Chapter 1
I used to be Kuciwend's brightest socialite. Born into a family of diplomats, I was the darling of my elders.
My childhood guardian, my diplomat brother, Kevin Sullivan, had always coddled me.
In twenty years of life, I had only ever lost control once, getting tangled up with Jack Lawson, the ruthless, take-no-prisoners patriarch of the Lawson family, for three secret years.
On countless wild nights, he almost consumed me completely, molding me into the perfect expression of desire beneath him.
And yet today, a single hashtag blew up the trending charts: [Shocking! Super Socialite Caught Having Sex in Car with Advanced Positions That Make Hearts Race.]
The accompanying photo was from that night in the car with Jack, just two days ago.
He had lifted my legs, bracing them against the window.
I resisted, but he ignited a fire across my body while whispering soothingly, "Baby, no one can see us out there. Don't be afraid."
Yet in the photo, my legs were so clearly displayed that even the red freckles on my ankles were visible, not to mention the lust etched across my face, unique to my lover.
The shot, skillfully, entirely avoided showing Jack.
Once again, it nailed me to the "bitch" column of public shame.
I had lost count of how many times we'd made love over those three years.
The press swarmed me outside the diplomatic academy, their cameras like rifles aimed at me, while a call from the hospital tore through my panic. My grandmother had been rushed into the ER.
Frenzied, I dialed Kevin and Jack over and over, alternating between them, but the calls wouldn't connect.
By the time I forced my way through the crowd and reached the hospital, doctors had already draped a white sheet over my grandmother.
I collapsed, wailing, clutching my phone showing the trending hashtag, and stormed to the Lawson Building, demanding answers from Jack.
Even before I pushed open the top-floor office door, I could hear voices through the crack.
"Jack is really in love with Ms. Johnson. To pave her way into the Sullivan family, he'd degrade Scarlett like this. Poor girl, still oblivious, making all those calls, waiting for Jack to save her," someone snickered.
"It's only been three years, and yet, the stunning socialite Scarlett has become the city's officially acknowledged slut. Kevin's heartless, letting his darling sister be toyed with by Jack," another voice chimed in.
"Jack, Scarlett's amazing. Can we knock her out and play with her a little? I caught a glimpse three years ago. Her skin was so radiant. Even now, I still remember—" a third voice laughed.
My head rang. I froze, listening as people shredded me with words.
Before the speaker could finish, Jack's boot slammed them to the floor. "If I hear that again, I'll pull your tongue out."
I peered through the crack in the door at him.
The same lips that had gasped "baby" beneath me now delivered words like shards of ice. "Kevin condoned it because I promised to marry Scarlett.
"No matter how tarnished her reputation, no matter how low they try to drag her, she will be my wife.
"But since she said Chloe isn't worthy of entering the Sullivan family, I had all of Kuciwend see who's truly disgraceful."
My knees buckled. I stumbled backward several steps.
My heart ached numbingly, yet I moved forward in a drunken haze, colliding with every obstacle in my path.
No wonder the gossip about me never stopped during those three years with Jack.
Not only was I betrayed by my lover, but even the brother who had adored me since childhood was complicit.
For the sake of his illegitimate daughter Chloe Johnson, these two men, both claiming to love me, had colluded in political and business circles to manufacture a personal hell.
Three years ago, that night, I'd returned from the diplomatic academy only to be dragged by a group of drunken men, stripped, and pressed to the ground.
Jack saved me, taking thirty-three cuts, rescuing me from a dark, sunless alley.
Half a year into our relationship, photos from that alley surfaced online.
Jack held me close, whispering, "Don't worry, baby. I've got this."
Kevin, heartbroken, said, "Don't be afraid, Scarlett. As long as I'm here, no one can touch you."
But the images, along with the vile comments, assailed me for a full three months.
The second time, Jack coaxed me into a nightclub, persuading me to drink cup after cup. The media captured me sprawled drunkenly among several men.
He later claimed he had only stepped into the restroom, yet the world branded me as a woman who enjoyed group indulgence after drinking.
The third time, he brought me to a friend's gathering. I had spent hours getting ready, only for the party to be raided and condemned as a debauched event within thirty minutes.
*****
Countless torrents of filth painted over my identity. Each time, the two men closest to me shed tears of concern.
Yet their methods only grew crueler, calculated. Every step had been designed to crush my reputation and pride.
This time, they even cost my loving grandmother her life.
Was Chloe really so perfect, so irresistible that they couldn't contain themselves, willing to destroy me to clear a path for her?
Jack had ruined me, yet he carried the audacity to claim he would marry me.
Was I really that worthless in his eyes?