Chapter 2

Molly dashed over.

With everyone staring in stunned silence, she shrieked at the top of her lungs, "Daddy!"

I waved at Yannis and said, "She is your kid. Five years old."

I stared right back into Yannis's intense eyes, totally unfazed.

I smirked and added, "She's been looking for her dad nonstop. It's not like I could stop her."

The whole place was in chaos.

There were tons of reporters at Yannis's wedding, which was a huge deal in Lunaris. But right now, every single camera was pointed at me.

I had on bold red lipstick, a full face of makeup, and a striking red dress.

I was definitely stealing the spotlight from that innocent-looking bride across the room.

Yannis sat down across from me, holding Molly in his arms.

Molly clung to Yannis, mumbling, "Daddy, Daddy," over and over.

Yannis glared at me with pure hostility.

The wedding was totally derailed. God knows what the media would say tomorrow. Out of nowhere, a random kid popped up, and Naomi was waiting for him to explain himself.

And I was the one who started it all.

Yannis's veins bulged, his face turning stormy. He demanded, "Scarlett, what the hell are you trying to pull? You kept the baby just so you could show up and make a scene like this?"

I looked at him with big, innocent eyes. I said, "How would I know it just so happened to be your wedding day?

"The kid is innocent."

Yannis got even madder, his forehead vein throbbing. "Innocent? Do you even take care of her? You spend all day dolling yourself up, and look—what's she wearing? Rags with holes in 'em?"

My motto? No matter how broke I was, I never let myself go. That was why I was always rocking designer labels.

As for Molly, she was still wearing the old clothes my friends passed down to us.

I just rolled my eyes, not bothered at all. I shot back, "What do you expect? She's not just my responsibility. If her dad won't cough up child support, this is all she gets."

I crossed my legs and shot Yannis a dazzling smile. I said, "I'm here to talk about child support. 200 grand a month, not a penny less. Otherwise, you can take her and do the parenting yourself."

Naomi couldn't hold back anymore. She chimed in, "She's still your kid."

I took a slow drag from my cigarette and let the smoke curl out. I said, "Spare me the guilt trip."

Of course, Naomi had to play the perfect 'sweet and gentle' female lead. She turned to Yannis and said, "Why don't you just bring Molly home? Seeing your kid treated so poorly really gets to me. Poor thing. I swear, from now on, I'll treat her like my own."

I said, "If you want to take care of her, go ahead. And hey, I've put up with a lot all these years, even if I didn't get much credit. Wire me 2 million, and she's all yours."

2 million was nothing to Yannis these days.

The way I shrugged off any responsibility for Molly completely set Yannis off.

Yannis's voice was tight, like he was gritting his teeth. He said, "You're smoking right in front of her? Can't you show a little restraint around a kid this young? Molly, let's go."

As they were heading out, I shouted after them, "Hey! Don't forget to send me the 2 million!"

Molly silently sobbed in Yannis's arms.

I turned away, not sparing her a single glance.

The bullet comments were going wild in front of me, total chaos.

One read: [Why does Scarlett look even more dazzling than Naomi?]

Another comment read: [Seriously. While Naomi was slogging it out with Yannis through all his tough times, Scarlett was chilling on some overseas island, not a hint of that 9-to-5 grind. No wonder she's glowing.]

One comment read: [Scarlett is savage, but she's living easy. Raising that kid totally paid off. Now she's raking in the cash.

[But it's cool. Naomi is about to get adopted by a coal tycoon and become a legit rich girl. No way Scarlett can outshine her in the end.]

After all these years, I realized my whole life was like a storybook, and those live comments were just the readers chiming in as they went.

Whenever they started chatting, they couldn't help but spoil what was coming up next. It was like they were always giving away the plot.

If Naomi could get adopted by a coal tycoon, why not me?

After all, Yannis, the male lead, was my ex, the one I tossed aside without a second thought.

And her second lead? He was the rich guy I was living it up with overseas.

I hadn't had a single rough day in my life, all thanks to them.