The family’s three eldest girls had reached critical points in their lives. Whitaker Rosalie, at 20, had gotten into college and found a match she was happy with. Scarlett, at 18, was labeled a ruined woman who couldn’t marry. Meanwhile, her aunt’s eldest daughter, at 17, was on the verge of being matched with a husband.
Aunt Veronica glared at Scarlett with barely concealed rage, hissing through clenched teeth, “You’ve ruined everything for us! You should’ve just died!”
Her cousin, Whitaker Amelia, standing behind her mother, looked equally resentful and ready to pounce.
Elizabeth’s face flushed red with anger. “Sister-in-law, Scarlett just woke up—”
Scarlett gently pulled her mother behind her and said calmly, “Don’t worry, Mom. I won’t argue with them. I’m a reasonable person.”
Grandmother Whitaker looked as though she wanted to strangle Scarlett with her bare hands. But Scarlett, oblivious to the tension, scanned the room with a smile and said, “I survived hitting my head, so I’ve decided to live well from now on. If anyone tries to make my life miserable, I’ll make theirs worse first. Since my presence here upsets everyone, why don’t I just move out?”
Move out?
Where could she possibly move to?
Elizabeth panicked. It was unheard of for an unmarried girl to move out of her family home!
Whitaker Scarlett, however, had survived her failed suicide attempt and had become more stubborn than ever. Her newfound brazenness nearly sent Grandmother Whitaker into a fit.
But Whitaker Scarlett had never been a pushover. If Grandmother Whitaker was cunning and her aunt sharp-tongued, Scarlett herself was equally combative. Aunt Veronica, who had long wished Scarlett would just disappear to avoid embarrassing the family, couldn’t help but chime in:
“Where could you even move to? Don’t tell me you plan to hide at your grandmother’s house for a while and then sneak back!”
Moving out sounded like the perfect solution. The house was cramped, and Scarlett had a room to herself—one that Aunt was already eyeing for her daughter, Whitaker Amelia. After all, Amelia was growing up and would soon need her own space in preparation for marriage.
“There’s an old house by the riverbank, isn’t there? It’s at the edge of the village, far enough to avoid bothering anyone. I’ll move there so I don’t get in anyone’s way!” Scarlett declared, laying out her plan.
Grandmother Whitaker, however, refused to relent. “You’re lucky we didn’t beat you to death for disgracing the family, and now you expect us to give you a house to live in?”
The old house by the riverbank was already in disrepair. It was infested with mosquitoes in the summer, freezing cold in the winter, and reeked of the nearby cattle shed. Even so, Grandmother Whitaker didn’t want to give Scarlett the satisfaction of having her way.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that Scarlett had changed somehow since waking up. She was still headstrong, but her stubbornness now came with a sense of strategy. Grandmother Whitaker was wary of losing control over her.
Scarlett, however, smiled sweetly. “Then I’ll just stay here. There’s food and shelter, and I’m already a ruined woman anyway. I might as well settle in as the family’s old maid. Our eldest sister is the pride of the family, a precious university student. Surely she wouldn’t let her little sister starve, right?”
Scarlett’s words were infuriatingly shrewd, leaving everyone at a loss for how to deal with her. Even the usually silent Aunt Maria’s eye twitched nervously.
Was Scarlett planning to latch onto Whitaker Rosalie?
“Ah,” Aunt Maria finally spoke, her tone conciliatory. “No one believes those nasty rumors, Scarlett. You’re just upset with the family. But where could a young, unmarried girl go if you leave? Let’s all calm down and take a step back. I’ll talk to your grandmother. Let’s figure this out together.”
With that, Aunt Maria pulled Grandmother Whitaker out of the room, followed closely by Aunt Veronica.
The younger members of the family, meanwhile, shot daggers at Scarlett with their glares, while Elizabeth quietly sobbed in the corner.
Scarlett sighed. “Mom, stop crying. I can’t stay here and survive.”
She could tolerate the insults, and she knew the Whitaker family wouldn’t actually kill her—but why should she? If she had been given a second chance at life, why should she live it in such humiliation?
It wasn’t long before the elders returned.
“You can live in the old house,” Grandmother Whitaker declared, her tone dripping with disdain. “Whether you live or die, it’s no longer the Whitaker family’s concern!”
Scarlett, pushing her luck, asked to take some furniture with her. Grandmother Whitaker, unable to deal with this brazen girl, finally shoved a small bag of sweet potatoes at her.
“Now get out!” she snapped.
