Chapter 107: Scarlet’s Schemes

Her determination only hardened. She wanted him back.

No.

She deserved him back. Only she was worthy of becoming Mrs. Zuvel. No one else could.

And if that meant playing the role of a loving future stepmother… then so be it.

“Okay…” Shay nodded hesitantly.

Scarlet beamed and grabbed the tent poles with exaggerated enthusiasm.

Unfortunately, several minutes passed, then ten… then twenty.

The tent still looked like a collapsed spider web of fabric and metal rods.

Scarlet struggled with the frame, twisting the poles in the wrong direction while trying to maintain her graceful composure.

Sandro stood nearby, watching with wide eyes. Even Shay was beginning to look uncertain.

Finally—

Lara stepped forward. Her tone remained perfectly polite.

“How about letting Sandro do it?”

Scarlet’s head snapped toward her. Her smile disappeared instantly.

For a moment, her eyes flashed with irritation.

But with Shay watching, she had no choice. She released the frame with stiff fingers.

Sandro looked toward Lara for confirmation, and Lara gave him a small nod.

That was all he needed.

The boy stepped forward confidently, gathering the scattered components. Within seconds, the chaotic pile began to take shape.

Poles locked together. Fabric stretched smoothly.

Support lines tightened.

The entire tent stood upright in less than five minutes.

Sandro stepped back proudly.

“Done.”

“Sandrrooo, you’re awesome!” Shay clapped excitedly.

Her admiration was immediate and loud.

Scarlet’s expression stiffened. She forced a small smile, but inside, she was practically boiling.

Lara glanced at Sandro.

’I was right about him,’ she thought.

“Come inside!” Shay said, grabbing Sandro’s hand.

Despite being slightly smaller than him, she dragged the thin boy toward the tent like a victorious explorer claiming new territory.

The two children disappeared inside.

Lara followed calmly, careful not to disturb the freshly secured frame.

Scarlet remained standing outside.

Watching. Thinking.

She couldn’t let this opportunity slip away. Shay had to like her. Had to choose her.

Then an idea flashed across her mind.

Her lips curved again.

“Kids!” she called brightly. “Come out! Let’s roast hotdogs and marshmallows!”

Two curious little heads popped out from the tent entrance.

The moment they saw Scarlet holding a tray piled with hotdogs and marshmallows, their eyes lit up.

Within seconds, they were running toward the fire pit prepared near the camping area.

Scarlet smiled sweetly as she arranged the food.

Everything was going perfectly again.

“All we need is a fire. And we will do it the old way.”

She called over a nearby park attendant.

Lighting a fire here was supposed to be a simple survival skill.

The attendant knelt beside the pit and began working with dry kindling and a wooden fire drill.

He rotated the stick between his palms repeatedly.

Again. And again. And again.

Minutes passed.

The stick spun rapidly against the base wood.

But the pit remained stubbornly cold.

No smoke. No spark.

The children began to fidget. Scarlet’s smile slowly stiffened.

Because despite the attendant’s growing effort—

There was still no fire.

The park attendant wiped the sweat from his forehead.

His palms were already red from friction as he spun the wooden drill again.

And again.

Still nothing.

The fire pit remained cold.

Scarlet’s smile grew tighter by the second.

Shay was starting to look bored, shifting her weight from one foot to another.

“Is the fire coming?” she asked impatiently. “How about we just use the lighter?”

“Almost, sweetie,” Scarlet said quickly, though her voice had lost some of its confidence.

The attendant tried again.

The stick rotated between his palms with increasing desperation.

But the dry wood produced only a faint squeak.

No smoke. No ember. No spark.

A quiet sigh came from behind them.

Lara stepped closer.

“May I?”

Her tone was calm and polite, directed at the attendant rather than Scarlet.

The man looked relieved.

“Please.”

He stepped aside immediately.

Scarlet folded her arms.

“Oh? You know how to start a fire?”

The question carried a faint edge.

Lara knelt beside the pit without responding.

Her eyes briefly scanned the materials.

Dry bamboo shavings. Small twigs. A handful of thicker kindling.

Not bad.

But the arrangement was wrong. She adjusted the pile with quick, efficient movements.

The tinder was fluffed.

The twigs were angled to allow airflow.

Then she picked up the fire drill.

The moment her hands closed around the wooden stick, something about her posture changed.

Not dramatic. Just… precise. Controlled.

Like someone repeating a movement she had practiced a thousand times.

She placed the tip of the drill into the base wood and began to rotate it between her palms.

Slow at first. Then faster. The motion was smooth. Steady and unwavering.

Ares, who had been leaning casually against a nearby tree, straightened slightly.

His gaze narrowed.

Because Lara’s movements were too practiced. Too efficient.

This wasn’t someone experimenting with survival skills.

This looked like someone who had done it countless times before.

Within seconds—

A faint curl of smoke appeared.

Shay’s eyes widened.

“Look!”

The smoke thickened. A tiny ember formed inside the darkening wood dust.

Lara lifted the smoldering powder carefully and placed it into the prepared tinder nest.

She bent slightly and blew. Then another.

The ember glowed brighter.

A second later, flames blossomed.

Shay clapped her hands excitedly.

“Wow! Mommy did it!”

Sandro’s eyes shone with admiration.

“That was so fast.”

Even the park attendant looked stunned.

“I was working on that for ten minutes…”

Lara simply dusted her hands.

“It helps when the airflow is right. Using a flint stone is actually faster.”

Scarlet’s nails dug into her palm.

The entire moment she carefully planned had slipped from her control again.

And Lara had stolen the spotlight without even trying.

Ares stepped forward, studying the now steady fire.

Then he looked at Lara. There was curiosity in his gaze.

And something sharper beneath it.

“You’ve done that before,” he said.

It wasn’t a question. Lara met his eyes calmly.

“Camping trips and cadet trainings,” she replied.

Simple. Believable.

But Ares didn’t look convinced.

Because the way she had started that fire—

Was not the way someone learned from weekend camping.

It was the kind of skill that came from harsher places.

Places where fire wasn’t for comfort, but survival.

Shay tugged excitedly at Lara’s sleeve.

“Come roast marshmallows with us!”

Lara allowed herself a faint smile.

“Alright.”

As the two children gathered around the warm flames, laughter slowly replaced the earlier tension.

But Ares remained standing behind them.

Watching Lara…and thinking.

Because the more time he spent around her—

The more certain he was.

Larissa Reyes was hiding far more than she let anyone see.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep