiant expression.
“No more pretending now that the elders aren’t around?” The contrast between her earlier saccharine greetings and her current snarling demeanor wasn’t lost on him.
Scarlette let out an exasperated huff and made a grab for her drink.
Kenji easily kept it out of reach.
“This isn’t your scene. I’ll have a driver take you back to the hotel-you can occupy yourself with your puzzle games there.”
“Since when do you get to dictate my choices?” Scarlette fired back.
“I’m legally an adult. The bouncers didn’t stop me. What gives you the right?”
Kenji’s gaze deliberately dropped to her chest, followed by a contemptuous click of his tongue.
Humiliation burned through her, and Scarlette retaliated by dropping her gaze to his crotch and clicking her tongue twice in response.
The neon lights beckoned Scarlette forward-she had traversed the city’s expanse, and damn if she wouldn’t savor every moment.
Protected by the shield of her bodyguards at the entrance and her influential parents lounging in their five-star suite, Scarlette felt invincible. Any mayhem she stirred would ripple away like leaving her untouched by consequence. Each time Kenji urged her departure, her resolve crystallized further.
With the confidence of a lioness, Scarlette toyed with her collar, letting it slip just enough to tease, and sashayed toward the pulsing crowd.
Kenji clamped his jaw shut, the word “reckless” burning on his tongue like a hot coal. If not for his parents’ ironclad instructions, he’d have vanished into the night without a backward glance.
The VIP booth awaited Scarlette’s arrival.
Kenji melted into the seat beside her, his posture a study of calculated indifference as he crossed his legs.
Scarlette’s smile crumbled.
“Why are you hovering like a shadow? Have you fallen for me?”
Kenji’s response was silence carved in stone. His eyes flicked to his watch with military precision.
“Be back with me by eleven.”
“I won’t.”
“Then your father will be my next call.”
Scarlette scoffed.
“Be my guest.”
“Oh? Has your mother’s influence lost its sting too?”
Scarlette’s fingers betrayed her, scrambling to secure her neckline up to her collarbone.
Contempt danced in Kenji’s smirk.
“Though there’s precious little worth concealing, is there?”
Fury blazed across Scarlette’s face. Lacking verbal ammunition for a worthy comeback, she launched a physical assault on his foot instead. Kenji remained unmoved as marble.
“Your strength matches a child’s.”
“You’re becoming insufferable by the second. Just zip it!” Scarlette snapped.
“Fascinating! Your distaste for me runs deep.”
Amusement colored Kenji’s voice.
“Could it be because, while your admirers formed a parade, I refused to join the procession?”
“Precisely!” Scarlette bristled.
“You were blind to quality. No wonder you’re destined for solitude-who could stomach someone as irritating as you?”
“Your affection would be more terrifying than universal rejection,” Kenji countered.
Scarlette’s eyes performed an eloquent roll.
The atmosphere shifted as a performer claimed the spotlight.
Scarlette’s features transformed with delight. What had started as an aimless evening took a sharp turn when Zayden Castillo’s promotional poster caught her eye at the entrance, drawing her into the pulsing heart of the bar.
Kenji studied the performer with a critical eye. Though the face meant nothing to him, he noted the man’s aesthetic appeal and the swooning admirers scattered throughout the crowd.
“Isn’t he a feast for the eyes?” Scarlette prodded.
“Just another kept man,” Kenji replied with surgical precision.
“Clever observation. Yes, he’s mine. A mere fifty thousand a month keeps him content-practically a bargain,” she preened.
To Kenji, having been engaged to a spoiled daughter like Scarlette remained a stain in his memory, one he’d rather forget. But watching her throw away their engagement for such a man struck a nerve he didn’t know still existed.
After the final notes faded, Zayden checked his phone and offered the crowd an apologetic smile as he prepared to slip away.
“Zayden!” Scarlette’s voice barely pierced through the wall of sound.
The cacophony swallowed her call whole, and Zayden vanished around a corner without a backward glance.
Scarlette trailed after Zayden through the labyrinth of corridors, but the unfamiliar territory left her turning in circles.
It was Kenji who finally spotted Zayden. Kenji stood at the corner, watching ahead with calculated indifference.
“Your kept man is over here.”
Scarlette crept toward the dimly lit alcove, confusion lacing her words.
“Why would he be…?”
The words died in her throat as the scene before her registered. There was Zayden, her boyfriend, locked in a passionate embrace with a voluptuous woman, their kiss so desperate that it seemed they might consume each other whole.
Scarlette stood paralyzed, having never witnessed such raw intimacy. Kenji glanced at her, his voice dropping to a theatrical whisper.
“I’m a bit nearsighted. Can you describe what they’re doing?”
Reality slammed into Scarlette like a physical blow, her body trembling with a toxic cocktail of rage and humiliation at both Zayden’s betrayal and Kenji’s mockery.
Scarlette was furious. How many thousands had slipped through her fingers for Zayden’s pretty face? The sum was dizzying. She’d handed over whatever he’d desired without a second thought, and here he was, brazenly betraying her mere feet away. The indignity scorched through her veins.
Kenji watched her chest heave with barely contained fury and attempted damage control.
“Let’s go. Staying here would be inappropriate.”
Scarlette turned to him, her eyes burning with dangerous intent. Kenji raised an eyebrow, unaware he was about to become collateral damage.
“What? Should I summon the authorities?”