It was a young girl, probably eighteen years old, in a white dress, with long straight hair. She was smiling sweetly.
She's like a fairy. Beautiful and innocent. Brianna thought. She was shocked at how alike they looked as well as the unexpected feeling of jealousy she had. She must be Sol.
To divert her thought and feeling, she clicked open the browser, thinking of having a look at the news. To her dismay, pictures and videos of her were all over the front page.
They accused her as a shameless slut; that her mother had a heart attack at finding out what she did, that she had no friends for her notorious reputation, that only those rich old men would use her for pleasure.
Shit! Shit! Brianna cursed angrily. Why the hell did he do that?! Asshole! And I'm trying to forgive him!
Obviously, Liam was determined to bring her down.
Angered and frustrated, Brianna rushed to the bathroom, thinking of asking Scott for help, only to see the door ajar and Scott naked in the shower. The two happened to look right into each other's eyes, and Brianna blushed.
***
She covered her eyes bashfully.
Scott switched off the tap, opened the door wide, and pulled Brianna close to him. He took her hands over her face and said, "Don't you like my naked look, huh?"
Brianna looked into his eyes, her cheeks rosy red, and nodded. She had to admit that she loved his body. He had got the perfect figure any man could dream of.
He nailed her on the wall and looked at her with a playful smile. "Then enjoy it."
Brianna blushed and turned her head aside. Scott grabbed her chin and turned her head to face him. "Tell me, which is your favorite part?"
"I..." Brianna blushed even more.
Scott chuckled. "Ha-ha. I don't think you can take it any more tonight. You've come like three or four times, haven't you?" He teased her proudly as he wrapped the towel around his waist and suddenly carried her in his arms and took her to her room. "Go back to your room and sleep now."
He put her down gently on her bed, and before he got up, he took a look at the corner of her left eye again. He looked disappointed.
After Scott left, Brianna touched her eye, where his gaze had fallen upon and wondered why he had looked at it more than once, and every time, he looked disappointed.
Can he still see the scar of the mole? Brianna wondered. Since her father died in the car accident, Brianna had the mole removed as she was told by a fortune teller that it was ominous. She never really believed in palm readers or fortune tellers, but when her father died, her mother got terribly sick, and the company went bankrupt, Brianna was so desperate
that she walked up to a fortune teller while wandering down the street.
The fortune-teller said the mole would only bring bad luck to herself and the people around her, so she had it removed straight away.
No, I can't let him know. If he finds out that I had a mole, he would probably think that I will bring him bad luck. She thought to herself.
During breakfast the next morning, Brianna tidied up the newspaper that Scott was reading, and she caught sight of a photo of herself. She took a closer look and gasped at what she read.
She was accused of being a copycat and a slut again. Even in the newspaper! Brianna was speechless. This has to stop!
"Scott, look at this. It's ridiculous!" Brianna exclaimed, pointing at the news.
"I'm not interested in entertainment news."
"But it's about me! I'm your wife, well, legally, at least. Aren't you concerned that it will affect your own reputation and the company?"
"Rumors don't last."
"But the thing is that no one believes me now!"
Scott stood up and beckoned Brianna to follow. He won't even help me?! Brianna thought, feeling terribly frustrated
On the way to work, Scott didn't talk to her at all, but busied himself with his laptop, checking
emails.
As soon as Brianna arrived at the company, she could sense how people looked at her with disdain. Some even murmured as they walked past her.
Jodie sent her a message in the morning, saying she trusted her. It was the only bit of support Brianna had received.
Though she had intended to sketch a few designs, she couldn't concentrate at all and felt the least inspired.
During the lunch break, Brianna went to Scott's office, planning to cook lunch for him as usual, but Scott beckoned her over, and Brianna followed him out of the company. "Where are we going?"
"We're having lunch with a client," Scott said plainly.
They went to a French café with a garden near the company. It was one of Brianna's favorite places around. An elegantly dressed lady in her mid-fifties sat by a table in the garden.
"A pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Sally Steep." Scott went over to the lady and extended his hand. Sally put her hand on Scott's palm, and Scott gave it a polite kiss.
They chatted over lunch, and Brianna learned that Sally's husband passed away three years ago.
It was their thirtieth anniversary soon, and their son had gifted her a rare piece of emerald.
She wanted to have it designed as a pendant.
Knowing how much it meant for Sally, Brianna grew nervous. She took a close look at the emerald and was amazed by its beauty, which, however, made her even more nervous.
"Don't worry. We are also in the jewelry business, and we have been planning to cooperate with The Anderson Corporation. I've been told that you are very talented in design, so I thought I would like you to design for me. I'm interested to see what you've got."
"I'm still new to jewelry design, Mrs. Steep. I'm afraid I..." Brianna muttered.
"I want to see your design so I can judge by myself if the rings at the press conference were truly your original design. What do you think?"