To the Man Destined to Kill Me - Chapter 27

“Scarlett came by during the day, didn’t she?”

The last person to enter the dining room was John. His wife Amanda had other things to do, so tonight’s dinner was just for the White brothers.

“I heard Hans dragged her out.”

Scott glared at Susan with a mix of blame in his eyes. Susan, without even blinking, kept cutting her meat.

Her mind was already full, feeling sorry and worried about her son who was sick with a fever and her only younger sister.

“How is Isaac?”

Scott answered instead of John.

“He’s the same. I’m thinking about calling someone from Natalia.”

Susan’s short red hair shook every time she cut her meat. Unlike Scarlett’s soft hair, hers was stiff and straight.

She chewed her red-painted lips for a moment, then, just when John picked up his knife, she slammed her fork and knife down.

Then she wiped her mouth and spoke in a cold voice.

“That damn Ashford is staying at Scarlett’s villa with her. I thought it couldn’t be true, but not only are they going to the same school, they’re even living in the same house. Hans saw it with his own eyes. Why don’t you explain what’s going on, Scott White?”

“Oh, are you trying to blame me? Scarlett isn’t a doll. How much more do you want to tie her hands and feet? She has the right to know things and to act on her own. Because she’s an adult now.”

“But she’s an adult who still needs protection. Don’t you know how innocent she is?”

“Scarlett isn’t a little kid. She knows right from wrong. Stop hovering around her like a mother bird. You should learn to respect her first.”

John, who had spent all day arguing with others, pressed his palm against his eyes in exhaustion. Aaron, glancing at John, chewed his meat slowly and swallowed it with a sip of wine. His actions were both rude and elegant, depending on how you looked at it.

“You two look great fighting like this, little brothers. What I want to say is—”

Aaron showed his white teeth as he grinned. With his short hair and threatening air like a mafia member, he looked dangerous, but neither Susan nor Scott cared.

In fact, among the Whites, none of them were mild. Even the gentlest of them was Scarlett.

“The real question is how that half-baked brat got into Iodes. Scott, I told you to keep a close eye on things. And yet you shared information with our youngest and caused all this mess.”

“Cravitz isn’t yours. He’s mine. And we never properly agreed on whether to tell Scarlett or not. If you wanted that, you should’ve made a written contract.”

“Oh, John, did you hear that? This guy wants to document even the smallest thing between brothers. What a cold-hearted man.”

John ignored Aaron’s comment and continued eating calmly, as if used to this sort of thing.

Susan crossed her arms and glared at Scott with clear displeasure. Suddenly, Aaron stabbed his knife into the center of his plate.

A sharp crack ran through the plate with the flower pattern, and it shattered loudly. Aaron’s eyebrow twitched.

“The point is, I made sure that brat couldn’t get any scholarship or donation money. But he still sneaked into Iodes by changing his identity like a rat. Isn’t he a gutsy one? If it weren’t for Ashford, I would’ve liked to teach him and use him myself.”

“Scott. How did you even handle things?”

“I don’t know what you mean. Are you talking about you scamming Julia Ashford so she lost everything she touched? Or you pressuring every bank so she couldn’t get a loan and had to go to loan sharks? Don’t blame me for your mess.”

At Scott’s provoking tone, Susan’s lips twisted.

If Scott looked like an ancient god, his twin Susan looked like an ancient goddess — strong and clear features. She was tall, with an intelligent, cold impression, giving off a very mature air.

Just like her aura, she was never someone to be taken lightly. She was a woman like a rose that bloomed in a swamp, hiding roughness with elegance.

“You mean selling Noah Ashford to a slave ship.”

Scott’s face froze instantly. Susan snorted and smiled faintly.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know? Information doesn’t belong only to Cravitz.”

“Ha ha ha! Scotty, Scotty! You really sold that brat into slavery?”

Aaron laughed loudly, slapping the table, while Scott kept his mouth tightly shut. John continued to eat calmly, and Susan sank into a mix of irritation and worry.

“Get rid of him.”

“You promised Scarlett.”

“Just make up a good excuse. Whether you sell him into slavery or sink him in front of Wifland, do something.”

“Susan. Stay out of it. You’re not helping.”

“And you are? How can Ashford be by Scarlett’s side? Do you even know what kind of people they are? Scarlett is the way she is because of the Ashfords! What’s wrong with your head? How could you let Scarlett not only know about Noah Ashford but also let them live together? Are you out of your mind? If you remembered Mother, you wouldn’t act like this!”

Even while raising her voice, Susan’s pronunciation was sharp. Her green eyes burned with rage, like an erupting volcano.

“Then what do you want? For Scarlett to stay ignorant and live like a puppet until she dies?”

“Watch your mouth! Scarlett will live for a long time!”

“Face reality! She won’t live long. No matter how hard we try, that’s the truth. We need to accept it and think about what’s best for her.”

“Scott White!”

Susan screamed, almost in madness. Aaron banged on the table and stood up, pointing his finger at Scott.

Aaron’s face was flushed, as if all the blood in his body had rushed to his head. He ripped open the top button of his shirt.

“Never, ever…”

Aaron growled through gritted teeth.

“Don’t ever say that in front of me again. Even if you’re my brother, I’ll kill you.”

Through his clenched teeth, the sound of heavy breathing leaked out. It felt like he might flip the table at any moment.

“Aaron.”

John called Aaron’s name calmly. Aaron took deep breaths, then sat back down and ran a hand over his short hair.

“I should go visit Andrew at the seminary this weekend. Damn it! If there’s a God, he won’t take Scarlett away.”

Andrew, who was at the seminary, couldn’t come back to Wifland for a while.

Unlike Aaron, who quickly calmed down, Susan still pressed down her cold anger. Knowing she was being oversensitive, she forced herself to control it. Susan spoke with a sunken voice.

“I’m willing to respect Scarlett’s choices. If she wants to go to Iodes, even though I worry about her health, I’ll let her. I want her to live a normal life too. But there’s one thing I can never accept — she must not get involved with Ashfords. Never. If you won’t act, I will.”

“Susan, it’s Scarlett’s decision where he stays.”

“No, it’s all of ours! If Mother hadn’t gone into early labor, she wouldn’t have suffered so much! You’ll never understand how it feels to close your eyes and leave a child behind.”

Susan was the only one among the siblings who was a mother. She had also lost her husband to death. Susan White, both a mother and daughter, was just an ordinary person hurt by losing her loved ones.

She was trapped in fear — the fear of losing her brother, just like she had lost her husband and her mother before. On top of that, her son was lying sick with a fever right now.

“I will never forgive.”

At that moment, John dropped his spoon onto his plate. The loud noise drew the eyes of Susan, Aaron, and Scott. John calmly drank water and wiped his mouth, as if he hadn’t seen or heard anything.

“Sometimes I wonder. By letting you commit sins in the name of revenge, am I not committing a great sin too? If so, when I fall into hell, I won’t be able to meet Mother. How will we explain the life we lived?”

“Oh, brother. Faithful Andrew will explain everything to the Lord for us.”

“Only cause trouble you can handle.”

After saying that, John stood up and left the dining room. What was left behind was silence — and old wounds that had never healed. In the end, they were all just wounded lambs.

Meanwhile, Noah ran out of the mansion called the villa. He ran and ran. He was running away from Scarlett — from the burning feeling he had for her, and from the scent that clung to her.

Even though it was a chilly autumn night, his whole body burned with heat, and sweat gathered on his forehead and back. Soaked as if he had caught a fever, the place he arrived at was the house where his mother, Julia Ashford, lived.

Standing in front of the crumbling door, he finally realized the difference between himself and Scarlett.

The wealthy Scarlett and the worthless Noah Ashford.

Scarlett, one of the most precious women in the country, and he, who had to abandon even his identity just to survive.

The fact that he could never stand proudly before Scarlett, neither morally nor socially, made him feel even smaller. Their gap turned into a wound that clawed at his heart.

Even if he somehow became successful one day, he would still always be a worthless man in front of Scarlett. His shabby clothes, his shameful position, and above all, the fact that he was the one who had harmed her health.

“Ah…”

Noah sat down against the door in pain.

Ah, Mother. Why did you do this?

Noah fell into despair.

He hid his sobs in the darkness of the night. He hid his tears among the drops of sweat.

Even in this moment of despair, he thought of Scarlett. Her rare bright smile, her snappy way of speaking, the curly hair that used to tickle his cheeks…

Everything about her was vivid. He missed her. He longed for Scarlett. If kneeling before her could erase all his sins, he would have gladly thrown away his only pride, which was almost all he had left.

If he had the right to comfort Scarlett’s tears, if he had the strength to stand proudly beside her, if he could become someone who could sweetly whisper love to her…

Even though all of it was meaningless fantasy, just the lingering thought was so sweet that he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“Scarlett. Scarlett.”

Truly, he loved Scarlett.

Wanting to see her sleeping face again, and fearing that she might beg to live another night, he decided he must go back.

But since he had come all the way to the house, he thought he should at least check on his mother’s face, and gently opened the door.

“Mother. It’s me.”

He cleared his throat and stepped inside. Maybe because the old house had no heating, it felt colder inside than outside. Luckily, Julia had fallen asleep with the fire still burning in the fireplace.

“Mother. Why are you sleeping here?”

Noah shook Julia to move her to a better place. The flickering light from the fire cast a red glow on her face. Noah realized that his mother was sweating a lot.

“Mo…ther?”

Julia’s hand fell weakly to the ground.

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