Chapter 71
Gabrielle deliberately raised her voice so the entire secretarial department could hear her.
I saw Alicia’s face twist with embarrassment as she stomped toward us in her heels.
Before she could reach the office, Gabrielle quickly slammed the door shut and leaned against it, flashing me a mischievous grin.
I shook my head, half amused. “When did you get so childish?”
“I’ve always been this childish,” she said proudly. “Those two jerks have been bullying you forever. I’m not just gonna sit and watch.”
I reached over and pinched her cheek. “You’re the only one who’s really on my
side.”
I plopped down on the couch and flipped through my upcoming project schedule. “Why hasn’t my resignation been approved yet?”
Gabrielle sighed. “Jonathan’s not planning to let you go. I heard he already gave HR instructions–they’ll probably start pushing you to return to work soon.”
My face darkened. “What is he thinking? Keeping both me and Alicia close–what, does he want us to fight it out in front of him? Is he not worried I’ll blow the whole place up?”
Gabrielle looked at me, half–concerned, half–teasing. “That’s what scares me. You’re not even trying to fight with Alicia anymore. What if Jonathan decides he likes this new, quiet version of you and gets even less willing to divorce you?”
That was exactly what I was afraid of. I slumped down and propped my face on my palm.
“There’s no way I’m fighting over him. That’s just pathetic. No. I need to find another way to get him to divorce me.”
“What kind of way?”
I blinked innocently. “Wouldn’t you like to know? But you’re better off not asking. I don’t want to drag you into the mess.‘
Whatever I was planning, it wasn’t going to be pretty. And I’d rather keep Gabrielle out of the
fallout.
She paused, and then her eyes widened. “Wait… You’re not thinking of cheating on him, are you?”
I burst out laughing. “Please. I’m not that reckless. Sleeping around just to spite him? That’s a little too wild, even for me.”
But still… a little payback? That was starting to sound more and more necessar, Maybe it was time Jonathan felt what it was like to be humiliated. To be on the receiving end of betrayal.
Sure enough, over the next few days, HR kept hounding me to come back to work.
It made no sense.
When Jonathan wasn’t traveling, I’d be locked up at the Ford Manor for months, and no one “cared whether I was alive or dead. But the second he left town, they suddenly needed me to come back and slave away?
Yeah, that order definitely came from that bastard himself.
No way was I playing along. I headed straight to Frederick’s office instead.
Thankfully, Aria hadn’t been around much lately so most of our time was spent actually talking business.
Frederick still seemed to have a bit of a grudge against me—he liked to throw a few jabs now and then about how pathetic I used to be, all wrapped up in my own little love drama.
I took it in stride. I had been a mess; if anyone had the right to make fun of me for it, it was probably him.
That day, we were just about to discuss investment details when Frederick got a call. His face dropped immediately.
“Aria’s in trouble,” he said, shooting to his feet, his expression tight.
I stood too, worried. “What happened?”
He looked straight at me, and something in his eyes made my gut twist.
“…What’s going on?”
My chest tightened as his voice came out hoarse. She got into a fight with Alicia.”
“What? Aria and Alicia? Why the hell would they get into it?”
Frederick shook his head, then grabbed my wrist. “Come with me.”
Apparently, things had gotten serious. Both the Zimmer family and the Fords were furious, ready to make an example out of Aria. Even Mr. and Mrs. Guzman were in a panic.
At that point, I didn’t have the energy to think things through. I just let Frederick drag me out the door.
