At her words, Cassian's lips curved ever so slightly. Just as he'd expected. Scarlett was simply making a bid for attention.
"I'm on a business trip right now. I don't have time," Cassian said dismissively, intent on giving her the cold shoulder so she'd realize exactly where she'd gone wrong.
Scarlett didn't overthink it. Both their positions were perfectly clear. "Will you be back for the family dinner in a few days?"
The Blackthorne family dinner was held once a year, with strict rules requiring all core members to attend.
"Yes." Cassian kept his answer brief, then paused deliberately before asking, "Is there anything else?"
If Scarlett backed down now and relinquished the project, he wouldn't mind placating her a bit.
What answered him was the crisp sound of her hanging up.
The evening of the dinner arrived.
Scarlett first went to confirm the foundation's progress. Everything had advanced smoothly to the final approval stage. All they needed now was one more patient month.
This month was the most sensitive period, when absolutely nothing could go wrong.
As the dinner concluded, Scarlett caught Cassian by the sleeve. "You need to convince your father to stop interfering with my work..."
"Scarlett." Alistair stood at the top of the stairs. "Come here. Cassian, you too."
In the study, Alistair's expression turned severe, his words sharp as blades. "Scarlett, do you know what you did wrong?"
Being scolded out of nowhere would baffle anyone, but not Scarlett. She asked calmly, "What exactly did I do wrong?"
"It's just a charity project. Why must you cling to it so stubbornly?" Alistair slammed his hand on the desk in fury. "Fine, you won't give it up, but when Cassian went to Octavian, you had the nerve to speak out of turn in front of him! Tell me. When has this family ever treated you poorly? Cassian has never done anything to wrong you!"
Scarlett understood now what this was really about. "You went to Octavian hoping our partners would shut me out and accept Elowen instead. But Octavian refused, so now you want me to cave, and you're pinning the blame on me."
So that was why they'd summoned her to the family dinner, just for this.
"Don't make it sound so ugly." Cassian's tone carried clear displeasure. "If you'd just handed over the project, would I have needed to go through all this trouble?"
"Call Octavian right now." Alistair's tone brooked no argument. "Tell him you're stepping down from the project and handing it over to Elowen."
Scarlett laughed softly and replied, "How convenient for you both, but Mr. Arledge has his own professional standards."
"Scarlett, don't be so unreasonable." Alistair settled into his chair, his expression grave. "Elowen has ALS. Having her as the project ambassador would be perfect. It wouldn't just help the company build its image but also drive up the stock price! How can you not understand something so simple?"
"When Blackthorne Group prospers, you benefit too." Cassian reluctantly softened his approach, his tone easing slightly. "You're still part of the Blackthorne family, after all."
Scarlett felt sick enough to throw up last night's dinner. When they needed her, suddenly she was part of the family.
When they didn't, she was just a stone blocking their path.
Cassian's lips curled into a sneer. "Keep dreaming! I'm giving you one last chance. If you obediently hand over the project, the three of us can go back to how things were. But if you keep being this stubborn, you'll face the consequences."
Scarlett let out a quiet laugh, genuinely curious now. "What consequences?"
She'd already agreed to their absurd demand to leave the marriage with nothing.
"Starting today, I won't spare you another glance." Disgust saturated Cassian's expression.
Scarlett couldn't live without him, couldn't live without the Blackthorne family. This punishment would be enough to make her panic.
Scarlett stared at him expressionlessly for a moment, then couldn't hold back her laughter. Even looking at him one more time made her feel nauseated now.
"Rest assured, you can have everything else, but this charity project? Absolutely not!" She delivered the cold statement and turned to leave.
Alistair clutched his chest, his voice rising in indignation. "I'll go see Octavian myself! I'll make her understand who really runs this household."
As soon as Scarlett left the manor, Octavian called.
Scarlett kept her tone polite. "Hello. What can I do for you?"
Octavian's voice was measured and slow. "I need to know: will the charity project stay in your hands, or are you handing it over to Elowen?"
"It's staying in my hands, of course." Scarlett's tone was firm. "Uncle Arledge, please don't worry. We went door to door for this project, gathering data and conducting assessments, all to help people who truly need it. I won't let them steal it away."
Octavian sighed heavily and said, "Scarlett, I trust you, of course, but this project has the Blackthorne family backing it, and frankly, they don't deserve all you've given them."
He wanted to advise her to divorce. The Blackthorne family didn't deserve a daughter-in-law like her. But Scarlett and Cassian had seven years of history together, plus a child, with emotion and interest bound tightly together.
Since Scarlett hadn't brought it up herself, it wasn't his place as an outsider to say anything.
"What do you mean?" Scarlett gripped her phone tighter.
Only then did Octavian reveal his purpose. "The Blackthorne family came to me again today. Tell me honestly: can you still maintain control of this project? If it's going to end up in that empty-headed Elowen's hands anyway, we'd rather pull our funding and walk away. The charity project has already entered its second phase. Once this round of assistance is complete, we'll withdraw one by one."
"Uncle Arledge, that's not necessary!" Scarlett said immediately. "Just give me one month. If I still can't resolve the project issue by then, I'll give you all an answer."
One month. The timing was delicate.
It happened to coincide with the end of the mandatory waiting period required before the divorce could be finalized.
Octavian had an inkling of what she meant and nodded firmly. "All right. I'll answer for the others. We'll give you one month. Don't let us down."
Aksara