Emerging From the Haze novel Chapter 8

Hearing those words from Calvin, Scarlett's face was drained of color.

She parted her lips, trying to speak, but the words caught in her throat. Finally, she lowered her gaze, the faintest spark of light in her eyes flickering out.

Just then, the psychiatrist arrived for rounds and immediately began pressing again about the psychotherapy plan.

Calvin tore the treatment plan apart, his voice icy. "No more treatment. She's eaten up by jealousy. There's no fixing that."

Without hesitation, Eugene instructed Olivia to send Scarlett to Swain Manor.

"Since you can't stand Sharon, no matter what, it's best if you stay away. From now on, you'll live at Swain Manor. You're not to go near her again."

The nurse nearby quickly stopped him. "The patient is seriously injured and needs to remain in the hospital for observation."

But Eugene and Calvin acted as though they hadn't heard a word.

They pushed Sharon's wheelchair toward the door, saying, "She doesn't need to be hospitalized. Send her off. We don't want her anywhere near us."

Scarlett's lips curved into a faint smile of relief as she heard the coldness in their voices. She was leaving, for good, and their paths would never cross again.

Once she arrived at Swain Manor, she was left alone, with only the housekeeper bringing her meals.

Still recovering from her injuries, she had to tend to her wounds and handle her daily needs on her own. Although it wasn't easy, an unexpected sense of calm settled in her heart.

In her free time, Scarlett went to pick up her immigrant visa. Afterward, she went through the belongings the housekeeper had dropped off a few days earlier.

Among the items was a jar filled with thousands of paper stars she'd folded when she was 11. It had taken her a whole month to make them, all in the hopes of helping Eugene cope with the loss of Sharon.

Each strip of paper had the words, "Eugene will find his sister one day. And I'll always be by his side."

Then there were the hundreds of photos she'd taken the summer she turned 16 when she and Calvin had traveled everywhere together. She'd kept them carefully, imagining how she'd look back on them one day when she was older.

The year they graduated, Eugene, Calvin, and Scarlett had gone to church together, searching for answers. They'd asked if Scarlett would always be by Eugene's side, and if she and Calvin would stay together forever.

Each time they opened the scripture, it offered nothing but warnings. It took dozens of attempts before they finally found a passage that felt like a blessing. Scarlett had written it down and kept it close ever since.

She threw everything tied to them into the trash. As she turned, Calvin and Eugene stood there, their gazes fixed on the discarded items.

Their hearts dropped. "Why are you getting rid of all this?"

"Why keep something that means nothing?"

Scarlett's words caused an immediate shift in Eugene and Calvin's expressions.

They'd come today hoping she'd come to her senses. If she had been willing to apologize to Sharon, they'd have bought another villa nearby and moved her there.