After all, my entire plan depends on getting close to Scarlett Evelyn – and getting her to tell the truth about what happened that day.”

“Exactly, that’s what you said.”

Kaiden replied and folded his newspaper with a sharp snap.

“Scarlett Evelyn hasn’t shown her face. Rumor has it that she’s having a nervous breakdown.”

He let out a mocking laugh.

“She might as well have run to the City Guard and confessed the truth.”

“She can’t help it, she must be afraid of Eric Anderson.”

“Are you defending her now, in front of me?”

“I’m not defending her.”

Violet replied darkly.

“I’m just stating the facts.”

“If she was telling the truth, do you really think the City Guard would just sit back and let Eric Anderson hurt her?”

“Of course, they wouldn’t just sit there. But Scarlett Evelyn is only twenty years old. Do you really think she can think clearly after something like this? Of course she would believe that Eric would take revenge. It wouldn’t be easy for her to tell the truth.”

“No matter how you put it, it still sounds like you’re defending Scarlett Evelyn.”

“Or maybe you’re just too smug about all this, Your Grace?”

Violet and Kaiden stared at each other in silence.

A few seconds later, Violet realized she had overreacted and composed herself as she rose from her seat.

“Anyway, I’m relieved to hear that Scarlett Evelyn is safe. Please make sure Eric Anderson doesn’t do anything before I have a chance to meet with her and convince her.”

With that she left the dining room.

Kaiden’s stunned gaze followed her retreat, but he didn’t stop her or say a word.

***

—”I love you, Liv.”

Eric whispered with a gentle smile—the very smile Violet used to love.

—”I love you more than anyone else in the world.”

—”I love you too, I—”

Before Olivia could even finish her answer, Eric’s face twisted horribly.

His once friendly expression changed and he grabbed her neck with both hands.

—”I’ve always hated your smile.”

Madness burned in his eyes, as if she were staring into the face of a demon.

The moment Violet met those green eyes, she snapped out of her dream.

“Hah!”

She gasped for air like someone just coming back from drowning.

Her hands flew to her throat – but Eric’s hands that had choked the life out of her were no longer there.

‘It was just a dream.’

Even after she realized it was a dream, she couldn’t calm down.

The nightmare had been so vivid, it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn’t.

Violet breathed in and out in quick, shallow gasps as she looked around.

The room was so dark at first that she couldn’t make out anything.

It was only after her eyes adjusted to the darkness that she was able to take in her surroundings.

This was her room in the Arendt mansion – Violet Amber’s room.

The moment she recognized it, a wave of relief washed over her and all the tension drained from her body.

But what immediately followed was a wave of bitter anger and self-loathing.

‘I was too careless.’

When she first saw Eric Anderson pretending to grieve at the funeral, Violet was overcome with anger.

So much so that she lost control and foolishly lunged at him, blurting out the whole truth.

But after meeting Kaiden and staying at the Arendt mansion, that anger had faded somewhat.

Her full attention had shifted to adjusting to being Violet Amber and engaging in subtle battles of wits with Kaiden.

But she shouldn’t have.

She shouldn’t have let go of her desire for revenge.

Violet choked back tears and forced herself to remember the past.

Olivia had met Eric Anderson on a spring day when she was eighteen.

She had been looking at flowers in the park with Scarlett when a sudden gust of wind blew her hat off.

Olivia quickly got up and ran after it, trying to catch it-but the wind was relentless, and the hat fell into the lake.

—”Oh no… That was my favorite hat.”
—”I know, right? You really loved that one.”

 Scarlett said as the two of them stood there helplessly.

—”May I help you, my lady?”

A man approached them.

Without hesitation, he stepped into the lake and retrieved Olivia’s hat.

—I”t’s completely soaked. But the water here is clean, so it should be fine once it dries, my lady.”

He handed over the wet, drooping hat with a beaming smile.

His pants were soaked to the thighs, but he didn’t seem to mind.

—”Thank you. You went through so much trouble because of me.”
—”Not at all. It was an honor to be of help to you, my lady.”

The man who had returned Olivia’s hat turned to leave without hesitation.

—”Wait!”

Olivia called to him, stopping him in his tracks. Then she handed him a tissue.

—”Please, use this to dry off.”
—”It looks like it’s hand-embroidered… it’ll get dirty.”
—”That’s okay. You went into the lake to retrieve my hat—what’s a handkerchief getting a little dirty in comparison? Besides, you said the lake water was clean, didn’t you?”
—”Then I’ll gratefully accept it.”

That small exchange led to a longer conversation between Olivia and the man.

She learned that his name was Eric Anderson, and that he had simply been out for a walk with a friend when he happened to see her in trouble.

—”Oh my, the handkerchief’s completely soaked. I’ll have it washed and return it to you.”
—”No, it’s fine. I have plenty of handkerchiefs—you can just keep it.”

As Olivia waved her hand dismissively, the man—Eric—replied with a cheerful smile.

—”But if I return the handkerchief, won’t that give me a reason to see you again, my lady?”
—”Ah…”
—”Then, until we meet again.”

Eric gently kissed the back of Olivia’s hand and disappeared.

Dazed, as if under a spell, Olivia returned to Scarlett.

—”Oh my gosh, Liv! I think Sir Anderson is interested in you!”

Scarlett exclaimed, tapping Olivia’s shoulder excitedly.

—”Sir Anderson? He’s a knight?”
—”You don’t know? He’s famous!”
—”I didn’t know. Is he really that well-known?”
—”Of course! Everyone’s dying just to have a single conversation with him!”

Scarlett then began to list all of Eric Anderson’s good qualities.

Olivia pretended not to be interested, but she listened carefully to everything Scarlett said.

—”I see.”

A few days later, Eric sent a bouquet of flowers to the Grosvenor residence along with the handkerchief.

In the note, he thanked her for lending him the handkerchief and said he hoped to see her again.

After that, whenever Olivia ran into Eric at social gatherings, she often spent time talking to him.

As Scarlett had said, Eric was very popular.

Whenever he appeared at a party, it was clear that the other ladies were eager to approach him – hoping for a conversation or a dance.

And yet, Erik acted as if Olivia were the only one in the room.

He kept a polite distance from everyone else, his gaze fixed only on her.

Olivia liked that about him.

Little by little, the two grew closer and eventually became a couple.

About a year into their relationship, Eric proposed to Olivia and they set their wedding date for the following spring.

She truly believed that everything was going to be perfect.

Until the day she walked in on Eric and her best friend, Scarlett, having an affair.

‘When did it even begin?’

Violet wanted to storm out of the mansion and confront Scarlett.

Whenever Olivia had struggled with her relationship with Eric, Scarlett had acted like it was her own problem — genuinely concerned and offering heartfelt advice.

Both Scarlett and Eric had been kind to each other, but Violet had thought it was all for her sake.

To think that the two of them had actually been involved all along.

Smiling in her face while deceiving her so thoroughly – and now, because of them, she couldn’t even see her family again.

The image of her family at the funeral flashed through her mind and she could no longer hold back her emotions.

Violet curled up on the bed and burst into tears.

She covered her mouth with both hands to keep the sobs from escaping, but the more her emotions surged, the louder her sobs became.

Her hands could no longer muffle them.

No one else would be awake at this hour.

And the room was large enough that her sobs wouldn’t carry outside anyway.

Feeling a small sense of relief, Violet let herself cry quietly.

She didn’t know how long she’d been crying when – suddenly, without even a knock – the door burst open.