A few hundred bucks, not much.
But it was obvious this guy was just trying to ss with her on purpose.
Julian Ford had a long track record with this kind of thing.
Scarlett Shaw didn’t feel a single ripple inside—not even a little. In fact, she almost wanted to laugh. Without a second thought, she transferred the money to Aaron Carson.
Aaron: "You have to pay President Ford back in person."
Scarlett: "So I can get humiliated by him again?"
Aaron looked awkward.
Skyler Miller got in line early for security, watching Scarlett and Aaron chatting from afar. The air seed sweet, pink bubbles popping everywhere—she couldn’t help but get that goofy, fond auntie smile.
When Scarlett approached Skyler, she looked up and caught that smile, imdiately thinking it was weird.
She asked, "Skyler, what are you grinning about?"
Skyler: "Looks like our good girl’s about to get lucky in love~"
Scarlett didn’t get it, and she really wasn’t in the mood for gossip anyway. She just wanted to get on the plane, pass out and sleep, then go back ho and turn into a money-making, emotionally bankrupt machine.
But one thing Scarlett hadn’t expected—she actually bumped into Jasper Spencer at the boarding gate.
It only hit her then, rembering his sports car that she’d left parked at the hotel. She dug the keys out of her pocket and handed them over, apologizing, "Thanks for lending your car last night."
Jasper nodded and took the key.
"That car of yours drives pretty great."
Scarlett gave a heartfelt complint, then casually told him the hotel’s na and that it was parked at the lot there.
"I’ll have soone pick it up, don’t worry."
Jasper’s vibe today was totally chill—casual clothes, still good-looking as always, but he seed a little deflated and low on energy.
The way Scarlett talked to him was always about hitting where it hurt. She asked, "You ran into another wall with Zoe Sutton, didn’t you?"
Jasper gave her a helpless look, rubbed his brow in annoyance, and said, "Your bestie Yana suddenly told her family she’s calling off the arranged date with . Now my family trashed , and who knows what kind of storm is waiting for when I get back."
He had a strong premonition: his professional racing career was probably over.
Scarlett’s eyes lit up when she heard that, "Yana did good!"
Jasper’s face darkened, "She’s about to get killed—what’s so good about that?"
"Other people chase their first love, at least they had her once and regret it after. But you? Addicted to being a doormat, followed her all the way abroad for her wedding, and any halfway normal person would’ve slapped you awake twice by now. Yana’s already giving you plenty of dignity."
Scarlett snorted lightly.
"From what I know about Yana, not ruining your reputation is already her being rciful."
Jasper looked totally unimpressed. "The whole thing was my family’s forced arrangent anyway. Like she has any say."
"Exactly. So just let it go, then." Scarlett was starting to get annoyed at Jasper again. "You can’t handle your own family drama, so you bla Yana?"
She’d just gone through last night’s ss with Julian, and now hearing Jasper complain about her bestie, she was really in no mood. She kept going:
"You n are all experts at shifting bla onto won. Every problem is sohow a woman’s fault, and you’re never the one to bla—right?"
Jasper: "..."
He actually... didn’t know how to argue back for a mont.
Scarlett and Jasper were sparring right there, the conversation "fast and furious." They had no idea Julian Ford was watching from a distance, catching every nuance—the eye contact, the lively expressions, the easy, harmonious vibe.
Aaron barely dared to breathe, quietly reminding, "President Ford, we can board now."
Julian Ford strode onto the jet bridge.
That frosty look on his face? Couldn’t be more obvious.
Even Aaron, trailing behind, felt like he could hardly breathe.
Still, painful as it was, Aaron had been with Julian Ford for years. Being a sharp observer, he’d learned to read the boss’s moods—and now he more or less got it.
Last night, one of them had cried like a lost child, heartbroken and miserable, while the other stord around all icy, personally bringing her bag back. And after all that, he didn’t just fail—he got his hand hurt, too.
A tangled ss of love and resentnt, no doubt.
But not even a day later, the sa one who was crying her heart out—is now laughing it up with her ex’s sworn enemy.
Of course the boss would look pissed.
As for exactly why Julian Ford would kick soone out after kissing them, only to later hate seeing them happy—Aaron had no idea.
And wouldn’t dare guess, either.
Still, his hunch was more or less on the money.
At this very mont, Julian Ford was in a spectacularly foul mood.
Just the night before, Scarlett had crouched in front of him with a look that was both burning and cautious, her black and white eyes full of pure sincerity as she told him she liked him.
Then she was left standing all alone by the street, cold wind whipping by, eyes red, stubborn as a mule, looking like she’d been grievously wronged.
So pitiful it made your heart ache for her.
And now?
Not even twenty-four hours had passed, and she could already goof off, joke, and flirt shalessly with Jasper—like nothing ever happened, rosy cheeks and all.
The more he thought about it, the colder Julian Ford’s expression got. And he beca even more convinced about the conclusion he’d reached about Scarlett before.
Her affection was worthless.
Scarlett, who had no idea that Julian Ford was so maliciously misunderstanding her, would feel totally wronged if she heard his take on her "rosy cheeks and perky mood."
She’d woken up with puffy eyes after bawling all night. The bags under her eyes could compete with a panda.
She’d spent nearly an hour on her base makeup, just barely covering the haggardness.
Add a pop of lipstick for color—and of course she looked halfway alive again.
But to a certain soone, that just beca more "evidence" of her being fake.
At least, Scarlett, blissfully unaware, couldn’t hear soone’s petty, venomous assumptions right now.
From the jet bridge to boarding, Scarlett kept debating with Jasper about n’s tendency to dodge bla.
The two of them, one behind the other, honestly looked pretty good together.
They passed right by first class, not even noticing Julian Ford already in his seat.
Soone from behind—maybe in a rush, maybe just tall and not watching out—accidentally bumped Scarlett from behind. The aisle was narrow, and she lost her balance for a sec, stumbling slightly.
Jasper was quick and caught her, all gentlemanly.
Scarlett thanked him, sincerely.
Neither of them noticed Julian Ford, sitting nearby, who’d started to reach out—then dropped his hand.
Scarlett only noticed the familiar cold aura from her right side. She instinctively turned and locked eyes with Julian’s chilly, dark gaze.
Almost instantly, Scarlett looked away.
Falling in love is always weird and illogical.
Even though, just the night before, this man had said those heartless, cold words to her, buried in the noise and crowd, the mont she spotted him, Scarlett’s heart still thudded hard, yet felt a strange, steady calm.
Yeah, turns out the best way not to fall for soone is to avoid looking, listening, thinking—all of it.
But from Julian Ford’s perspective, all he saw was Scarlett’s quick glance and her speed-walking away to economy class, face expressionless—as if he was so sort of monster she had to flee from.
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