Help Me Remember (COMPLETED)

Chapter 7

Happy 100+ reads:) *throws confetti* and hello @eiLainnE ! 

This is only half of the original chapter but it was too long so I decided to cut into two parts to match the word count from other chapters.

Chapter 7

Paparazzi

"Scarlett!" Two hands grasped my shoulders. The warmth from them causing shivers to my suddenly chilled body.

My ears were still ringing and I could feel the sweat forming in my hairline. Zach's face came into focus as I released a shaky breath.

Liar. I felt my heart squeeze.

"What's wrong?" I couldn't answer just yet, "You're cold. I don't think we should—"

"I-I'm fine," I managed, finally composing myself just a little bit, trying to push away from him.

Zach's hold only tightened, "I don't think so. You've gone pale. We're going back." He turned to our driver.

"No, I'm fine. We should go." I said a little clearer.

His blue eyes took me in, "No, I'm not taking chances."

"I can manage," I said tightly.

"Davidson, take us back to the pent—"

"I said I'm fine!" I felt all my blood rush to my face. "We're going! I want to go! Why are you making excuses not to go? Are you hiding something there?!"

I didn't realize I was screaming until the resounding silence after. I'd shocked even myself. Zach's mouth set in a grim line, his blue eyes flickering. But he didn't let me go.

"B-boss?" the voice of our driver made me jump. I snapped back to reality in a second, suddenly realizing my actions. My head twisted in our driver's direction and what I saw there made me draw back.

Fear. Pure. Open. Fear.

He looked at me like he'd seen this before.

"A-are we going back? Sir? M-Ma'am?"

My blood ran cold in an instant. What was I doing?

Suddenly horrified at myself, I turned back to Zach. I opened my mouth to speak but Zach was already uncurling his fingers from my skin, drawing back... pushing away from me.

"Do what you want," his cold voice said lowly before turning to Davidson. "To the hotel, we're running late."

I couldn't say anything after that. The car started back its path and I was left to my own thoughts. Zach sat stiffly beside me, pointedly disregarding me. And honestly, that scared me even more.

A few memories and I was turning into a monster. The outburst, the overflow of all that dark emotion. The rational part of my head was lecturing me about being rash with my reactions.

And although I could taste the bitterness in my mouth... I didn't even know what those memories meant. There had to be a bigger picture than one scene from a thousand missing memories. And I was acting unreasonably over it!

"We're here." Zach didn't bother to look at me as he got out on his side. I looked through the tinted windows to the entrance of the hotel. A red carpet lined the way, and on both sides... hundreds of reporters were clicking away at the guests entering the building.

I didn't even know this party was a huge event.

All the bravado I'd sported earlier completely dissipated. Shame started to seep in.

My door suddenly opened. I looked up into the bluest coldest eyes I'd ever seen, the midnight locks falling into his eyes as the man stooped to hold out a hand to me. And I hesitated.

What was I doing here? I knew no one. I was a fish out of water and Zach and I were having the biggest misunderstanding from when I woke up.

"I-I don't want to go anymore," I whispered like a scared little girl.

Zach stared at me for a second before glancing out at the waiting crowd. They were looking in our direction, already recognizing Zach.

He shook his head and sighed. "We can't leave now. Come on, cars are lining up behind us."

His hand reached out, already taking my hand in his tight grip.

I didn't know how he got me out of the car. But at the continuous flashing of the cameras, the reporters shouting on top of one another and the obvious distress of the security team—

I wanted to run away. This was a mistake. And with the dress I was wearing, I must've put on quite a show for them.

Zach's face was completely stoic but the tightening of his hand on mine told he wasn't comfortable with the attention either.

A paparazzi from the left side started wildly waving his arms in our direction. "Scarlett! Scarlett Noble!"

I couldn't help but turn at my name, making the man smile. Zach noticed this and started pulling me along but not before I heard the question.

"Is it true you were running off with one of your lovers when the car accident happened?"

Zach cursed, dragging my suddenly numbbody into the hotel and out of the prying eyes.

What?

"Come on. Let's get inside."

I looked to Zach but he wouldn't return my gaze. What made it worse was when we got into the hall, all eyes seemed to center on us—on me, specifically. Dignified men in suits were eyeing me. Up and down. Up and down and undressing me from where I stood. The ladies beside them glowering at me in contempt.

One woman in deep green turned to another in blue. I couldn't hear the words but read her mouth the word whore behind her hand.

My chest tightened.

As if the night could not possibly get worse, Valerie just had to appeared in front of us in another red dress. 

She gave me a once over before turning to Zachary and flashing him a sticky smile, angling in a way to show him her ample breasts spilling out of its useless confines.

And wasn't I wearing such a dress too? My breasts were showing, my back in the open, my right leg playing hide-and-seek with every lecherous man in the room.

Why did I wear this? Because of this woman and a shady memory? Some rundown emotion?

You've stooped too low, Scarlett, that now you're kissing the ground she's walking on.

The shame that I felt was too much that I felt nothing when Valerie touched my husband's arm, vying for his attention. Nothing for when Zach gave it to her.

"The president of Hamilton Corporation wants to meet you along with some business associates," she sounded so flirty, gesturing so seductively in the direction of a group of men—

Whose eyes weren't trained on my husband but on me.

Did they want to ogle me at such close proximity that they even used Zach's business relations? Judging by Valerie's split-second glance in my direction, I confirmed so. A knot formed in my stomach.

"Scarlett, let's go." Zach started for the men but I immediately broke from his hold.

No. No more.

Zach frowned and Valerie raised an eyebrow. My throat was closing up and I could not meet their eyes.

"I-I need to use the washroom," I dropped my eyes to the floor, "Excuse me."

And I ran out of that place without waiting for a reply.

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