Normally, after I took the fall for her, she'd just give me the money and say, “Without me, you’d be broke, right?” I never argued because it was true—without a rich girl like her to mess up, I might really be poor.
But I never felt grateful; it was more like a job. Do you thank your boss or yourself for staying late and working hard? I’d endured plenty of beatings for her.
Now, Scarlett was crawling towards me, clutching at my pants with mud smudged on them. “Zara, take the blame one more time! Just this last time! Don’t you want money? I can give you a lot!” Simon was standing by the doorframe, blocking my exit and calmly said, “Zara, name your price.”
I looked at the crowd in front of me in disbelief and said, "Are you crazy?! Scarlett killed someone! This will send me to jail!" Scarlett's parents glanced at her, sobbing on the ground and then turned to me. "Girl, name a price. The Barnes Family can't afford a scandal."
"No way, I can't handle a life sentence!" I clenched my fists, my anger boiling with nowhere to go.