Was it from that moment on that she fell for Maxwell Saxon?

Or maybe even earlier—back when she moved to A City, they’d already started liking each other.

She said Maxwell Saxon had saved her several times; women are most likely to develop feelings for the man who pulls them out of a crisis.

Let alone that Maxwell Saxon is handsome and elegant—it’s even easier for people to like him.

Matthew Saxon felt as if his heart had been viciously stabbed by a sharp knife.

And this time, the one who plunged the knife in was the woman he cared about most.

In the extreme anger and disappointment, his handsome face turned pale, which only made the redness of his lips and the whiteness of his teeth stand out more. The crystal chandelier overhead shone down glaringly, the harsh light hitting his face and washing even more color from it.

His eyes, reddened with rage, glared at her viciously—he looked just like those vampires in the movies.

The gaze in his eyes was just as terrifying and dangerous as a Vampire Manor’s.

Scarlett Yates unconsciously took a step back, her hand clutching the solid brass handle of the wooden door. Eyes rimmed red, she explained, "Matthew Saxon, I’m not as cheap as you think. I know you’re really mad right now, but you don’t have to say such awful things. What ’impulsive intimate behavior’? I’m not that casual."

"I did lie to you about this. I wronged you first. But I really didn’t mean to deceive you. I was just scared that if I told you the truth, you wouldn’t believe me—you’d think I was making things up."

"I’m not as heartless as you think. If I really liked Maxwell Saxon, then why would I be with you?"

"Are you worried I wouldn’t believe you, or scared I’d go after him once I knew the truth? Scarlett, you can’t even lie convincingly. If I were you, I’d at least be sobbing my heart out, instead of just putting on this aggrieved face and spinning some crappy story to keep fooling people. You really think I’m still going to believe anything you say?" His rage was so extreme that his expression twisted into something almost feral.

Scarlett Yates felt exhausted, bone-deep exhausted.

The very outcome she’d tried so hard to avoid had still come to pass.

Once again, he and she were fighting over Maxwell Saxon.

She shouldn’t have lied to him, but every word he’d just said jabbed into her heart like a blade.

He still didn’t trust her enough, in the end.

Their feelings for each other weren’t solid enough to support unconditional trust, which was why they couldn’t withstand any test. Just a small problem, and the fragile trust they’d painstakingly built collapsed in an instant.

She had actually realized this long ago—that was why she lied to him.

Even though on the surface they seemed to have made up, she knew very well that the reason Matthew Saxon forgave her wasn’t because he truly believed there was absolutely nothing between her and Maxwell Saxon.

But since he never brought that matter up again, she didn’t ask either.

These past few days they’d been getting along very well—so well that Scarlett Yates felt that even if there were some issues between them, they could still be slowly overcome.

As long as she had a little time, she would find a way and work hard to fix things.

She just hadn’t expected their surface peace to shatter again so soon.

After only a few days, their relationship had been knocked back to where it started.

He had always minded Maxwell Saxon’s existence, so everything she said now sounded to him like excuses after being exposed.

Once he refused to give her even that last shred of trust, no matter how much she said, it would be pointless.

"Matthew Saxon, so no matter what I say, you’re not going to believe me anymore, is that it?" Scarlett Yates tugged weakly at the corner of her lips, a trace of fatigue in her eyes.