His eyes furrowed. "What?"
"I'm quitting." When he eyed me with confusion, I decided to elaborate. "I'm leaving this job, if that makes you understand the meaning of this letter."
"Oh, so you've decided to put me back in place by emotional blackmail now? I didn't know you'd stoop that low to achieve your goals, Scarlett."
"I'm not stooping anywhere, Mr Evercrest. I had been meaning to give that letter to you for a long time-"
"How long?"
"I don't know. Maybe three years. Maybe four. I just don't remember anymore. All I knew was I don't want to do this job anymore. I've always wanted to do something that I'd love to do. Something that would make me happy. But I saw I couldn't do it if I continued working 16 hours a day."
"You can still do what you want while working for me."
"Says the one who threatened me just some minutes ago." I saw guilt in his eyes and averted my gaze. "Anyway, you won't understand it and I'm tired of making everyone understand me. Now if you'd excuse me sir, I had my pet to attend do, back at my apartment."
I knew he didn't like it when I talked to him so formally. The look in his face told me everything. But he was now a stranger for me anyway so I thought it didn't make any excpetion. "If you didn't want to work for me anymore, why'd you keep working against your wish all these years?"
"I have my reasons, Mr Evercrest. I hope you understand. Good night." I told him and turned again to walk down the street. The wet clothes stuck and felt slick against my cold body and I pulled my dress down my thighs a little to hide my bare legs.
I knew it was a mistake to wear half-naked dress on his bachelerrete party but he was the one who insisted me to put this on in the first place. He didn't want me to look simple among such rich and powerful people.
He said I represented his image. And so for the very first time in my life, I decided to be the woman I am, for his sake.
It was the truth that I wanted to quit this job, and I had wanted to do it for so long. I didn't know why I kept on pushing myself against my capability to serve him the best way as possible.
I guessed meeting and loving him was the ruin of my life.
I was asked to quit this job by my step father anyway. He asked me to do this favour to my step-sister Kiara. That when she would get married to Heath, it wouldn't look good if I would continue to be with him as his PA since then he'd become my brother-in-law.
He said people'd talk things behind our back. Though I don't care the hell for those stupid society and its patriarchal stereotypical people, I did care for my sister and my mother's husband.
My step-father. I decided to improve my relations with him that day and he decided to test my loyalty by asking the toughest favor from me.
Writing my resignation letter.
Also, I knew he was starting to get suspicious of my feelings for Heath. He kept secret eye on me. He dug my things and searched my apartment in my absence.
I knew I couldn't convince him out of his doubts. If he was worrying about his daughter, I wouldn't blame him for that.
Besides, which father would want any woman, who happened to be his other daughter just by some stupid legal paper, to destroy his real daughter's household and marriage?
He saw me as a threat in his daughter's marriage. It was true I had feelings for Heath, but I wasn't planning to tell him anytime soon. I didn't want to be a threat to his marriage.
But how could I ever tell my father that I loved my sister as much as my I loved my own mother?
So to ease him out of his doubts, I wrote my resignation letter in front of him, the night I learned Heath slept with Kiara after proposing her and she agreed to the marriage.
Because I didn't see any reason not to follow the advise of my step-father anymore.
Just as I was about to turn around the corner, I felt a strong pull and I stumbled in my steps. Once again, I saw Heath holding my hand, but this time, something in his touch made me feel warm and I found I never hated him in the first place.
I could never hate him. And that's why I was quitting everything related to him. Everything that reminded me of him.
"So what are your reasons?" He asked, holding the letter in his hand, breathing heavily. His tuxedo was off and I saw him holding his black blazer in his hands instead. His cheeks were flushed from rain probably, and he took one or two seconds to catch his breath.
Was he running after me?
"I don't have anything to tell you." I told him and started to walk ahead of him.
"I won't sign this letter unless you tell me why're you doing this." He told me and stopped me again by my arms.
He really needed to stop grabbing me everywhere!
"I wrote every possible reason inside that letter." I pointed my finger to the spoiled letter in his hand. "But seeing it's not in any state to be comprehended, I'd type another one and send it to you by mail. Or do you want it by post?"
"I know it's all lie in this pathetic piece of a paper." He eyed the letter with disgust before throwing it in the pile of mud nearby. "So instead of wasting both of our times, why don't you tell me the real reason?"
"Real reason? You think there is some real reason behind my resignation, other than I don't want to do this job anymore? Then... "I stopped walking and faced him. "...Why do you think I'm quitting this job, Heath. You tell me." I crossed my arms across my chest and stared at him.
"Because I've changed?" He tried, gauging my reaction.
"Nice try. Maybe another time." I started to walk but he ran after me, and stood in front.
"Because I...became a jerk? To you? To my family?" When I didn't seem convinced, and was about to walk away again, he said, " Wait wait! Is it because I never apologized to you for treating you badly all this time?"
I stifled a smile. "If you think apology is the thing I want from you, you'd have to rethink my standard as a woman."
"What's the reason if it's not the-"
"Why're you so interested in knowing my reasons? You never showed interest in me or my problems before." The words slipped out of my lips before I could stop them and I closed my eyes for my stupid mistake.
"Because you never showed interest in quitting before. You were always so devoted and so on time, I never thought you'd ever want to leave your job." His lips curved into a half-smile. "I thought you loved working for me. I almost felt proud of me as a boss, seeing you arriving at work so happily you actually cheered the other employees of the department."
"Just because I smile, doesn't mean I'm doing it because I want to do it. It just happened that way."
"You should've told me if it was too hard on you to work beyond office hours. I thought you wanted to work more because you didn't leave your desk even after 9 PM. So I gave you more work."
I stopped walking making him stop as well. "I waited for you to get off the work." I whispered faintly.
"What did you say? I didn't quite hear it correctly..." He shifted closer to me, towards my face.
I looked up at him, my face getting hot. My ears were red from the embarrassment and my palms felt sweaty inspite of the rain.
"I said I...I... waited for you to get off the work. I was ...worried you might faint from overworking yourself and so I thought, if I'd be outside guarding your back, you wouldn't feel you're alone."
"Hazel." I heard him say and I averted my gaze to look at the nearby wall. "I overwok myself because I want to defeat my sister. My father thinks I can't bring any good to him and his company which he passed over to me unwillingly-"
"I know. I know he didn't want to do it because he never trusted you. He wanted your sister to take over. But she was married already so he had to eventually pass it on to you because of his bad health. I know why you don't love your father. I also know you actually want to love your father but you just could not. But I couldn't help it, you know. I just don't feel good seeing you suffering alone in this."
"Why? You don't even know me properly." He asked and I glared at him. "Okay. You do. A lot. But still, why'd you worry about me?"
"Because you're my source of income?" I saw his face scrunching into disgust. "As you said. According to you, of course." I completed and walked towards the main road.
"Then what's according to what you'd like to say?"
"No comments. I just do. There are some people we become habitual of caring for because we see them everyday. We interact with him everyday. And we know we will see them our whole life, so we actually develop to ignore their flaws and accept them. This way they become our family." I glanced sideways at him. "You are the same for me."
"I'm your family?" I could feel the amusement in his voice.
"After you threatened to kill me, no you're not. Not anymore."
