Prologue

A/N: There seems to be some confusion about this story, Rhett will be married in the next chapter, because it'll take place four years after this current chapter. There may be some inconsistencies...if there are, please point them out. :D

"Scarlett what are you doing here?" Rhett Butler was shocked to see his ex wife.

Their marriage settled in divorce. Rhett left her half of his fortune to get her to sign the papers making it official. It was a bitter time for Scarlett, but she could see how miserable Rhett was every time he came to Atlanta. Her reputation was already in shreds and the Old Guard still allowed Wade and Ella to play with their grandchildren, at their homes with Scarlett absent. Scarlett allowed it, only to keep her remaining children from being as miserable as she was. She would leave Atlanta were it not for Aunt Pitty crying at the thought, since India had moved out and Scarlett was back in Aunt Pitty's house. Wade and Ella, when school was in session, resided in private institutions in Charleston and Fayettville respectfully. The other reason keeping her in Atlanta was Ashley.

Every time she even thought about leaving, the promise that she made to Melly floated to the front of her mind. No, she couldn't leave, not while Ashley's mills were barely sustaining themselves and Beau was in danger of attending a Yankee school because Ashley could not afford the tuition at a southern school, and because he was too proud to take her money. She needed to come up with a plan to get Ashley off her back. That's how she ended up at her ex husbands house in Charleston.

"I need a favor." she admitted.

"More money?" he asked with a jeer and allowed her to enter the house. "Should we go to the office so I can get the bank notes? You know, Scarlett, seeing as we aren't married I really owe you nothing."

"Oh hush!" she said, wincing as the words stabbed at her heart, "I need you to sell me the land that the house is built on. I want to tear it down."

"What if I just gave the orders myself."

"That won't work, you see I'm planning to build a new house there for A-Aunt Pitty and she won't take it if...well you know" she finished lamely.

"You mean you're going to build a house for Ashley on my property and he won't take it knowing that it would be legally mine. Scarlett, you don't have to lie to me, I could care less about your affairs with the Honorable Ashley Wilkes, as I stated before, we are no longer married, how much are you offering me for the property?"

She visibly winced again but ignored the questioning look from Rhett, "How much do you want for it?"

"Well nothing that you could afford, even with half my fortune, but I suppose we could come to an...agreement."

"An agreement..." she bit her lip, did he still want her?

"Yes, an agreement. If I give you the property back, you'll stop finding me." he told her.

His words struck a blow. Tears sprang up in her emerald eyes. She fumbled in the pocket of her dress for a handkerchief but couldn't find it. She swiped at the tears angrily when they started flowing. Rhett sighed and handed her one of his own.

"Scarlett really, my words shouldn't keep wounding you. It's over, as over as something that never really started in the first place could be. I've -" his words were cut off by a female voice.

"Rhett, who are you talking to?"

A petite female walked into view. She was shorter than Scarlett with fine blonde hair. Her blue eyes shone curiously at the woman before her. The girl, who held her self confidently before entering the room, slumped a fraction of an inch when she eyed Scarlett.

"Rhett, who is this?" her voice was as small as her stature, it quickly irritated Scarlett.

"My dear, this is Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy B-" he paused and drew a breath, "Butler."

"Butler, are you related to Rhett?" the tiny woman asked.

"Scarlett, this is Abigail, an acquaintance of mine."

"An acquaintance, really Rhett." Abigail laughed, her first question forgotten, "We've known each other since we were children."

"You must not know him that well if you don't know who I am" Scarlett said in a teasing tone. To Abigail, it was harmless, but Rhett knew better. An amused smile played on his face, "I'm his ex wife."

"Oh, you're that Scarlett," Abigail's voice lost some of it's warmth.

"So you have talked about me." Scarlett jibed at Rhett.

"I haven't needed to, my pet, you're reputation precedes you everywhere you go."

"Just like yours does."

Rhett was shocked at how quick her tongue had become. At the end of their marriage, before Scarlett let him have his divorce, she was as soft spoken as Melanie, in a last-ditch effort to win him back. It was pleasant to Rhett, after living with her rough tongue for years, but he had to admit that he missed the Spitfire that she was when he met her. He admitted to himself that he could have tolerated her infatuation with Ashley better had the war not hardened her. Two previous marriages also turned the carefree child into a bitter angry adult. She wasn't the virginal young lady that would endure sleeping next to him, and with him, even if she didn't love him. No, too many things happened in her life, too many personal wars were fought before Rhett got her. Too much bitterness that misplaced love that his money and affection couldn't repair. He got a broken, battered version of her old self, and, it ashamed him to say, he broke her further. The soft spoken almost-lady that greeted him at the train depot was proof of how broken she was. Especially when it became apparent that acting like Melly wasn't going to help her win his affections back, she gave up. She surrendered the final battle and had nothing else to fight for. Her parents were dead, her reputation in shred, the Cause was over, her life no longer hung in the balance, neither did her financial stability, and her marriage was beyond repair. The number of wars she won outweighed those she lost, but the final war, it was over.

The day she agreed to sign the papers was at the forefront of Rhett's mind as he saw Scarlett to the carriage that would take her back to the hotel she was staying at. It was summer, two years after Bonnie had died and they were visiting the grave site. Rhett got himself drunk at Belle's the night before and woke up drinking before going over to the house. Scarlett was at the top of the staircase, wearing a dark green dress that darkened her eyes emerald. Her hair was piled on her head under a green hat. A frown was deeply embedded on her face when she watched her husband stumble in reeking of cheap perfume.

"If you can't respect me enough to stay home when you're here, at least respectful to Bonnie!" she snapped when she saw him.

Rhett could only laugh, "There's the Scarlett I've been waiting for, for the past two years." he told her, causing the frown to grow deeper.

"There isn't time for you to bathe so you'll just have to go like that." she told him and started making her way down the stairs. Her foot slipped on a ball that was laying forgotten on the stair. She gripped the banister but still fell backwards and slid the rest of the way down.

"Scarlett!" Rhett shouted so loud that her ears rang.

"I'm alright Rhett, just help me up" she muttered and tried to stand, he was at her side instantly and lifted her up, setting her on her feet he prodded at her body, checking for any injuries.

"Rhett, stop, I'm fine." she told him, already provoked to the point of explosion.

Rhett stopped what he was doing and pulled her against his chest, crushing and wrinkling her dress.

"What has gotten into you!" She grumbled, pushing away from him, "someone would think that I tumbled down the way you're going on..." her voice trailed off and she looked up at him, her emerald eyes meeting his black ones.

She watched the emotions play on his face, concern, relief, confusion, sadness, something else, and finally nothing. He pushed her away and shook his head, "Forgive me, my pet, I may have drank too much Whiskey before coming over." he said, the coolness back in his voice. "Shall we?"

Later that night she went down for her nightly Brandy and saw him sitting at the table with his head in his hands.

"Is it really that hard for you to be here?" she asked softly.

"There are memories everywhere." he wasn't sure if he was answering her or talking to herself.

"Would it matter, if we left this house, moved out of Atlanta, started over..."

"There is no starting over Scarlett. There is too much between us."

She only sighed, tired of pressing it, tired of fighting a losing war, tired of the constant rejection. "I'll sign the papers" she whispered.

He looked up, unsure if he heard her, "You'll what?"

"I'll sign the divorce papers..."

"You must not love me as much as you claim Mrs. Butler, to give in after only two years." he jeered.

"Is there a point in torturing us both? If I fight for two more years, will it make a difference? Will we finally be able to be happy and start anew, or will we have just spent four years in misery?"

"When did you grow up Scarlett?" he asked, being sincere.

"After Melly died, I realized that one of my only friends was gone, then you left and in the same night I lost the other and I was truly alone."

"You had Ashley."

She only shook her head, "That night, I lost a pretend lover and gained another child, then I lost the only real love I had." she sighed, "I'll sign the papers."

"I'll have them tomorrow."

She turned to go but he stopped her, "Why are you giving up?" he wanted to know, "You've always been a fighter."

"Fighting is all we've done since we met, it's time for a peaceful approach. Maybe if I do this, you'll realize that I really do love you, after all, I'm doing this to make you happy." her voice broke and she ran out the room and up the stairs. He could hear her door slam and contemplated following her, but decided against it, deciding that it would make it harder on himself to go up there and comfort her while denying the truth and lying through his teeth about not loving her.

"So that was you're ex wife?" Abigail's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Yes, the spitfire of Atlanta and the belle of Clayton County, the Emerald of Tara herself."

"Why didn't you tell her?" Abigail looked hurt.

"Because she came on business about the home that she lives in and that I own. I sold it to her for three hundred dollars." he couldn't help but smile at the sum, Scarlett had blushed when he mentioned the price, the same amount she had gone to him for, in exchange for her body.

"Is it worth that?"

"It's worth much more, but it's a favor to her. Anyway, she came on business so it wasn't the place to tell her that I'm getting remarried."