Suddenly, I'm Married

Scarlett woke up in pain. Her head pounded as if she'd been knocked out by a hammer. She groaned and opened her eyes, one after the other. Her mind was still foggy, but she could tell that something was wrong. For instance, she didn't recognize the room she was in. Scarlett wondered what had happened to her last night. She couldn't remember a single thing. In fact, it took her at least five minutes to recall her own name.

She moaned while trying to lie on her back. She could feel the weight of her entire body, as if she had gained a few extra kilos overnight. And there was a dull pain between her legs, as if...

A yelp escaped her lips when her arm hit something while she was trying to find a comfortable position. Something hard. Her fingers poked at it once, twice. She just couldn't figure out what it was. So, Scarlett turned her head to the left, and her eyes widened in disbelief.

Her mind was definitely playing tricks on her, she thought. The man lying next to her on the other side of the bed couldn't possibly be real. He didn't look real. Scarlett stared at his face, which seemed to have been sculpted solely to seduce anyone who laid eyes on it. His jaw was perfectly defined, just like the tall bridge of his nose and his thick set of eyebrows. Scarlett's breath shortened when she noticed his lashes. Man, she wished hers were that long. They sat elegantly on top of the man's cheekbones, making him seem even more unreal. Hesitantly, she moved her hand closer until her finger poked his soft lips. Then, unexpectedly, the man's eyes flew open. Her brown pupils met his gray ones.

Scarlett screamed loud enough to wake the entire floor. She sat up in the bed at the same time he did. She realized with horror that she wore nothing but a thin piece of lingerie that didn't leave much to the imagination. She covered her chest with both hands.

"W-who are you?!" she yelled in the man's face. "What are you doing in this bed, you... You perv!"

But Scarlett didn't have to wait for his answer. Suddenly, memories of the previous night came back to her bit by bit. She remembered being with her friend Megan. It had been Megan's idea to spend the night in a hotel room, have a few drinks, and watch a movie together. Well... That was the plan, but they never got around to watching anything, because as soon as Scarlett finished her first glass of wine, the world had already begun fading around her. She remembered feeling so exhausted that she had to lie down on the carpet and stare at the ceiling. Then, she heard Megan laugh-but it sounded different. She sounded like a different person.

Scarlett had been caught between slumber and consciousness when the girl she considered a close friend leaned over her with the most hateful expression plastered across her face. She said:

"You will never find someone who cares for you as much as I do, Scar. Guess what? I have a surprise. I booked the most exquisite man in LA to come and spend the night with you, free of charge. They say he can literally take you to heaven just by the power of his looks, so imagine what it will feel like to have him inside you... But just in case you need a little push, I put a bit of aphrodisiac in your drink. How are you feeling already?"

Scarlett didn't understand half of what Megan was saying. All she knew was that she felt extremely warm and needed to get her clothes off as soon as possible. She had started unbuttoning her shirt while Megan watched her with a nasty smirk:

"That's it. Get naked, slut... When Austin sees these videos of you with another man, he'll finally realize that you're nothing more than a cheap little-"

Scarlett wanted to throw up. Those memories couldn't be real. Megan would never do something so cruel-not to her. Her shoulders trembled as she ran a hand through her hair, her head pounding harder than ever now. The man next to her frowned in concern.

"Uhm... Are you alright?"

Scarlett glared at him, gritting her teeth in fury. Megan had hired that disgusting bastard to sleep with her while she was unconscious. She didn't care that his gray eyes were as captivating as a spell. Beauty didn't make him any less of a monster.

She grabbed the first thing she could find. Unfortunately, it was only a pillow. Scarlett used it to hit the man repeatedly, punctuating each strike with an angry snarl:

"You. Fucking. Rapist! You took advantage of me! I will make you rot in jail, just you wait. I'm going to the police as soon as I'm done with you."

Scarlett gasped when the man grabbed the pillow as she tried to hit him again. He effortlessly took it from her and tossed it across the room. She shivered in fear when his eyes turned as cold as steel. His voice was low when he spoke:

"It was all you last night, princess. You were all over me, so eager to get screwed. I never forced you-I didn't have to. You weren't unconscious when it happened. Go wherever you want, but you'll never prove that I raped you, because that's just not what happened. Alright?"

"Son of a..."

Scarlett bit her lower lip, her whole body shaking with anger and shame. She realized the man wasn't wrong. She couldn't remember what had happened with him, but clearly, she hadn't been forced. There were no signs of resistance on her. If she went to the police, she'd only make a fool of herself.

But what would happen then? Was there really nothing she could do after falling into the cruel trap her friend had set for her? Hot tears streamed down Scarlett's cheeks. For the first time, she noticed the bloodstains on the bed, and it made her cry even harder. That explained the pain between her legs. She had never been with a man before. Her first time had been with a disgusting male escort. He had taken away her innocence and would remain unpunished, because she couldn't prove any of the wrong that had been done to her.

The man followed her gaze and noticed the blood on the sheets. Of course, he'd felt that she was a virgin last night. Seeing her break like that in front of him softened his expression. He didn't know how to react. He opened his mouth but struggled to say the words that hung on the tip of his tongue. Finally, he said:

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know, I... Even if you took all the initiative last night, I'm still willing to take responsibility."

Scarlett let out a dry laugh. Take responsibility? What did that even mean, coming from a male escort?

"What, you're going to give me back my virginity?"

He frowned. She didn't give him the time to respond:

"Just get the hell out of this room! Now, or I swear to God, I will kill you with my bare hands!"

He didn't need to be told twice. He jumped out of bed and picked up his clothes as calmly as he could. He took the time to put them on, despite the murderous glare Scarlett was shooting in his direction. Then, he took a business card out of his jeans pocket and handed it to her.

"If you change your mind... You can call me. I mean what I say, princess." Scarlett snatched the business card and tore it into pieces right in front of him.

"Get. Out," she said through gritted teeth, pointing at the door.

The man took a deep breath. He saw the suffering in her eyes and knew she wouldn't listen to anything he had to say. So, he walked away.

As soon as he was out of the hotel room, he heard the woman cry like a child behind the closed door. For some reason, it made his heart ache. He had never been one to feel any kind of emotion and yet...

He forced himself to leave and took the elevator to the ground floor. He walked out of the hotel, hands plunged deep into the pockets of his jeans. When he passed the glass entry door, he looked straight at the clear blue sky and took a deep breath. That's when two men dressed in dark suits approached him, stern looks plastered on their faces.

"Sir," they greeted him in unison.

The man tore his gaze away from the sky and started walking straight ahead, his two bodyguards following closely behind.

"That girl..." he said.

"Yes, sir?"

"Gather all available information about her immediately and report to me as soon as possible."

"Yes."

When a dark Range Rover stopped next to them, the man got in, and his bodyguards closed the door behind him.

Scarlett couldn't tell how long she had cried in the hotel room. In the end, she had no more tears left. She whimpered, but her cheeks remained dry after she'd wiped them earlier. It angered her that she could not even pour her rage out anymore.

She stood up on wobbly legs and waited for the blood to flow through them after staying in the same position for so long. She didn't dare look at the messy bed. She would really throw up if she saw the bloodstains on the sheets again.

Instead, Scarlett made her way to the bathroom, swaying on her feet like a drunkard. She held onto the wall to keep from falling and turned on the light. It almost blinded her. She was immediately met by her own reflection in the mirror above the sink.

"Ugh, no..."

She whimpered, her right hand covering her mouth as she stared at her disheveled hair, the smudged mascara under her eyes, and the see-through nightdress that barely hung from her thin shoulders. She did look cheap.

Scarlett came closer and held onto the sink. She turned her head slightly to one side and then the other. Her neck was littered with love bites, and they looked... sickening.

"No, this is not me," she snarled. "This cannot be me."

Yet it was. With each passing second, Scarlett convinced herself that, indeed, the woman in the mirror was her-shameful as it was. She burst into tears again and was surprised to find she still had some left after all. She walked into the shower and turned on the water, making it hot enough to burn her skin. If only she could peel it all off...

She smeared herself with soap and scrubbed hard. She couldn't even feel the pain. The disgust was greater than anything else. She scrubbed until she bled, the water turning pink when she rinsed herself off. Somehow, she still felt dirty, so she repeated the process again and again until she could no longer hold her arms up. Then Scarlett wrapped herself in a towel and returned to the bedroom.

She tore the sheets off the bed and piled them together with her nightdress. She decided she'd burn it all later.

Scarlett picked up the dress she had worn last night. It was short and didn't seem appropriate after what she'd just been through, but she had no other choice. She slipped it on and let her hair down, too mad to even think about tying it up. Her phone, keys, and a bit of cash were thrown into her purse before she rushed out of the hotel.

Scarlett hailed a taxi and got in, giving Megan's address. Her feet trembled throughout the ride. She had no idea what she was going to do once she saw her. She had no plan and couldn't even think of one. All she knew was that she needed to understand. Why would someone so close to her do this? Why Megan, of all people? After everything they'd been through together...

When the taxi dropped her off, Scarlett stood in front of her friend's apartment complex for a few minutes before making her way inside. She knocked on the door and waited anxiously for someone to come. She was about to knock again when the door flew open, and Scarlett's confused eyes met those of Megan's mother.

The strangest thing about her wasn't that she was wearing a night robe at midday-it was the look of pure horror on her face, as if Scarlett was the last person she wanted to see. As if she was hiding something.

"Oh, hello, Scar," she said, running a hand through her hair. "What... What brings you here?"

She was sweating like a pig. Scarlett narrowed her gaze at her. "I'm here to see Megan, of course. Is she here?"

"Oh... Oh, no. I'm so sorry, dear, but Megan left very early this morning. She's not around. M-Maybe you could come back later in the after-Ah!"

Scarlett pushed past Megan's mother, hitting her hard on the shoulder. Luckily, she knew the house better than anyone. She walked straight down the hallway, screaming as loud as she could:

"MEGAN! Come out, you fucking bitch! Come out, wherever you are!"

Her mother was right behind Scarlett.

"What are you doing, Scar?! I told you, Megan's not here. You have to leave, now!"

Scarlett was aiming for Megan's bedroom door but passed in front of her mother's room first. The door was slightly ajar, and through the corner of her eye, Scarlett saw something. Something that made her stop abruptly.

"Scar..." the woman said with a trembling voice. "Scar, leave. Now."

But of course, Scarlett wasn't going to obey. She burst into the mother's bedroom, and immediately, a strong smell of liquor and sex hit her nose. She covered it with a hand as she looked at the man standing half-naked by the bed. She couldn't believe her own eyes.

"Dad?" she said, her voice laced with disbelief.

No doubt-it was the sheepish form of her father, so out of place inside another woman's bedroom.

"Dad?!" she repeated, this time with more anger.

The man frowned, his back straightening. Scarlett watched as her father's face turned crimson red.

"How did you end up here?! Why are you in this woman's room, half-naked? Dad, there must be an explanation-"

"I have nothing to say, Scarlett."

It was like her heart had been taken out of her chest and thrown against a wall. Scarlett opened her mouth, but no words came out. What was there to say anyway? The things she was seeing were pretty much self-explanatory. Her father pointed an accusatory finger at her.

"You pounce in here like the devil! Don't you have any respect? It's your fault for walking into this."

Scarlett let out a dry laugh. She then turned to look at Megan's mother, who was leaning against the door, staring back at her with cold eyes.

"I tried to stop you," she stated.

The young woman looked between them, still unable to believe the scene unfolding in front of her was real. Never in her life could she have guessed that her father would have an affair with no one other than Meg's mom. They lived in completely different worlds. She found it quite ironic that she came to deal with her issues regarding Meg and found a problem with her mom as well.

"Listen..." the woman said. "It's not what it looks like, Scar. You might have misunderstood, but there is absolutely nothing between me and your father. We just-"

"Shut up," Scarlett interrupted. "Just shut up if you're going to lie. There's nothing going on between you, yet the man is standing butt naked in your room. What else is there to know?"

"Scar!" her father yelled.

"No. You shut up too! I'm so sick of this. Like mother, like daughter, right?! You're both disgusting. You had your eyes on my dad for how long, huh? The same amount of time Meg fucking wanted my fiancé too?!"

Scarlett shook with anger.

"You are both sluts, and I hope you rot in hell!"

Just then, someone came running down the hallway. All three pairs of eyes in the room turned to look at the newcomer, who was none other than Megan herself. She was out of breath, but her burning eyes were set on Scarlett.

"First of all, what are you doing in our home, and why are you calling my mother a slut?!"

Scarlett fisted her hands. She'd never thought she would one day be capable of murder, but in that instance, all she wanted was to wrap her hands around Megan's neck and squeeze all the life out of her.

Both of them challenged each other with their eyes. Scarlett realized that her friend had never been truthful with her. She had never cared about her the way she had sworn many times before. Now, she couldn't hide her true face-and it was indeed an ugly one. All Scarlett could see in her was envy and the evil that lurked behind her eyes.

"You came right on time!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "Maybe you can explain what I just walked into? Something tells me you always knew your mom was screwing my dad, but you never thought I deserved to know. What else are you hiding from me, Megan?! It seems like I don't know you at all. I mean, you set me up with a stranger last night to rape me, so clearly, I don't know you!"

Megan's mother widened her eyes in shock. Scarlett wondered what her father's reaction was, but she wasn't going to turn around and check for herself. She wasn't going to break eye contact with Megan first.

The latter just stared back at her without saying a word. Her mother turned to face Scarlett:

"What are you talking about? What do you mean, set you up? My daughter would never do that. You had a one-night stand with a man and now you want to blame Meg for it?... Meg, say something!"

But Megan remained silent, her face turning crimson red. Scarlett couldn't stand her anymore. She raised her hand and slapped her across the face as hard as she could. The sound rang in the air for a few seconds after. Megan stumbled a few steps back, holding her cheek with a look of astonishment and pain.

Everyone was silent and shocked for a while until Megan's mother grabbed Scarlett's wrist and squeezed it:

"You-! How dare you hit my daughter inside our home?!"

She raised her own hand to return the slap, but Scarlett didn't wait for it. She was blinded by rage, and it was slowly taking over her entire reasoning. She acted before thinking and pushed Megan's mother back with all her strength. The woman wasn't expecting it. She let out a tiny noise before she fell. They watched her body hit the ground painfully, her head banging into the corner of a nearby table.

Megan screamed, staring at her mother's still body, drops of blood seeping from the wound on the back of her head. She rushed forward and knelt beside her, too scared to touch her.

"Mom... Oh my God, Mom?! Can you hear me?! Shit."

Scarlett blinked repeatedly. She didn't know what to do with herself. She clenched her fists, staring at the woman whose eyes didn't focus on anything in particular. Suddenly, her father pushed her out of the way and knelt beside Megan's mother.

Carefully, he lifted her upper body and rested it on his thighs. His hand cradled the back of her head and she moaned in pain. Scarlett watched in horror. It was odd to see the care and attention her own father was showing an estranged woman.

"Joyce..." he whispered. "Joyce, what's wrong, honey?"

Honey? Scarlett would have laughed if the situation wasn't literally blowing her mind. Megan's mother looked at her father and smiled. Megan, on the other hand, was on her feet again. She pointed a finger at Scarlett:

"You hurt my mom! Your problem is with me-why did you have to get her involved? She could have died, for God's sake!"

"Meg, stop," the woman whimpered. "I-I'm fine... Please, don't blame Scarlett. She's clearly out of her mind today..."

Both mother and daughter shared a look. Scarlett noticed how it seemed like they were silently communicating. Then Megan turned to the man still kneeling beside her mother and spoke words that made Scarlett realize her nightmare was only beginning:

"Why are you so quiet, Dad? You saw what she did, didn't you? How long are you going to stay quiet and pretend that everything is fine? How long are Mom and I going to be wronged and placed after the only daughter you acknowledge?"

Scarlett chuckled. All eyes turned toward her. She looked insane now, and Megan was clearly terrified of her. She stepped back as Scarlett fixed her with a murderous glare.

"Did I just hear you say Dad?"

Despite her fear, Megan held her head high.

"You heard me right."

She then turned to the man still kneeling on the floor, though Meg's mother had recovered enough to sit up, holding her head.

"Dad. I'm sick of being an illegitimate child, okay? Now's your chance. You have to tell the truth so we can all move on. There's no way out of this anymore."

The man stood. Both of his daughters were looking at him. He knew it was true. He couldn't run anymore. When he spoke, he made sure not to meet Scarlett's eyes.

"Listen, honey... it's true. Megan is actually your sister."

He dared to glance at her. Scarlett's face was void of any emotion. Somehow, it made the father upset, and his voice rose:

"Don't look at me like that, okay? I tried to keep this from you because I didn't want you to suffer, but you give me no choice. You came here and burst into the room without even... Well. It doesn't matter now. You had to find out one way or another.

"The thing is, I've been seeing Joyce for a while now. It started before I even married your mother. We broke up at that time, but I didn't know she was pregnant. I met Megan a few years later, but I just couldn't say anything to you or your mother, so I kept it a secret.

"But all I ever wanted, Scar, was to tell you about your sister... This is not how I wanted things to go. And you might feel like you've been wronged, but put yourself in Meg's shoes. She had to live as an illegitimate daughter. You had all the privileges she could only dream of. You can't be angrier than she is right now."

The man took a few steps forward. Scarlett stood frozen, like a statue, and didn't try to speak-not even once. So her father took a deep breath and smiled awkwardly:

"I see you're taking this rather well, Scar... Good. Now that you know the truth, we can start a new Chapter of our lives, together. We can finally become a family-"

"Stop."

Scarlett wrapped her arms around herself.

"What's wrong?"

"Family, you say? With these women? Never, Dad."

"You have to stop being selfish, Scarlett!"

"Selfish?! Is that what you call someone who doesn't want to be related to a woman who didn't hesitate to set her up with a man out of jealousy? I don't know, Dad... Are you sure you're my father? You just sound like a complete stranger right now."

"Lies won't get you out of this situation, Scarlett. I'm telling you, from now on, Meg and her mom are your family. You will call them sister and mother."

"I will die before I let those words come out of my mouth, do you hear me?"

Joyce approached, putting a gentle hand on Scarlett's father's shoulder. She said to him in a soft voice:

"Please don't force her. If she doesn't want to, it's still okay. We've lived all this time without her, I'm sure we can go on a bit longer. Give her time."

Scarlett rolled her eyes at the woman's show of kindness. As if she cared about her well-being. How could her father be blind enough not to see the sly look on her face? How could he not know they were taking advantage of him? Scarlett gritted her teeth. She had been stupid to still care about her father after all he had done.

"It doesn't matter," he spat out, anger in his voice. "Acting like a spoiled little brat won't change the fact that Megan is your sister, Scarlett. You must accept it, whether you like it or not. And now that you know the whole story, Megan and her mother must come and live with us. There's no point in staying separated."

Scarlett gasped in shock. The sly smirks on Megan and her mother's faces made her sick.

"Never!" she yelled. "That house belonged to my mother. I won't allow you to bring strangers in there, Dad. You'll have to cross my dead body before you do, believe me."

"That house belongs to me, young lady!"

"Yeah, only after my mother died. And I won't let you do this disgusting thing. I won't let you bring these whor-Ah!"

Scarlett received an unforgiving slap on her right cheek. It wasn't the pain that hurt the most-it was knowing that her gentle father had dared to slap her for the sake of someone else. Her eyes filled with tears as she glared at him.

"You hit me because of these women?"

The father didn't reply. He clenched his trembling hand and Scarlett could tell he regretted his actions-but it was too late. She sprinted out the door and didn't stop when the man called her name. She burst into tears as soon as she was inside the elevator, her heart aching so much that she feared it was truly broken.

She had come to confront Megan about her rape but never even got to it. Instead, she had broken the relationship she had with her father and now found herself a complete orphan. She had lost both of her parents.

Scarlett walked out of the building, half-crying and shaking her head in confusion. It occurred to her that Megan had ruined her life in barely a few hours by stealing her virginity and her father. She wondered if that had always been her goal since the beginning of their friendship. Had she approached her that first time with the sole purpose of ruining her life?

Scarlett was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the dark vehicle that suddenly screeched to a stop not far from her. The man in the back seat jumped out quickly. He watched as the young lady bumped into a couple of people walking in the opposite direction. She didn't even bother to apologize. It was as if she were trapped in her own bubble and the outside world had become invisible to her.

The man ran after Scarlett and grabbed her arm.

"Hey."

She turned around and frowned when she recognized the man from earlier-the male escort she had woken up next to that morning. He had a concerned look on his face, but Scarlett knew better than to believe he actually cared.

"Don't touch me," she hissed, snatching her arm away from his grasp.

"What happened?" he asked.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a handkerchief. Scarlett refused to take it.

"Tell me what happened," the man insisted. "I might be able to help you. Look, if this is about this morning-"

"Yes, you son of a bitch! It's about this morning, and it's also about what just happened to me. And you know what?! There's nothing you can do for me-and even if you could, I would never accept any kind of help from a male escort!"

Scarlett could have spit in his face, but she decided against it. She didn't notice how the man's bodyguards looked at her, their hands resting on their weapons, waiting for a single order from their boss. But the man said nothing.

"Sir..."

"Let her go," he sighed, watching the woman walk away. "So much anger in her..."

He wondered why he wanted so badly to help her. She was just one woman among many, after all. He had already tried being kind-twice. It was more than enough generosity.

"Let's just go to the company."

He ended up saying to his men before returning to the car. But the thoughts of Scarlett didn't leave his mind on the way. Not even a bit.