Chapter 31: Chapter 31

When Marco returned from the flower shop, Scarlett was at the mansion's gate. She said that she came to apologize to Madison personally. Dylan knew his ex-girlfriend's presence would make Madison upset. But Scarlett was pregnant and drove to the mansion to apologize, so Dylan welcomed him inside.

It did not take Dylan an hour since he left after breakfast. But he could not help but smile when he entered the gate and saw Madison like she had been away from him for years. Unlike him, Madison's face was dim when she turned to them and saw the woman beside Dylan. Her arched eyebrow screamed displeasure. But Dylan reckoned Scarlett would not do anything wrong since he had already talked to her.

When Scarlett apologized to Madison, Dylan noticed that the latter was hesitant to forgive. He understood it, and he wanted to validate it. But Madison eventually forgave Scarlett, making Dylan admire the kindness of the woman he now loved.

Madison had a lot of work to do, so she left Dylan with Scarlett. Although things had been clear between the ex-couple, Dylan felt uneasy being with Scarlett. He wanted to send her away after doing her agenda. But she did not seem to notice his discomfort even when he said he had something to do.

To Dylan's surprise, Scarlett suddenly grabbed him as she raised her right hand on her forehead. She seemed dizzy, so he immediately supported her and guided her to the couch. He asked to know if she needed medical aid. Scarlett shook her head, saying she was okay getting used to dizziness as it was common during early pregnancy.

Shortly after, Scarlett finally looked better. But she chatted with Dylan, who constantly glanced at Madison upstairs. Dylan could only laugh when Scarlett talked about something, pretending he was listening while his attention was on Madison. Scarlett seemed to be feeling after talking nonstop. But whenever Dylan told her he had to go, she asked to stay for a while until her head stopped spinning. She leaned her head on his shoulder as though begging him not to leave. Her presence and her touch made Dylan want to distance himself from her. But he knew how difficult it must be for his childhood sweetheart to be a mother, so he kept her company a little longer.

Although Dylan cared for Scarlett at the very least, he remained wary of her gestures. He kept glancing at Madison so that he could move a few inches away from Scarlett. He did not want Madison to misinterpret it and get mad at him again, especially since they quarreled recently.

Dylan was not oblivious of what Scarlett was doing. They were childhood sweethearts, after all. He could feel her caressing his arm from time to time as though grabbing his attention. Sometimes he would quietly take her hands and rest them on her lap. But being naughty that Scarlett was, she would cling to his arm and brush her fingers on it again.

When Madison yelled, Dylan immediately turned his head to her, afraid that had happened. Fortunately, she only got annoyed at Emily teasing her. But when Madison turned around, Dylan heard her mumbling. He knew since then that she was beginning to think the way Dylan had been trying to avoid.

Dylan tried to keep a distance from Scarlett. But the father the moved away, the more she moved toward him until he already reached the armrest to his side. When she clung to his arm again, he did not mind getting it off. 'She must have been used to it,' he reckoned. It was then she began to mention her pregnancy and the father of her child. Scarlett suddenly embraced Dylan while sobbing. Feeling sorry for her, Dylan could not help but hug her back to comfort her until she stopped crying.

They were in that position when Dylan was taken aback by Madison's cold tone from the kitchen doorway. When he withdrew from Scarlett's embrace, he saw Madison's frustrated gaze.

Knowing that something was wrong, Dylan wanted to chase after Madison. But Scarlett, whose eyes were still welling up with tears, held his hand. Deciding to talk to Madison later, Dylan escorted Scarlett to the dining room so she could eat and go home afterward.

Emily was the only one serving them in the dining room, so Dylan asked, "Where's Madison, Emily?"

"She's in the dirty kitchen, Sir Dylan. She's helping Ma'am Mila wash the utensils," Emily explained politely and placed the last platter of dishes on the table.

"Tell her to come here and join us," Dylan ordered.

Emily nodded. "I'll call her now, Sir Dylan," she said. With hesitation, she paused and asked, "But if she refuses, what would I do, Sir Dylan?"

'Why would she not want to join us?' Dylan wondered, frowning. "Tell her to come here, or I'll throw everything on this table," he warned authoritatively.

"Understood, Sir Dylan," Emily replied and returned to the kitchen.

'Is she mad at me?' Dylan asked himself in a daze as his hands played with the fork. Scarlett's voice brought him back to his senses, so he turned to her and listened.

Scarlett recounted the days they were doing silly things, making Dylan chuckle and forget what was on his mind. Standing up, she took the salad platter and walked toward his seat. Dylan was utterly dumbfounded when Scarlett suddenly sat on his lap while reminding him of more memories they shared. Remembering an embarrassing moment in public, Dylan could not help but laugh with his hand, motioning Scarlett to return to her seat.

"Sit there, Scarlett. I can serve myself," Dylan said, but Scarlett insisted. Her naughtiness had been pushing his buttons, but he could only patiently let her because she was pregnant.

Scarlett pouted and replied, "Let me be, Dylan. I rarely do this for you, and I know this will be the last time." Dylan hesitantly smiled while she kept reminiscing. Although he could not remember most of what she was saying, he tried to keep up with her laughter so that she would not be embarrassed.

Suddenly, someone grabbed the salad platter and made Scarlett sit on a chair. Some sliced avocado and other chopped greens almost slipped from the platter. Madison's action was so unexpected that Dylan fell silent.

Even more shocking was when she turned to Dylan with sharp eyes. "You're not crippled, Sir Dylan. I believe you can serve food for yourself," she said in a casual but meaningful tone. He felt he needed to clarify something, but Madison spoke again before he could even open his mouth. "Maids know their places. They don't join their bosses at the dining table. Isn't that right, Miss Scarlett?"

Madison turned to Scarlett with a sweet smile and said, "Please enjoy your lunch."

Bitterness could be traced from Madison's voice. Her words echoed in Dylan's head, and he did not like it. Dylan stood up and was about to follow Madison's direction when Scarlett suddenly grabbed his arm to stop him.

Now that Madison was pissed off while Dylan was with Scarlett, he could no longer whisk in his head the thought of his ex-girlfriend's possible ulterior motive. He had noticed earlier that Scarlett was getting closer to him on purpose, not to mention the times she was caressing him. Now, he doubted whether she pretended to feel dizzy to get closer to him and let him stay.

"Let me go, Scarlett," Dylan commanded as his dim eyes stared at Scarlett's hand holding his arm again.

"Let her be, Dylan," Scarlette advised. "Maybe she got tired of cleaning, so she was rude."

Dylan's grim eyes squinted. He was not thinking about the reason for Madison's outburst and not how she did it. "I didn't want you to show up after what you did. Had you not told me you'd apologize to her, I wouldn't have let you in," he confessed and took Scarlett's hand off his arm. Looking at her in the eyes, Dylan forewarned, "Whatever you're planning, stop it, Scarlett. You're only making this complicated."

"I have no other intention, Dylan," Scarlett maintained and bowed. In a sad voice, she mumbled, "I just wanted to eat with you and make up for my mistakes."

Seeing Scarlett in low spirits, Dylan's voice suddenly softened. "You no longer have to make it up to me, Scarlett. Just take care of yourself and let me go. Get your life together for you and your child."

"I loved you so much, Dylan. I still do," Scarlett admitted in between her laments. While her head bowed, she whispered, "I don't know how to forget you."

Dylan sat back on his chair and faced Scarlett. He made sure to keep a distance in case Madison might suddenly come back. He did not want another outburst of anger.

"I've told you several times already that we can never fix what we had, Scarlett. I'm in love with Madison. We're never getting back together, and I'm asking you to respect that," Dylan pleaded. Hearing Scarlett's continuous sobbing and sniffing, he could not help but look at her with pity. He wanted to comfort her but feared she might misinterpret his concern for her again. "Go home, Scarlett. You need to take a rest. I'll ask one of our drivers to call a cab for you."

Scarlett nodded and looked at Dylan with puffy eyes, piercing his sympathy. When she lifted her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, Dylan's reluctance to touch her suddenly melted. He worriedly asked if she was okay and assisted her to the living room.

"Take a nap here for a while. I'll call Mom's driver so he can take you home," Dylan said and took his phone out of his pocket.

"I want you to be the one to drive me home, Dylan. Please," Scarlett pleaded, to which Dylan quickly refused.

Dylan urgently needed to talk to Madison. He did not want to delay it and make her feel that way longer. She was mad, so he immediately called Laurene's driver to go to the mansion.

About half an hour later, a Bentley halted outside. Dylan helped Scarlett stand up and get in the car. "Scarlett," he called. "Please don't bother me anymore. I love Madison so much and can never love someone other than her. Please get your life together and talk to your child's father, Scarlett. Think of your child's future."

Without letting Scarlett speak, Dylan closed the door and waited for the car to leave. When it was no longer out of sight, he dashed to the kitchen to talk to Madison.