Hi everyone! Thanks SO MUCH for reading my story... hope you're enjoying it... :) This chapter is longer than the last but I will continue to try to increase the lengths of the chapters... I know this was a really quick update... That's just because I've had Chapter 1 sitting around for a month or so and when I finally got around to posting it I was almost done with Chapter 2... But the next update will probably come in a month or so. :( Sorry (in advance) for the delay but I have all these projects and mid-terms and then we have winter break.. and you get my point, right? but it will be up ASAP. Once again, thank you SO MUCH for reading! Hopefully you find my plot interesting... I don't think that I've seen any fanfictions with the same plot so we'll see where this goes... and PLEASEEEE R&R! Putting me on your favorites/story alert is FANTASTIC and THANK YOU for that, but if you have a minute, please review! THANKS! Enough with the talking... Now here's chapter 2. :)

Chapter 2

Scarlett couldn't move. Rhett was lying. He just wanted to see her sulk when we said that. Well, he wasn't going to get the satisfaction of it.

"Rhett, do be serious, really. Where is he?"

"I told you, Scarlett, he's dead. I'm as serious as I can be," Rhett remarked. "Now, if you'd excuse me, Mrs. Kennedy, I need to go see if Mrs. Wilkes is up so I can tell her the devastating news. You know, she's the only reason that I'm sorry he's dead. Miss Melly is a fine lady and doesn't deserve a heartbreak."

"Only reason?" Scarlett thought. There were many more people that would be affected by Ashley, including her.

"But-" she started.

"Oh, I don't want to hear all that stupid business about how he was a fine gentleman and how he ran your mills. He belonged in the old days, and died when Lee surrendered. You and I both know he's of that type. He's happier now." And with that, Rhett briskly walked out of the room.

Ashley-dead. No, it couldn't be true! But it was. Scarlett had to face the reality. Rhett had meant every word that he said. "He couldn't joke about such things, or could he?" Scarlett thought. "He never did like Ashley very much, and- Oh, I can't think about it! I'll... I'll think about it tomorrow. I can stand it then."

Scarlett needed something to do to get her mind off Ashley. "Umm... I'll go see how Frank is. Yes, that should do it." She made her way up the stairs to the room that Frank was in. She hesitated while reaching for the doorknob. "Should I go in? Or is Frank hurt bad? I'll just ask." Scarlett gently knocked on the door. "May I come in?" She asked. "Its Scarlett."

"Yes, Mrs. Kennedy you can come in," answered Dr. Dean. Scarlett pushed the door open, and saw Frank lying on the bed with a bandaged shoulder. He looked as weak as a newborn kitten.

"What happened? Is he going to be alright?" Scarlett inquired.

"Yes, he should be fine. He's not badly injured, but Mr. Kennedy has lost a lot of blood. Oh, don't you worry Mrs. Kennedy," Dr. Dean said as he saw the distressed look on Scarlett's face. "He'll be fine. He should recover in a matter of days- one week at most."

But the uneasy look on Scarlett's face was not because of Frank's injuries. It was because of Ashley. "Oh, why couldn't Ashley be here instead of Frank?" She thought. "Oh, no. I mustn't think that. Mother would-" Scarlett quickly eluded the though from her mind.

Just as Scarlett was thinking of something to say, she heard a large thump coming from downstairs. "I'll go see what that sound was," she stated. She would give any excuse to get out of that room; It reminded her too much of Ashley. And how she killed him.

"What was that noise?" She wondered as she headed down the stairs. "Melly must have fainted because of Rhett's news about Ashley." Rhett... Why, Ashley dying wasn't all of her fault. "Its Rhett's fault too! He didn't get there in time to save Ashley and Tommy Welburn! Its not all my fault! Its not..." She sighed.

Oh, who was she kidding; it was her fault, and only her fault. She had to tell the truth to herself. Frank had told her not to go riding alone so many times. And what had she done? She ignored him. Every time, she ignored him. Of course, she had never though that she would get attacked, and she never thought that she would be the cause of Ashley's death.

As Scarlett neared the bottom of the stairs, she peered over to the parlor to see what was going on. Melanie was lying down, unconscious, on the sofa, India's face was buried in her hands, and Aunt Pitty was seated on the ground, with tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. "Should I go in?" Scarlett thought. But before she could make a choice, Rhett's eyes locked with hers'.

"Please come in, Mrs. Kennedy," Rhett drawled. Scarlett hesitantly walked in, but she didn't let any fright or sorrow show on her face, or in her eyes.

"At least with all these people around, Rhett can't mock me like he usually does. Especially at a time like this," she thought. Mockery was the last thing Scarlett wanted when her darling Ashley was taken from her so suddenly. Ellen, Gerald, her first husband, the Tarletons, the Calverts, along with the rest of her old beaux were gone. And now Ashley, too? Now her love? Who else was there that mattered? Melanie? Ashley was the only reason she pretended to like Melly in the first place. Wade and Ella? Although she hated to admit it, Scarlett knew she wasn't a good mother, she never had been. She didn't even want children in the first place! Melly was more of a mother to them than Scarlett ever had been. What about her own husband? What about Frank? Why, Scarlett had married Frank for money, out of desperation. Although she was fond of him, she wasn't Suellen! She didn't love him! It was Ashley whom she loved. Oh, her wonderful, beautiful Ashley...

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Scarlett," said Rhett. Why did he always interrupt her at the most inconvenient times? "Oh, if we were alone," Scarlett thought, "I would give him a piece of my mind." But she wouldn't let her temper get the best of her. Not here. Not now.

"As I once said, the one thing that gives me more amusement in the world is the sight of you during one of your mental struggles," Rhett chuckled.

"Fiddle-dee-dee. The only reason I came down is because I heard a loud noise and was wondering what it was," said Scarlett, with dignity.

"Oh, that was probably Miss Melly. She fainted after I told her the news about... Mr. Ashley Wilkes."

With that statement, Aunt Pitty and India broke into what seemed like an uncontrollable river of tears. Scarlett, for once, didn't blame them about being weak. She wanted to cry as well. In fact, she felt that at any minute she would break into unstoppable bawling. But she stopped herself. If she started to cry, there was not stopping it. And not one tear was going to leave her eyes. Not one. Especially in front of Rhett. God knew that he would die laughing if he saw her cry.

"Well, it seems I must me going. I hope your husband feels better," Rhett remarked. "Good night, ladies," he said to a semi-conscious Melanie, and two crying women.

"Goodbye, Captain Butler," Aunt Pitty stuttered through muffled sobs.

"Well, aren't you going to be a good host and walk me out?" Rhett asked Scarlett.

"Fine," she retorted.

As Scarlett was about to close the front door, Rhett turned around. "Scarlett, you're probably cursing me in your head right now, but just know that I saved most of the men you know from being hanged, and prevented your mills from making far less profit than you are used to. You would have far less buyers for your lumber, and now you can get a man with a taste for business to manage your mills," he smirked. "Good night."

Scarlett slammed the door and turned around. She wanted to scream. She wanted to go in her room and never come out. She wanted to cry herself dry. But, she summoned up her gumption and said to herself, "No, I'll think about it tomorrow, when I can stand it. After all, tomorrow is another day. I'm not going to let this one loss get the best of me. I will live through this, unbroken."

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