The first time Julian Blackwood spoke to me, I had to look down at my desk so he wouldn’t see the hatred in my eyes. “Good morning,” he said to the staff, and his voice was deep and warm, the kind of voice that belonged to a good man. I reminded myself that he was the enemy. I reminded myself why I was there.
My name is Scarlet, and I grew up in a small house that smelled of warm bread. My father was a baker, and his bakery on Main Street was our whole world. We weren’t rich, but we were happy. He used to tell me, “Scarlet, this bakery is for you one day.
” I believed him. Then Mr. Blackwood came. He owned a big company, and he wanted to build a shopping mall.
He wanted all the land, including our bakery. My father refused to sell. Mr. Blackwood didn’t like the word no.
He raised our rent until we couldn’t pay. He scared away our customers. He used his money to crush a good man. The bakery closed.
Then we lost our house. My father’s smile disappeared, and then his health went with it. The doctor said it was his heart. I knew better.
His heart was broken. Six months later, I stood at his grave in the cold rain while my mother cried beside me. I didn’t cry. I was too angry.
I made a promise to the gray sky: I will make him pay. He took my father. I will take everything from him. Mr.
Blackwood died peacefully a few years later, which wasn’t fair at all. But his son, Julian, inherited the company. Julian Blackwood, young and handsome in the newspaper, smiling like he owned the world. I decided he would pay for his father’s sins.
I was twenty-two and alone. My mother moved away, but I stayed. I reinvented myself. I studied business, learned how to dress expensively, and practiced speaking softly and politely.
I buried Scarlet and created Sarah. Then I applied for a job at Blackwood Company. I got hired as an assistant on the top floor, close to Julian’s office. The first time I saw him in person, I felt my heart stop.
He was tall, wore a dark blue suit, and had green eyes that were surprisingly soft. He smiled at me and said, “Welcome, Sarah. ”
I told myself: he is just a man. He is the enemy.
Do not forget. For six months, I was the perfect employee. I arrived early, stayed late, made his coffee, and studied him. I was looking for his weakness, but I found something else.
Julian was quiet and hardworking. He was polite to the cleaners and kind to the secretaries. He wasn’t like his father at all. It made me angry.
I decided it was all an act. One rainy evening, everyone had gone home, but I stayed late. Julian found me at my desk. “Sarah, why are you still here?
It’s late. ”
“I have work to finish, sir. ”
He looked at the heavy rain and insisted on driving me home. I wanted to say no, but I realized this was my chance to get closer to him.
I accepted. His car smelled of leather and expensive cologne. As we drove, he put on slow piano music. “Do you like music?
” he asked. Then he surprised me by saying, “My father loved money. He taught me business, but he never taught me how to be happy. ”
I looked at him and saw sadness on his face.
That was the moment I found his weakness. Julian was lonely. I knew exactly what to do. I would make him fall in love with me.
If he loved me, I could hurt him. I could ruin his company and break his heart. It was cruel, but I didn’t care. I smiled at him more, asked about his day, and brought him coffee the way he liked it.
We started talking about books and food and the weather. He asked me to lunch, and we talked for two hours. He laughed at my jokes, and I saw his eyes shine. He likes me, I thought.
The plan is working. We went on more dates, to the cinema and the park, walking by the river. Julian was a gentleman. He opened doors for me and looked at me like I was the only woman in the world.
Sometimes, it was hard to keep hating him. When he laughed, I wanted to laugh too. But then I remembered my father and the cold rain at the grave. Do not fall in love.
This is a game. A year passed. One spring day, Julian took me to a garden full of flowers. He stopped walking, took my hand, and fell to one knee.
“Sarah, my life was gray before I met you. Will you marry me? ”
He opened a small box and revealed a huge diamond ring. This was it.
This was my victory. If I said yes, I would have everything I needed to destroy him. “Yes,” I said. “I will marry you.
”
He hugged me and lifted me off the ground. “I love you, Sarah,” he whispered. “I love you too,” I lied. My chest hurt, but I ignored it.
We had a big wedding in the summer with flowers everywhere. Everyone told me I was so lucky to marry a rich, handsome man. I smiled but felt cold inside, like a spy or a thief. I moved into his mansion, which was huge and quiet.
Julian was happy and tried to give me everything. He told me I could redecorate anything I wanted. I played the role of a good wife, cooking dinners and hosting parties. But at night, I searched.
I looked through his office and his drawers, wanting to find proof of his father’s crimes or a way to steal his money. I found nothing. Julian’s business was clean. He paid his workers well and gave money to charity.
It frustrated me. How could I destroy a good man? I told myself his money was dirty, stained with my father’s pain. One night, I couldn’t sleep because the guilt was eating at me.
Julian woke up and found me in the kitchen. “Are you okay? You look pale. ” He made me herbal tea and held my hand.
“I know this life is different for you,” he said. “But I am here. We are a team. ”
I looked at him and asked, “Why do you love me?
”
He looked surprised. “Because you are real. You are the best person I know. ”
I wanted to cry.
“What if I’m not who you think I am? ”
He smiled and kissed my hand. “We all have secrets. I don’t care.
I love you. ”
A few weeks later, Julian got very sick with a bad flu. He had a high fever and couldn’t get out of bed. I became his nurse.
I sat by his bed, put cool cloths on his forehead, and gave him soup. He was weak, like a child, and he whispered, “Thank you, Sarah. You are an angel. ”
Looking at his helpless face, my anger started to melt.
It was hard to hate a man who looked at me with so much love. I started asking myself: has he hurt me? No, he has only loved me. But his father, my mind argued.
He is not his father, my heart answered. The thought scared me. If he wasn’t the enemy, then who was I? I was the liar.
The monster. On the fourth day, Julian felt better. He sat up and said, “Sarah, I need to show you something. Go to my office and open the safe.
The code is your birthday. ”
My heart raced. I went to his office with shaking hands. The safe opened, revealing money and jewelry, and a blue folder.
This was my chance. I could take everything and leave. I opened the folder. Inside were old papers.
I saw my father’s name. I read the letters. They were letters from Julian to his father. The dates were five years old.
The first one said: “Father, you cannot do this. You cannot destroy the local shops. These people have families. It is wrong.
”
The second one said: “Father, please stop. The bakery on Main Street—the man is sick. If you take his shop, it will kill him. I beg you.
Let him stay. ”
The last paper was a transfer of a large amount of money, sent to my father’s bank account. The transfer had failed because the account was already closed. Julian tried to save us.
He fought his father and tried to send us money. My father never knew. I never knew. I dropped the folder and sank to the floor, crying loud and hard.
I had hated the wrong man. I married the only man who tried to help me, and I planned to destroy him. I was the monster. I heard footsteps and looked up.
Julian stood at the door, weak and pale, wearing his robe. “You read them,” he said softly. I nodded, unable to speak. He walked over and sat on the floor next to me.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Why are you sorry? ”
“I could not save him. ” His voice was sad.
Then he said, “I know who you are, Scarlet. ”
The world stopped. “You knew? ”
“I knew from the beginning.
When I saw your application, I saw your real name. Scarlet Miller, daughter of John Miller. I did a background check. ”
“And you still gave me the job.
You still married me,” I whispered. “I wanted to hurt you. I wanted to destroy you. ”
He looked into my eyes.
“Because I owed you. I wanted to give you back what my father took. I wanted to give you a home, a life. ” He paused.
“And I fell in love with you. I saw your pain, but I also saw your strength. I hoped that one day you would see me. Not my name.
Just me. ”
I sobbed. “I am so sorry, Julian. I lied to you every day.
”
He wiped my tears with his thumb. “I forgave you a long time ago. Now you must forgive yourself. And you must forgive me for my family’s sins.
”
We sat on the floor holding each other. The ghosts of our fathers were gone. It was just us, Julian and Scarlet. That night I told him everything about the promise at the grave and my plan for revenge.
He held my hand and didn’t get angry. “It is over now,” he said. “We start again. No more secrets.
”
The next morning I woke up to sunshine. I felt light. The anger was gone. I realized revenge is a fire that burns both the person you hate and yourself.
But love is like water. It heals and it cleans. I went to the kitchen and started making bread, following my father’s recipe. The smell of baking bread filled the huge house, making it feel like home.
Julian followed the smell. “What is this? ” he asked, smiling. “This is me,” I said.
“This is Scarlet. ”
He cut a slice and ate it. “It is delicious. ”
“My father taught me.
”
“He was a good man. ”
“Yes,” I said. “And I married a good man too. ”
We ate bread in the kitchen and laughed.
My life is not what I planned. I planned for war and found peace. I planned for hate and found love. I am Scarlet.
I married him for revenge, but I stayed for love. We are opening a new bakery soon, and we will call it Miller and Blackwood. That is the best revenge—to be happy, to live well, and to love.
