Chapter 4-Scarlett Moves In, I Move Out

Katelyn's POV My thoughts were a mess. Somewhere in the middle of the kiss, when I should have pushed him away, I hesitated. I didn’t know if it was longing or habit—something deep I hadn’t shaken off, or just my body reacting without my permission. I couldn’t tell. And I hated that I couldn’t tell. His hands were still on my waist when the sharp ring of his phone cut through the room. We both froze. He let out a slow breath, jaw tight, and reached for the phone with one hand. Still holding me with the other. “Yeah?” he answered, voice lower than usual. I didn’t need to hear the other side. I heard it in him. The way his tone shifted—guarded, careful, like he didn’t want me to hear too much. Scarlett. The sting in my chest was sharp and immediate, cutting through the confusion I’d just been struggling with. I didn’t want to be in his presence any longer—least of all while he whispered sweet nothings to her like I wasn’t even here.  As silent as I could, I pulled away from his grasp, grabbed my pillow off the bed, and walked out without a word. *** The next morning, I didn’t expect him to be waiting at the table when I walked into the kitchen. He was already dressed for work, sleeves rolled neatly to his forearms, sipping coffee like nothing had happened. “Morning,” he said casually, without looking up from his phone. “I told my secretary you can call the office directly from now on. You won’t need to go through her anymore.” “And,” he added, placing the cup down, “I’ll give you thirty thousand a month for personal expenses. No restrictions. Use it however you want.” I paused by the counter. In the past, I might’ve thanked him. Might’ve felt like it meant something—recognition, trust, maybe even care. But not this time. I looked at him calmly. “That won’t be necessary.” His eyes flicked up to mine. The coldness there was instant. “Don’t start throwing another tantrum,” he said flatly. “I’m trying to be reasonable.” He stood and adjusted his cufflinks, tone clipped as he walked past me. “Marcus and Derek will be coming to the house today. There’s a family lunch. Make sure lunch is ready.” Then he left the room. Being a housewife meant all of the household chores fell on me. But it was the day after my mother's funeral, and things were harder than usual.  The mechanical repetition of my labor helped to sooth my nerves and jitters, at least until Marcus called out to me to say he had arrived with the others. Derek looked impatient as I walked down the stairs to greet him. "Took you long enough." Derek said, looking away from me after a moment's glance. Marcus on the other hand was a bit more polite. "Hello Katelyn, how are you?" "I'm alright." I responded and turned to Scarlett. She had been the last to get out of the car. She looked even more beautiful than she had been ten years ago.  Her long blonde curls framing her delicate little face, and her captivating blue eyes as enchanting as ever. She looked at me with such cool detachment and a defensiveness. I averted my gaze, and neither of us had anything to say. The last few words she had said to me ten years ago echoed inside my head. "Katelyn, I will never forgive you." she had said, and we had never crossed paths ever since. Marcus shifted uncomfortably as though he sensed the animosity between us and cleared his throat. "How about we all go upstairs ?"  he asked. As soon as we got home I ducked into the kitchen. Just as I did, I heard a click at the front door, and then it opened. Ethan was home. I slowly walked out of the kitchen and stood at the kitchen door. But I wasn't the first person Ethan saw. I watched as he walked through the door toward Scarlett, heard the way his breath caught, and I gasped at the way he looked at her. He gazed at her with a tension I had never seen him express before. He had never looked at me that way before. The both of them embraced. He held her so close in a way. And that's when I realized. The two of them had never really parted ways. Even after a whole decade had passed, even though Ethan had started a whole different family. His love for  Scarlett had never faded.  This sudden realization made my chest go tight, and suddenly, breathing took great effort. When I couldn't take the scene in front of me any longer, I turned away and ran to my bedroom, pressing my lips together so hard to keep myself from crying. It registered that Marcus had been calling out to me, but wiped my tears, before returning to the living room. When I returned, everyone was already sitting at the dining table, waiting for a meal to be shared. At the table, I watched as Derek poured a drink, and cut up a slice of cake for her, meanwhile, Dad took his time to dish out Scarlett's meal, engaging her in a warm chat as he did. That was more than they ever gave to me, and chastised myself for letting it get to me. I knew better. She was their prized possession, she always would be. I was just the extra. The spare. I watched as Ethan brought out a gift box, turning to Scarlett with it. From the box, he brought out a four-clover necklace, with an S embedded in it. It was beautiful, but I guess it should not have surprised me, Ethan always made a point to remember the things Scarlett liked. He always did his best to give them to her. "Oh, Ethan!" Scarlett exclaimed, "It's so beautiful." I watched her get oh-so emotional over the gift and felt a vice wrap around my heart. Ethan never got me anything. Ethan never so much as did a thoughtful thing for me. But here he was, giving gifts to my sister, right before me. "I'm glad you like it.” He said to Scarlett, and she beamed, while I died a little on the inside. "I love it!" Scarlett squealed and turned to me, but I looked away. I didn’t need her rubbing it in. Scarlett directly hugged Ethan around the waist right in front of me. “Hope you don't mind. You know how we sometimes get.” She said and let him go. I knew Scarlett, and that was definitely not an innocent hug.  "Please don't be offended by my presence, I'll only be here a couple of days, and after that, I'll go get my place. You won't even know I'm here."   "Do I even have a choice? Seeing as you both choose to frock in my presence ," I said and turned to look at Ethan who was watching us.  “You’re being overly emotional. Maybe you should rest.” He frowned slightly, clearly unsettled by my uncharacteristic response.   "Scarlett is the hostess and she is the one who is most worthy of Ethan. Could it be that Ethan would attend events outside with you? You should take a good look at yourself. You don't even have a job," Derek said， and I felt really hurt by the question. I opened my mouth to speak, but Ethan got to it before I did. "Derek, don't speak to Katelyn like that," Ethan said firmly. "She is my wife and also your sister. You should show her respect." Derek looked like he had something to say, but stayed quiet. "Come on now, Derek was just trying to speak up for me," Scarlett said and turned to Derek.  Scarlett only giggled, and I averted my eyes from them to pin it on Ethan.  "You owe me an explanation, Ethan," My stomach twisted painfully. " She'll only be here a couple of days, we can go back to our lives right after." he interrupted, impatience lacing his voice," you don't have to make a big fuss out of everything."  " You think I'm making a big fuss when you bring your first love to our matrimonial home like it's nothing?" Scarlett looked between us, guilt written on her expression. "It's okay… maybe I could just go now," she said, starting to rise, but Ethan pulled her back down.  "You aren't going anywhere." Then he looked at me directly, “As long as I'm here, no one dares to bully you.” My husband was protecting another woman right in front of me. His words hit like a punch to the gut. "Once I've sorted things out with Scarlett, I'll explain whatever you need to know to you."  I nodded and felt the first sting of tears as I began to rise.  "Fine, then I'll go. You all can have each other.”