To the Man Destined to Kill Me - Chapter 70

Young Scarlett looked out the window at the sky and suddenly had a thought.

Maybe even the clouds couldn’t survive this season when not a single leaf was left on the trees. If that was true, could she survive this season? Thinking about it made the bitter medicine she had to take at every meal feel meaningless.

“Carly, are you awake?”

Aaron, who was on Friday duty, knocked on her door.

Her siblings, who were all busy with their lives, took turns taking care of their youngest sister according to a set schedule. That meant Scarlett got to see her siblings at least five days a week.

“It’s late. It’s already eleven o’clock.”

Scarlett, who had been reading The Great Adventure of Hero Finn, glared sharply at Aaron. But since she was only ten years old, her glare just looked cute to him.

Still, Aaron knew well that pretending not to be scared would only make his little sister angrier. So he acted scared as he approached her.

“I came to call you for lunch!”

“It’s only been three hours since breakfast.”

“It’s breakfast for me!”

“That’s because you woke up too late. Ugh, you smell like alcohol. What time did you come home last night?”

“I came home early. Really early.”

“I stayed awake until eight o’clock! You weren’t back then either.”

For young Scarlett, eight o’clock felt late, but for Aaron, it was just when the fun was starting. Aaron widened his eyes and pretended to be shocked.

“Until eight o’clock? I came home at eight-thirty! That’s probably why you didn’t see me.”

“Liar.”

Aaron couldn’t tell her that he had actually come home at eight in the morning. He gently touched the ends of her hair and asked,

“Aren’t you bored?”

“I am.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I want to go outside and run around. I want to swim, do tumbles like Andrew, and play badminton too.”

“Oh, Carly.”

His little sister had an active personality. That’s why she struggled so much with being trapped in a body that couldn’t move freely.

“I know. I’m just saying I want to, not that I will. More than that, I want to see flowers.”

“Flowers? What kind?”

“Just flowers. Not any special kind, just any flower. Even green leaves are fine.”

“Sounds like you want to go to the botanical garden.”

“Botanical garden? Maybe.”

“Then should I get you a botanical garden for your birthday present?”

At Aaron’s silly words, Scarlett let out a deep sigh. Even a child like her could tell how ridiculous that sounded.

“Aaron, you already got my birthday present. Don’t you remember the party this afternoon?”

“Come on. I can still buy a botanical garden before then.”

“I mean, you don’t need to.”

“Little one, save the grown-up talk for when you’re older.”

“Aah! Aaron!”

Scarlett screamed as Aaron messed up her hair. Aaron laughed and pulled his hand away.

“Aren’t you curious about your birthday present?”

“I am.”

“Whose present are you looking forward to the most?”

“John’s!”

“What? Not mine?”

Aaron pretended to wipe away tears, and Scarlett patted his broad back with an apologetic face.

“I’m curious about your gift too. It’s the second one I’m most curious about.”

“Really? You’ll be happy. My gift is amazing this time.”

“What is it? Tell me!”

“It’s a secret.”

“Hmph.”

Scarlett pouted and glared at him. Aaron scooped her up in his arms.

“Come on, let’s go eat lunch.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You have to eat to take your medicine.”

“I hate medicine. It’s bitter and gross. Aaron, I want to go out. Let’s go outside, please?”

“No. If you catch a cold, it’ll be bad.”

“But I’m bored! Let’s go to the botanical garden. Aaron, let’s go to the botanical garden for my birthday present, please?”

Scarlett often begged, but when she pleaded like this on her birthday, it was different.

Knowing that Aaron was starting to waver, she begged even harder. In the end, he gave in after just ten minutes.

“Okay. But don’t tell anyone else.”

“Okay!”

Aaron wrapped Scarlett up in so many layers that she could barely move. She wore layers of clothes and a scarf wrapped tightly around her, with only her eyes peeking out.

“I feel stuffy.”

“Bear with it. If you get sick, you’ll have to go back to the hospital. You don’t want that, right?”

“No. I’ll try to bear it.”

The carriage sped toward the botanical garden. When the cold air touched her delicate skin, Scarlett could feel that it was truly winter. The White Mansion was always kept at a steady temperature for her sake, so she could only sense the seasons by the changes outside the window.

“Let’s go!”

Aaron picked up the bundled-up Scarlett in his arms. Even though she was ten years old, she was so small she could easily pass for a nine-year-old.

Inside the botanical garden, it was as warm as spring. Scarlett walked around, sweating a little as she looked at the flowers and trees. There were many flowers she had never seen before.

There were trees with orange trunks and even plants that ate flies. Scarlett widened her eyes and looked around carefully.

“Aaron! Look at that!”

She tugged on Aaron’s hand and pointed. Aaron, still tired from drinking until morning, yawned and pretended to be surprised.

“Mom! Dad! Look at that!”

It was a voice from another child nearby. Scarlett instinctively turned her head. She didn’t have many chances to make friends her age, and the words ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ stirred something inside her.

“Oh.”

The girl was holding both her parents’ hands. She giggled and clung to them. Scarlett’s eyes shimmered with envy.

Scarlett looked up at Aaron’s rough hand. It was a brother’s hand, not a father’s. That’s why she couldn’t call him ‘Dad.’ Holding Aaron’s hand, she said,

“Let’s go home now. I’ve seen enough.”

“Already? Okay, let’s go.”

Aaron, who was eager to lie down and rest, quickly picked her up and left the botanical garden.

That evening, Scarlett’s birthday party was held. It was a small family gathering, but since everyone was always so busy, just having all the siblings together was special.

“Happy tenth birthday.”

Susan kissed Scarlett’s cheek.

The first to give her a present was Susan’s husband, Chris Brown. His gift was a music box that played a piano piece he had recorded himself. Scarlett touched the dancing ballerina with fascination and thanked Chris.

Scott gave her the giant rabbit doll she had wanted, Susan gave her a princess dress, and Aaron proudly told her he had installed a handmade swing in the garden. Andrew, who was busy with school, sent a letter and a bouquet of flowers through someone else. And John…

“Thank you, John.”

John’s gift was a glass ornament that Scarlett had once admired in passing when she was alone with Amanda.

John didn’t have that much sense on his own. Even at her young age, Scarlett realized John had forgotten about the present, and Amanda had prepared it for him in advance.

Still, she pretended not to know. Because it was John. But she couldn’t help feeling a little sulky. When Scarlett kept pouting, Susan asked,

“Don’t you like the presents?”

“No… that’s not it.”

“Are you feeling sick?”

“No…”

“Then what is it?”

“…”

“Carly, don’t hold back. You can tell us. It’s okay.”

“…I want a mom and dad.”

At her words, her siblings fell silent. They all stared at her, blinking blankly.

“I don’t need any presents. I just want a mom and dad.”

“Oh, Carly…”

Susan pulled Scarlett into a tight hug. Scarlett, with a gloomy face, felt Susan patting her back gently.

When she was even younger, she had once asked her siblings,

‘Can’t John be my dad?’

John had refused right away. Scarlett had sulked and not spoken to him for a week.

But now she understood. Siblings were just siblings. Her wish was something that could never come true.

However, the next day, her wish did come true.

“Only for today.”

Amanda sternly fixed Scarlett’s scarf.

“Okay! We’ll play ‘Mom and Dad’ just for today!”

Scarlett was so happy she bounced in place. Amanda, worried, tried to calm her down, but Scarlett clung to her, rubbing her face against her.

Amanda and John had been dating even before Scarlett was born, so Amanda was like a faraway big sister to her.

“Are you that happy?”

“Yes! So happy!”

In the carriage heading to the botanical garden, Scarlett sat between Amanda and John, swinging her legs excitedly. She didn’t notice what kind of expression John had.

She was just so thrilled to finally have a mom and dad that she couldn’t sit still, shaking her shoulders and bouncing up and down.

Though it was the same botanical garden as yesterday, it felt completely new. Was it because she came with her mom and dad? Holding their hands, Scarlett squirmed shyly.

Today, she had parents with her. She proudly walked inside. She looked at the fly-eating plant and the rare flowers from the Eastern Continent.

She had seen them all before, but they barely caught her eye. What mattered was that she was with her ‘mom and dad.’ It made her feel like she was flying.

She flashed a proud smile at the children nearby. While John and Amanda watched from a bench, Scarlett turned to a girl and said proudly,

“Those people over there are my mom and dad.”

“Really? Your parents look so young!”

“Yeah! Because…”

Because they’re actually my brother and his girlfriend!

But she couldn’t say it. The realization struck her like lightning: siblings could never truly be parents.

John and Amanda were much too young to be parents. They were only seventeen years older than Scarlett. They could act like parents, but they couldn’t really be her parents.

“Huh? Are you crying?”

“No! I’m not crying!”

Scarlett yelled back, sniffing and holding back her tears. She was so sad she didn’t have real parents. Sad that she never would.

“It’s okay. As long as I have John.”

John was like a dad anyway. So it’s okay.

She whispered to herself as she wiped her tears.

‘John is married now, so I shouldn’t bother him. If I want him to love me, I have to be a good girl.’

Because I’m a little sister, not a daughter. I must be a good little sister. That thought ruled her heart.

Scarlett woke up from sleep and opened her eyes. Her lips were twisted with pain, and tears streamed down, pooling in her ears.

She mumbled sadly,

“Of course he couldn’t love me like a daughter. Foolish Scarlett White.”

Because she was just a sister, she had agreed with everything her ‘mother’ wanted. But John had drawn the line from the beginning.

And yet she had treated him like a father. She felt so pathetic she couldn’t stand it.

“You’re awake, Carly. Why are you crying right after waking up? Did you have a bad dream?”

At Susan’s question, Scarlett wiped her tears and thought,

‘I want to see Noah. I need Noah.’

The one she needed was Noah. The Noah Ashford who had once killed her, the Noah who could now vow never to hurt her again. The Noah who loved her completely.

She missed him so much.

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