Chapter 2: Dad or Trevor

SCARLETT

“You asked for me,” With a cautious tone, I stick my head into Evelyn’s office, the manager of Milton Cafe. A few months ago I wouldn’t even look to this kind of low level cafe for my taste, and now I’m so grateful to even have a job in it.

“Yeah,” She replies, not raising her head up from her laptop. “Scott called in sick, you’ll have to fill in for him tonight.”

“What? No, I can’t,” I reply sharply, only to realize that counts as “talking back” under Evelyn’s stern glare.

I’m learning to drop the “princess way” already, just not fast enough.

Tomorrow is Thursday, the only day of the week I get to visit dad in prison. I prepared his favourite meal, and the thought of his happy face when he sees that is what’s been carrying me through my life nowadays.Pulling a night shift would make that impossible and I still have my final year thesis to work on. I am way behind on the school stuff and I need to catch up ASAP.

Evelyn closes her laptop slowly, pushing down her glasses to glare at me. “If you won’t do it, then you can leave your name tag on the table,” She says curtly.

She is practically asking me to pull a 16 hour shift or lose my job. But I don’t have a choice, I need this job. It’s what keeps a roof over my head and food in my stomach.

I smile wryly at her. “It’s fine, I’ll do it.”

“Hey! Table six, quickly,” Gianna, our supervisor barks at me the moment I step out of Evelyn’s office.

I swiftly grab my notepad from the counter and rush off to take the order of the customers at table six when I freeze, only to see the worst customers there could be.

Amelia and Ashley.

“Don’t just fucking stand there, are you going to take our orders or not?” Amelia says from a distance, forcing my feet to move closer to them.

Milton prides itself on its amazing customer service. I warn myself.

But why would they come downtown and to Milton of all places for brunch? Something didn’t seem right and whatever it is, I am not going to like it.

“Good afternoon ladies,” I say, forcing the biggest fake smile I can. “How can Milton help make your day better?”

“Bitch, seeing your face already ruined my day,” Ashley says with a deep sneer on her face.

“Then you shouldn’t have come here,” I reply in a low menacing tone even though I maintain the fake smile on my lips.

Who does she think she is? I didn’t want her day to be better…..I wish she would just fall off a cliff and stop bugging my man.

“Is this how you treat customers here? By insulting them?” Ashley raises her voice, slamming her fist on the table and drawing attention to us.

“What do you want Ashley? Why are you here?” I ask, seething inside as I realize she’s only here to create trouble for me.

“I want you to leave Trevor alone,” She replies firmly.

Is she drunk? I mean It’s barely 12 noon. I’m supposed to be the one telling her that. I’m his girlfriend and she’s just……..she’s just an unfortunate incident.

“Don’t act so surprised. Do you really think a tramp like you deserves my cousin?” Amelia adds, reading the shocked expression on my face.

I scoff, hardening my expression. Life may not be what it used to be for me but I’mstill the revered princess of the Madden family. Nothing is going to change that and definitely not these two.

Up until dad’s unfortunate incident, Ashley was beneath me in every way. Money, power and status.

I guess now she is trying to rub it in that I have none of those anymore, but the thing is, I never cared for those things.

Guys were after me not for who I am, but for my family name and what that name meant. That’s why those things were nothing but trouble for me. And that’s why I fell in love with Trevor.

He never cared about those things, and he loves me for who I am.

Or at least, he used to.

It’s common in our world for families to arrange marriages between their children for business advantages but dad would never do such a thing or use me for such a purpose. That’s why the girls are all jealous of me, because I found love in the heir of the richest among the rich.

“First of all Ashley, if anybody has to leave Trevor alone, it’s you. Don’t you have any shame, sleeping with someone else’s boyfriend and being so smug about it?”

“And as for you Amelia, calling me a tramp, isn’t Ashley just your latest host? I remember how you used to always follow me around like this, in case no one ever told you, that is parasitic behaviour.”

I slam those words on them and they both frown deeply, obviously not expecting me to talk back to them. I don’t care anymore, Ashley is becoming bold and if I don’t fight for Trevor, I might end up losing him to her completely.

“You’re an even bigger fool than I thought. With your dad stowed away and rotting in prison, should a man be your priority? What would daddy think about his Princess if he saw her right now?” Ashley shoots back unexpectedly and her words hit home.

“That’s the thing you would never understand, Ashley, love gives you power at hard times, not makes it harder. I never need to choose between love and my family,” I shake my head at Ashley. I love them both, but if dad were here, he would ask me to choose Trevor.

“If you leave Trevor alone, I just might get my dad to help your dad out,” Ashely says smugly in a very boastful tone, dragging me out of my thoughts.

“Why would you do that? He deserves prison just like his daughter deserves this pathetic job,” Amelia says, rolling her eyes at me.

“That’s enough. Are you ordering or not?” I say sharply, realizing how many eyes were starting to leer at us.

“Don’t be dumb Scarlett, Trevor’s too good for you. He’s too blind to see me with you always around him,” Ashley replies, refusing to move on from the topic.

“You don’t even love him. You only want to be with him because for some reason only known to you, you just hate to see me happy,” I shoot back.

Right from our childhood, Ashley has been horrible to me and that only made the pain of Trevor sleeping with her worse but they were friends before we met and I couldn’t ask him not to be friends with her because of me, that would just be selfish.

“Don’t be so dramatic, no one cares about your miserable happiness,” Ashely counters icily.

“Trevor does and it’s making you miserable. I take it you only came here to make trouble and not eat. Goodbye,” I reply, turning to walk away when Ashley suddenly grabs my arm and pulls me back.

Using her free hand, she grabs the complimentary cup of coffee in front of her to pour it on me but I’m quick to react and I knock the cup back, causing the coffee to spill on her instead.

I turn and spot Trevor walking in from the male restroom, coming towards us, and suddenly, Ashley starts crying, running over to Trevor and creating a scene.

“Look at what Scarlett did to me, Trevor. All because I told her we came together for brunch, she spilled coffee on me, out of jealousy,” She cries at the top of her voice, clinging tightly to him.

My eyes almost fall out of their socket. Did she seriously just lie in a room full of witnesses?!