Like a devil, his mere presence instilled terror in others. Such was the description that fitted John Stovall.
“You!” He hung up after spitting out the word sinisterly.
Just when a myriad of emotions was rushing through me, a message soon arrived from him. It read: Lucksville Lane 221, four o’clock. Letty, be there or be square.
As I held onto my phone, looking at his message time and again, I forced myself to calm down. I tried to convince myself that it was impossible for a person to fall into the same trap over and over again.
Since I could not avoid John, I might as well brainstorm a way to make him stay away from me on his own accord.
Bzzzzzzttt! My phone vibrated suddenly, indicating an incoming call.
It was Ashton. The moment I picked up the call, a frosty voice filled with indifference came from the other end of the line, “Get ready. You’ll be accompanying me to a party later.”
Still feeling troubled because of the matter regarding John, I tried to come up with an excuse after a pause, “Is it necessary for me to attend? I’m feeling a little unwell today. I want to stay home and have a good rest.”
There was silence on the other end of the line before it was broken by his deep voice. “Is it very serious?”
Shaking my head, I assured him, “It’s not that serious, but I don’t want to go out.”
After a pause, I asked tentatively, “Is the party important?”
“It’s fine. Go ahead and have a good rest then.” His voice was low and almost devoid of any emotions.
After hanging up the call, I sent a message to Macy. After that, I spent some time preparing before getting in my car and drove directly to the address sent by John.
It was four o’clock in the evening.
The sun was blazing and people were coming and going on the streets. The address John sent me pointed to a high-end private dress shop.
Keeping my guards up, I did not step in immediately. Taking out my phone from my pocket, I called John, yet I could not get through to him. Just then, a young lady in a green dress ambled out from the shop.
With a smile on her face, she looked at me and asked, “Are you Ms. Scarlett Stovall?”
Surprised, I nodded.
Still smiling, she said, “Please come in, Ms. Stovall. Don’t worry. Mr. Stovall has given us his instructions. Please leave everything to us.”
I followed her up to the VIP room on the second floor. After giving some orders to a few people, she brought me to pick a gown.
I could tell what they were going to do since I wasn’t a fool. That being said, I had no idea what was John actually up to. It wasn’t before long before my phone was confiscated.
After that, I was escorted to the dressing table, the girl in green dress smiled at me and said, “Ms. Stovall, don’t be nervous. Since Mr. Stovall has already prepared everything, all you need to do is cooperate with us.”
Within ten minutes or so, the whole process was done. Looking at my almost unrecognizable self in the mirror, I frowned and felt displeased.
John himself did not show up but instead arranged for a black, sleek Bentley to wait for me outside the store. As I glanced at the car, I noticed that the chauffeur looked really young.
Feeling reluctant to get into the car, I stared at the man with my arms crossed and questioned, “What’s the address? Since I have a car, I’ll drive myself there.”
“Does this means that Ms. Stovall doesn’t trust me?” the chauffeur asked with a smile on his face.
I nodded and replied curtly, “Yes.”
Perhaps he did not expect me to be so brusquely direct, he was slightly taken aback. It didn’t take long for him to recomposed himself though as he tried to convince me with a smile on his face, “Ms. Stovall, don’t worry. Mr. Stovall just wants to bring you to a party where he hopes to introduce you to everyone.”
“Cut the crap and just tell me the address.” I wasn’t going to let my guard down since I had no idea what John was up to.
In response, the chauffeur got out of the car and opened the door for me. With the smile still plastered on his face, he said firmly, “Ms. Stovall, please don’t make things difficult for me. By the way, Mr. Stovall knows that you’ve given Ms. Markle a call. In fact, he has already sent someone to pick her up too. Surely you don’t want to trample on his kindness, right?”
Is this a threat?
Is he using Macy to threaten me?
After mulling over it for a long while, I gave a bitter laugh and got into the car in an elegant fashion. I guess John really understood me, huh.
The chauffeur drove me to a resort located somewhere in the southern part which was more than an hour’s drive away. At first, I had no idea where I was being taken to.
However, after seeing the car driving into the golf course, which was located in the southern suburbs, I instantly knew where I was. After all, J City was a famous ancient capital for three successive empires back in the past. Despite the rapid infrastructure development and modernization in this present day, it still managed to retain its cultural heritage of the old city.
Although the place was not a military nor political capital, many great talents had been produced here in the past century. As a result, many senior citizens who used to hold high positions in the capital preferred to own a piece of real estate here in J City, seeking a stable investment for the next hundred years for their offspring’s generation.
As such, these precious lands in the southern area of J City had become a melting pot for those with power, prestige, and possessions. The saying that all were created equal was simply not true. For the ordinary everyday folks, this luxurious land in the southern suburbs of J City was way beyond their means even if they had strived and toiled hard for a hundred years.
Despite so, there were still many people who racked their heads daily to try to enter here. In their minds, they thought that anyone they met here had the potential to be their life’s benefactors and would help them paved their way to success.
Upon entering the compound of the golf course, the car stopped. Someone came and ushered me out to get into another privately contracted black Bentley which was waiting by the side.
The moment I boarded the car, I saw John inside with his usual smug, masculine aura and a gentle expression. A pair of clear, foxlike eyes were fixed on me as he greeted, “Scarlett! It’s been a while!”
Unable to react in time, I propped my long skirt and wanted to get out of the car. However, it was too late as he wrapped his arms around me and pinned me to the seat. In a low voice, he whispered, “Be a good girl now, won’t you? For our first encounter, I have hoped that we can be a tad more romantic.”
