Echoes Of a Forsaken Heart

Chapter 268 Natalia awkwardly smoothed down her dress, looking slightly out of place.

Scarlett eyed her, "You two?" Clearing her throat, Natalia admitted, "I've decided to give it a shot. After all, not trying at all would be my biggest regret." "Are you sure about this?" Scarlett asked, concern lacing her voice.

Nodding, Natalia confirmed her decision.

Without another word, Scarlett wrapped her in a hug. "Natalia, I just want you to be happy." A smile broke on Natalia's face as she hugged Scarlett back. "I will try my best." After leaving Natalia's place, Scarlett headed straight for the diner where Elliott had agreed to meet. But as she stepped inside, she froze.

There, besides Emeric, was Elliott-the last person she expected to see! Elliott's eyes lit up at the sight of her. His raised eyebrows seemed to say, "See? I got you a date." Scarlett rolled her eyes at him in disgust.

Emeric, caught off guard by her arrival, stuttered, "Dr. Scarlett, you're here too?" Scarlett shot Elliott a glare.

Was this his idea of setting her up? She attempted a smile at Emeric, "Hey, Emeric." Before she could finish, Elliott interjected, "I invited you both." He chuckled, revealing his plot.

Scarlett realized she had been played.

Elliott, that lunatic, knew exactly what he was doing! Annoyed, she kicked him under the table.

Elliott winced, trying to play it cool. "What's wrong? Not feeling well?" Scarlett kicked him again, harder this time. "Since you're feeling so good, enjoy it." Elliott's face turned pale from the pain.

Fuming, he dragged Scarlett outside. "Scarlett, let's use our words, not fists!" Scarlett snorted and bit his hand hard.

Elliott winced, revealing teeth marks on his hand after she let go. "Enough?" Scarlett stormed back inside, leaving Elliott dumbfounded.

Back at the table, Emeric offered her a glass of red wine. "You can handle a bit of wine, right?" Scarlett loved wine but had a low tolerance. Still, she nodded at Emeric.

Elliott, watching her act docile around Emeric, clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Why was he any less than Emeric? Irritated, he suggested, "Forget the red. How about svodka?" Emeric, amused, declined. "I have surgery tomorrow. But I can get it for you, Mr. Lehner." Elliott ordered vodka anyway, offering it to Scarlett, who downed her wine in response. They barely spoke throughout the meal.

Elliott couldn't shake off his irritation, drinking glass after glass until the bottle was empty.

After dinner, Scarlett, slightly tipsy, stumbled outside. Elliott tried to support her but ended up falling with her. Underneath him, Scarlett looked unexpectedly innocent, her cheeks flushed.

Elliott felt an inexplicable thirst at the sight of her lips but quickly looked away, blaming his drunken state for finding her attractive.

He managed to get Scarlett to a nearby hotel room, intending to ask her haddress. But before he could, she threw up on him. With a throbbing temple, Elliott checked them into a room.

Scarlett, feeling uncomfortable, stripped down to her lingerie right before showering in front of Elliott.

He caught her as she slipped, the touch igniting a heat within him he couldn't ignore.

Despite her drunken state, Scarlett flirtatiously invited him to bed.

Elliott, overwhelmed by the moment, laid her down on the bed, rejecting her drunken invitation with a mix of frustration and confusion.

As Scarlett clung to him, her words slurred but unmistakable, "Emeric, I like you." Elliott felt so furious he could almost spit blood, but then Scarlett suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. The next morning ctoo soon.

Scarlett hadn't even opened her eyes yet, but she could already feel a pounding headache. Instinctively reaching for her phone, she instead encountered the warm body next to her.

Startled, she opened her eyes to find Elliott beside her.

Her mind buzzed, and impulsively, she kicked Elliott right off the bed.

Natalia felt srelief after a night's rest had eased her aches and pains.

She got up, freshened up, and made two servings of breakfast before knocking on Scarlett's door.

But after several knocks without any response, she pushed the door open only to discover that Scarlett hadn't E cback all night. Rushing to grab her phone, Natalia immediately called Scarlett.

"Scarlett, you didn't chlast night?" Scarlett's voice was shaky when she answered, "Natalia, I had a night shift. Don't worry about me." Natalia exhaled in relief, "Okay, just remember to have breakfast." "Yeah, yeah," Scarlett hurriedly agreed, then hung up.

Natalia, still holding her phone, felt something was off about Scarlett's tone.

She sent Scarlett a message, "Got a cold? Remember to take medicine." However, instead of a reply from Scarlett, Natalia received a photo from a stranger.

In the photo, Hamilton was lighting a cigarette with Delilah standing by his side. Delilah's arm was in a cast, and was her face partly covered with a bandage. Around them were members of the Fowler and the Powell families, creating an unexpectedly harmonious scene. Tightly clutching her phone, Natalia called Hamilton.

He answered quickly, "Miss me?" With a forced smile, Natalia responded, "Does your hand still hurt?"

"A kiss from Ms. Jenkins might just do the trick," Hamilton teased, m making Natalia chuckle despite her discomfort. "Where are you?" she finally asked, still smiling.

Hamilton's laughter cthrough the phone, "Right outside your door." Natalia paused, then rushed to open the door.

Seeing the man standing there, she pulled him inside, closed the door, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.