Scarlett's POV🥀

I groggily opened my eyes to see Audrey's face close to mine, still sound asleep. I brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen over her eyes and she stirred a little. I softly traced her cheek with my finger and admired how beautiful she looked asleep. Even though we've slept in the same bed together for several weeks, she looked even more stunning this morning.

Plus, this time she was completely naked.

Audrey slowly blinked her eyes open, and I don't think I've ever seen a sight more beautiful. It was like watching a rose open its petals and bloom to its full potential.

"Good morning, mon amour," I said with a warm smile.

"Morning," she replied, giving me a sleepy smile.

I gently brushed her hair with my hand and kissed her. Her bare shoulders peeked out from under the covers, and I placed a kiss on top of one of them.

She smiled again and closed her eyes, going into her short morning after-sleep nap. I quietly got out of bed and after putting on an oversized T-shirt over my own naked body, I left the bedroom to prepare breakfast.

Thirty minutes later, the delicious aroma of sizzling omelet filled the kitchen as I finished blending together a parfait. I heard footsteps and turned around to see Audrey dressed up in jeans and a black dress shirt walk into the kitchen.

"Hey," she said, giving me a peck on the cheek.

"Hey."

"That smells so good," she said as she leaned against the counter and watched me flip the omelet onto a plate.

"You mean it smells moanably good?" I joked and cocked my eyebrow.

She laughed and the sound vibrated warm waves in my heart. I watched her raise the glass of parfait to her lips and take a sip. I cleared my throat and diverted my gaze towards the stove before turning around to face her, leaning back against the counter.

"About... last night..." I said hesitantly. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened."

"What about last night?" Audrey asked, confusion spreading over her face. "If you're wondering if you were amazing, you were magnificent." She gave me a grin and took another sip.

I chuckled and felt myself blush at her words.

"It's not... that. Um... it's... I..." I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. "It's about... it's about what happened at the beginning."

"I'm not following," Audrey frowned, setting down the drink.

"I feel like I've been a bit too aggressive," I said and turned my eyes to the floor. "And when I told you that you... that I own you."

There was a moment of silence before I looked up and saw Audrey standing in front of me.

"Hey. You were amazing," she said, approaching me and placing her hands on my hips. "I mean... I did tell you who my friend actually was and that reaction was something I should have absolutely seen coming."

"It doesn't make it okay," I said, trying to avoid eye contact. "I... I grabbed you and said-"

"Hey, hey," Audrey said, tipping my head up to look at her. "I wasn't scared or anything, because I know that you would never hurt me. Believe me, if you were doing something wrong, I would have told you. And everything you did last night was incredible."

I still wasn't convinced. I did tend to be a little fierce in the sheets, but last night I mostly did what I did because a small part of me was mad that she was meeting up with her ex. And my mind was much clearer this morning, so I felt super guilty.

"And the part where I said that-"

"That I'm your good little girl?" Audrey smiled seductively and pressed her body closer to me.

"No," I slightly laughed. "That you belong to me."

"It's just bedroom talk, right?"

"Yes."

"Besides, I'd gladly belong to you," Audrey added with a smile as she placed a kiss on my lips.

I smiled and ran my hand through her hair as I kissed her back. She giggled as I gently nibbled at her neck, the sweet scents of lavender mixed with honey infiltrating my mind. I placed kisses along her chin, cheeks, and found my way back to her lips, spending a few extra seconds there before I leaned back.

I looked at her beautiful oceanic eyes with tranquil waves rippling that were gazing straight into my soul. I felt... safe. I felt that I could trust her, and she would never do anything even remotely close to what Abriana did to me.

"I love you, babygirl," I said softly.

"I love you too, baby." Audrey warmly smiled before checking her watch and a look of worry spread over her face.

"Oh my god. I have to meet with a client in thirty minutes!" She exclaimed before she released me and hurriedly drank the rest of the parfait.

She came back towards me and placed a parfait smudged kiss on my lips before rushing towards the door.

"Oh, by the way," Audrey suddenly said as she picked up her car keys from the coffee table. "I have this art gallery thing that my friend is hosting tomorrow night, and I'd love to bring you along as my plus-one."

The invitation caught me off guard as I looked at her with surprise.

"Plus-one?" I asked suspiciously. "As in best friend plus-one or-"

"As my girlfriend," Audrey said as her lips curled up in a wide smile, her eyes glinting with hope. "Please?"

"Of course! I'd love to go!" I said, warmth creeping up in me again.

"Yes!" Audrey exclaimed, clapping her hands with adorable glee. "I'll talk to you about the details later. Bye, baby."

She dashed out the front door and left me alone to my thoughts in the apartment. My girlfriend just invited me to be her plus-one at an event that her friend was hosting. I could barely contain the excitement and happiness that bubbled up in me.

"I see things are doing great, huh?"

I jumped and whirled around to see Carmen coming around the corner of the kitchen and wearing a huge grin on her face.

"Jeez!" I said, slapping her arm as she walked past me. "When the hell did you get back?"

"Around midnight," Carmen said, looking at me knowingly.

Oh my god... that means that she heard..

"And from the sounds of it, things turned out pretty great last night, no?" Carmen continued, that stupid wide grin still plastered on her face.

I rolled my eyes and didn't reply for several seconds as I took a bite of the still-warm omelet and washed it down with a sip of parfait.

"Yeah, it was... amazing," I finally answered. "I'm just still concerned over what I did though."

"What did you do?" Carmen asked curiously.

"I kind of... um... I grabbed her a little too hard and told her that she belonged to me," I said with a sigh.

"I... don't see the problem?"

"Carmen, she told me right before that the friend that she met earlier this week was her ex. The ex."

"So? You didn't hit her, right?" Carmen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No!" I immediately retorted. "I'm still a bit worried that my reaction was too much."

"Did she say anything to you about it this morning?"

"Yeah... she assured me that I did nothing wrong and that she even enjoyed it, but-"

"Then stop worrying about it," Carmen interrupted and folded her arms over her chest. "For once, stop overthinking everything and accept what she told you."

"But-"

"Shut up, Lettie. You love this girl, don't you?" I nodded. "Then do not overthink. She told you that she's fine and loved it. Now get it through that stupid brain of yours and stop pondering over it. Sometimes overthinking turns out to be for a good reason, but other times it only harms you. And I am not going to nurse you through another break-up because you decided to self-sabotage it."

"I know... and you're right. I should stop obsessing over little details," I said as I finished my breakfast.

"Good. Now move your ass out of my way so I can make my breakfast," Carmen said as she threw the kitchen towel at me that landed square in my face.

"Yes ma'am," I grinned and moved to the side.

Carmen was right. I needed to stop overthinking, but that was easier said than done. But enough about that. Audrey was going to take me to an art gallery, and I needed to be prepared.

🥀──────────────────🥀

I held my hand out towards Audrey and she flashed her mesmerizing smile at me as she took my hand and got out of the car. Once I locked the doors, I placed my hand on the small of her back and felt her tense up as she took a deep breath. She turned to look at me and placed a kiss on my cheek before we walked up to the doors that opened up into a magnificent room filled with high-end people and art from all over the world.

Audrey was the only work of art that I was interested in at the moment. The black dress that she wore revealed her bosom and showed her beautiful shoulder blades, her tanned skin fitting perfectly with the fabric. Her luscious blonde hair flowed over her shoulders and the red lipstick on her lips glistened under the fluorescent lights.

Audrey was more beautiful than any art piece that existed in the world. And she was my work of art that I could admire in all her glory back at home.

"Audrey!" A man's voice called out and I noticed a tall, tanned, curly-haired man briskly walk towards us with his muscular arms outstretched.

"Sebastian!" Audrey exclaimed as she pulled the man into a brief embrace.

"You made it! I was worried for a second that you wouldn't show up like last time," Sebastian said with a wide smile as he turned his attention toward me. "And you must be the girlfriend Audrey keeps talking about."

Before I could respond, he threw his arms around me and squeezed before releasing me and stepping back.

"Honey, you look absolutely gorgeous in that dress," Sebastian said as he looked up and down at my maroon dress. "Forget that. You both look stunning tonight."

"Thank you Sebastian," Audrey smiled. "The place is packed tonight, huh?"

"Yep. I have a good feeling about tonight. Well, you two lovebirds enjoy the many wonders here. Duty calls." And with a raise of his glass, he walked away to join another group of people.

"I like him already," I said with a smile.

"That's good. He's a great guy," Audrey replied and tugged on my arm. "Come on. Let's walk around."

We toured the gallery for a while and admired some pieces of art including 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon' by Pablo Picasso when I suddenly sensed Audrey tense up beside me.

A look of surprise was stamped on her face as she stared at something in the distance. I followed her gaze and saw a redhead woman in a black suit standing with her back turned towards us.

"Scarlett, let's go this way," Audrey said as she nudged me to walk in the opposite direction.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, refusing to budge.

"We should just-"

"Audrey!" I saw that the red-haired woman had noticed us and was rapidly approaching.

Audrey grimaced before turning around with a bright smile.

"Hey!" She said, her tone laced with fake joy.

"For a second there, I would have thought that you were avoiding me," the woman chuckled, her words a bit slurred. She was clearly drunk as she took another big sip from her half-filled champagne glass.

"Uh..."

"Oh, you must be Scarlett! We finally meet!" The woman said, holding out her hand for me to shake. Which I did.

"Yes, I am. How did you know?" I asked. I had a feeling about who this woman was, and I glanced at Audrey to wait for her to explain.

"Oh, Audrey mentioned you the other day," the woman answered, motioning towards Audrey.

"I did... Uh... Scarlett... this is... um..." Audrey clicked her tongue. "This is... Julia."

Of course. Audrey's ex-girlfriend just shows up at the same event. What a coincidence, huh? But before I could say anything, I was interrupted by Julia.

"You know, when Audrey told me that she was dating somebody and that they were amazing, I thought that she was lying." She giggled and took another large sip. "But you are amazing. I mean, you are gorgeous. And I'm genuinely happy that you two are together. From the bottom of my heart."

I heard Audrey sharply inhale. My head was filling up with more and more questions, and by this point I've noticed that both me and Julia have red hair. And we looked similar save for Julia's blue eyes that were strangely electrifying. I also couldn't help but notice how gorgeous she looked. With her perfect tanned skin, long legs, and her white blouse was half unbuttoned, exposing her braless upper body. I quickly looked away.

"Thank you, Julia. I appreciate that," Audrey said, her lips curled up in a smile.

Julia smiled back and touched Audrey's arm. I instinctively flinched at the contact.

"I'm going to go and leave you two girls alone," Julia said with a wink. "See you around."

Once she walked away, I swiftly turned towards Audrey to demand answers, but not before she spoke first. People today are for some reason adamant about interrupting me the whole day.

"Look, I had absolutely no idea that she was going to be here," Audrey apologized.

"Really?" I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "So it's just a coincidence that she happens to be at the same event as you?"

"Yes! I really had zero idea, Scarlett. I-"

"And what is this with her having red hair as well? What am I, her replacement?"

"No! You're..." Audrey lowered her voice. "You're not her replacement. I mean, granted, you both have red hair-"

"And only two percent of people in the world have red hair. So explain that," I scowled at her. I was angry. And confused. And furious.

"It just... it just happened!" Audrey threw her hands up in frustration. "I love you for you, Scarlett. And you two have absolutely opposite personalities. Like day and night. Trust me."

"Can I trust you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice at a normal level. A few people have already turned their heads in our direction. "Because I keep digging out more and more shit about you!"

"Please Scarlett," Audrey begged. "I love you because I'm in love with how fierce and beautiful you are. It has nothing to do with the color of your hair or anything like that!"

A big part of me believed her, but a small part of me couldn't bring itself to trust her.

But before I could respond, somebody crashed into me and tackled me to the ground with a sickening thud as pain coursed through my body.