Chapter 4

Scarlett POV

Inadvertently, I caught sight of myself in the rearview mirror—a pale face with guilty eyes.

I hurriedly ran my fingers through my disheveled hair, trying to make myself look as normal as possible.

I didn't want to face George in such an unseemly state, but obviously, he had already seen my disheveled appearance when I first got out of the car.

I watched him slowly approach, and quickly stepped forward to meet him, as Alexander was still in the car.

As I got closer, I didn't dare look at his expression.

What would he think of me? Would he find me wanton?

Since that night, I seemed to be constantly trapped in a predicament where my secrets could be discovered at any moment.

I made up my mind that I could no longer continue to be threatened by Alexander.

"Calm down, Scarlett, calm down," I whispered to myself for encouragement, although my voice was trembling.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my racing heart.

"Scarlett?"

George's voice remained gentle, slowly calming my agitated heart.

After graduating from university, I hadn't chosen to join the Smith Group, but came to the Harper Group as an ordinary secretary, just to be closer to George.

He had always been my motivation to work hard.

At this moment, however, I only felt ashamed.

He was always so elegant and restrained, while I stood there like a child who had been toyed with, my clothes in disarray.

"Mr. Harper..." I couldn't look him in the eye. Those eyes, always gentle and courteous, now filled me with guilt.

"What's wrong? Did something happen? I was just about to find you," his tone was concerned.

But I didn't deserve this. How I wished I could tell him the truth and seek his help. But I couldn't—it would ruin his perfect life.

To avoid implicating him, I could only lie: "Mr. Harper, I'm fine. What did you want to see me about?"

"I wanted to tell you not to return to the office for now. At the company..."

His expression was hesitant, clearly what he wanted to say concerned me, which made my heart tremble.

"Some people came to the company saying they wanted to see you, but I don't think they're good people. You'd better not go up yet."

My heart immediately sank.

Because of our family's debt, fewer and fewer people had been looking for us lately. Now that someone had come looking for me, it couldn't possibly be good news.

But avoiding wasn't the solution. I wanted to find out who these people were.

"If you want to go up, I respect your decision."

George's words always made me feel warm.

I turned around to go upstairs, suddenly remembering that Alexander was still sitting in the car. I felt a wave of helplessness, not knowing what to do with him.

Looking back, I saw George was about to approach my car. He seemed to be suspicious about whether there was a second person in the car.

It made sense—who would get themselves into such a disheveled state on their own?

But I couldn't let him discover Alexander's presence. If this matter got out, not only would Richard refuse to help the Smith family pay their debts, he wouldn't let me off either.

Just thinking about Richard's methods made me gasp.

"Mr. Harper," I called out to him just as he was about to approach the car window and discover Alexander, "could you come upstairs with me? I'm afraid I can't handle so many people on my own."

George seemed surprised that I would ask for his help.

After all, I had worked here for so long and rarely asked him for help, let alone said something so intimate.

He paused slightly, then immediately walked toward me, seeming somewhat flattered: "Alright, I'll go with you to see what's happening."

I sighed in relief.

After going upstairs with George, I immediately spotted those men.

They were too conspicuous—lazily clustered together, adorned with numerous metal decorations and piercings.

As soon as they saw me, their eyes seemed to light up. Their gazes shamelessly scanned my body and face, especially my full breasts. The leader blocked our path.

"Stop right there. No one can enter or leave at the moment. Who are you, and what are your names?"

These people were truly unreasonable, daring to be so presumptuous anywhere.

"I'm Scarlett, the one you're looking for. Say what you have to say quickly, and don't disturb everyone's work."

I strongly disliked these people's behavior and naturally wouldn't have a good attitude toward them.

"You're Scarlett?"

Their gazes became even more unrestrained, as if caressing every part of my body with their eyes.

Suppressing my disgust, I glared at him, a counter to his rudeness.

"The Smith family is unable to repay their debts, refuses to be acquired by others, and doesn't file for bankruptcy. We're here to collect debts for someone else."

I became even angrier. Clearly, the payment date hadn't arrived yet, but they had sent a bunch of thugs to my workplace.

"The court requires us to repay within four months. Only one month has passed. On what grounds are you demanding payment now?"

"Don't you know? The Smith business's capital chain has completely broken. Now the court requires you to repay all debts within two months. One month has already passed, and you haven't paid a penny!"

I was thunderstruck. Only one month left, and I knew nothing about this.

The man continued: "We've been to the hospital looking for your parents. Your mother, Emily, said that the Smith family's debts are to be repaid by you. She also told us where you work, so I had to come find you."

I stood there stunned. Emily sent them to find me?

She clearly knew I hadn't yet persuaded Richard to pay the debt for me.

Seeing my shocked expression, he sneered: "We're law-abiding taxpayers, and we still have principles."

It seemed they weren't that arrogant after all. No wonder they could enter the building and even George couldn't drive them away.

I forced myself to remain calm and said: "There's still one month until the debt repayment date. I'll definitely raise the money to repay you within this month."

He suddenly moved closer to me, patting my face: "We just came to remind you this time. But the next time we come, if I don't see money, then you'll have to repay us with something else."

When his hand tried to move down to touch my chest, it was promptly caught by a strong hand—George's.

His eyes were full of warning.

Withdrawing his restrained hand, the man turned and smiled, pulling a crumpled card from his pocket: "Remember to contact me."

Then he led his group and left.

Seeing them finally leave, my strained spirit collapsed. My body felt limp, and just as I was about to fall, George promptly supported me.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern."

I left his embrace, although I wanted to stay a little longer. However, being seen by too many people might cause rumors.

Back at my familiar workstation, many colleagues were discussing recent events, especially the Smith family's debt issues.

I smiled bitterly, no longer having the heart to work. I went directly to George, hoping to extend my leave, which he quickly approved.

"Scarlett!"

Just as I was about to leave, George seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he only softly asked me: "Are you in a relationship? Your neck..."