Chapter 5
Yvonne Vance POV
I had no choice but to ring the doorbell.
No one answered.
Harrison preferred quiet, so no live-in housekeepers stayed at the house; only cleaning staff came on a schedule.
I rang it a few more times, but still, there was no response.
I only had a bit of change on me. My phone had been confiscated at the office, and my ID was inside the house, leaving me unable to even check into a hotel.
The rain fell harder and harder.
The coat was already soaked through, clinging to my body and dripping water.
I leaned against the porch pillar, shivering violently from the cold.
I don't know how much time passed before a pair of headlights cut through the curtain of rain.
A black Rolls-Royce pulled into the driveway, and Harrison walked over holding an umbrella.
Seeing me huddled by the door, his handsome brow furrowed.
"It's pouring. Why didn't you go inside?"
"The passcode was changed. I can't get in."
Harrison paused, realization dawning on him.
"Scarlett was shaken up today, so I had her come to the house to rest. She couldn't remember the original passcode, so I let her set her own. I forgot to tell you."
He entered the new passcode and pushed the door open.
I followed him into the living room.
Scarlett was curled up on the sofa with a face mask on, holding the remote to flip through channels.
Seeing Harrison and me walking in one after the other, she immediately stood up.
Gazing at my soaking-wet, disheveled state, she wore a look of deep concern.
"Ms. Vance, why are you so drenched?"
I didn't bother with pleasantries and asked her directly:
"I rang the doorbell. Since you were home, why didn't you open the door?"
Scarlett looked flustered.
"Did you ring the doorbell? I didn't hear it. I wasn't feeling very well after I came back, so I went upstairs to lie down for a bit. Why didn't you ring it a few more times?"
Harrison quickly wrapped an arm around Scarlett's shoulders to comfort her.
"Scarlett didn't do it on purpose, so don't make a big deal out of it. Yvonne, go change your clothes first."
Scarlett quickly went to the dining room, poured a cup of hot water, and handed it to me.
"Drink some water to warm up. As for what happened during the day, we were all doing it for the good of the company. Ms. Vance won't blame me, right?"
I was indeed freezing, so I reached out to take it.
Before my fingers could even touch the cup, it tilted, and the scalding water poured all over me.
A patch of red quickly flared up on my forearm.
I gasped in pain.
Scarlett instantly looked aggrieved and angry.
"Ms. Vance, even if we had a conflict at work during the day, you didn't have to set me up like this! I kindly brought you water, and you turn around and accuse me of scalding you?"
Before I could say a single word, the blame had already been pinned on me.
Harrison looked at me, his tone impatient.
"I told you, stop playing these petty mind games."
He turned and shielded Scarlett as they went upstairs.
I was left alone in the living room.
I found some burn ointment and applied it to my forearm.
The skin was bright red, and blisters were already starting to form in some places.
After applying the medicine, I returned to my bedroom.
Having been in the rain for so long, my whole body felt freezing and heavy.
I took a quick shower and got into bed.
I didn't know how long I had slept when someone pushed open the bedroom door.
I opened my eyes sleepily to see Harrison standing by the bed.
He placed a new phone on the nightstand, holding a bowl of corn chowder in his hand.
"You went to sleep without eating dinner?"
I stared blankly at the bowl of corn chowder.
Did he make corn chowder specifically for me?
My heart trembled slightly.
I was indeed hungry, so I sat up, took the bowl, and took a sip.
Harrison sat down on the edge of the bed, his tone softening a bit.
"Scarlett was terrified by the photos you leaked today. She was crying and shaking, and she still hasn't recovered."
"I let her stay here at the house, which can be considered making amends to her on your behalf. You need to know your place in the future and stop doing things like this."
I suddenly couldn't swallow the corn chowder in my mouth.
I set the bowl down and looked up directly at Harrison.
"I wasn't the one who posted those photos. Go investigate it yourself."
Harrison looked at me with scrutiny.
My gaze was serious, without any evasion.
For a brief second, he wavered. He picked up his phone, preparing to make a call.
Just then, his phone rang right on cue. Scarlett's name was flashing on the screen.
Harrison immediately threw what just happened to the back of his mind and answered it gently.
"Harrison, is the corn chowder ready?"
Scarlett's voice was soft and sweet, sounding like she was acting cute.
"Yes, it's ready. I'll be right over."
Harrison hung up the phone and gave me instructions as he walked out.
"Take your time drinking it. I'm heading out first."
The bedroom door clicked shut.
I looked at the bowl of corn chowder. The more I looked at it, the more of an eyesore it became.
It turned out the corn chowder wasn't made for me.
The bowl given to me was just a leftover gesture.
I didn't drink any more of it, letting the corn chowder grow completely cold.
Faint chatter and laughter drifted from Scarlett's room next door.
Harrison stayed with Scarlett the entire night and never returned.
In the middle of the night, I developed a fever.
I curled up in the blankets in a daze, drifting in and out of consciousness.
After dawn, the bedroom door was violently kicked open.
Two bodyguards walked in. Each grabbed one of my arms and dragged me straight out of bed.
Burning with fever, my whole body was weak and limp. I could barely find my footing as the two of them dragged me all the way down the stairs to the first floor.
My knees banged against the steps, but with my fever, even the pain felt unreal.
Scarlett sat right in the center of the sofa, her legs crossed, casually enjoying my disheveled and weak state.
"Harrison went out. He's not home."
She slowly walked over to me, looking down at me from above.
"Yvonne, it's time we settled our scores."