Corrine’s expression hardened, her voice calm but edged with menace.
“I warned you not to mess with me. But you just couldn’t help yourself, could you?”
Leah collapsed onto the ground, her body trembling from the searing pain. Her face turned ghostly pale, and cold sweat dripped down her temples. Gritting her teeth, she glared at Corrine, hatred burning in her red-rimmed eyes.
“Corrine, you’re a monster!”
Corrine tilted her head, feigning surprise.
“A monster? No, Leah, I think I was too kind to you.”
“Corrine, what are you doing!” Bruce’s voice boomed suddenly, breaking through the tense atmosphere.
He rushed forward, grabbing Corrine’s wrist in a tight grip. His eyes blazed with anger as he barked, “Leah came to you with nothing but good intentions! And this is how you treat her?”
“Bruce…” Leah clung to him as if he were the last branch keeping her from drowning, her entire body trembling like a leaf in a storm.
“I was just messing around with Corrine. I never thought she’d take it so seriously.” Tears spilled down her cheeks, cascading like relentless rain
Bruce, seeing her tear-streaked face, felt a sharp pang in his chest, as if her sorrow were chiseling away at his heart. His jaw tightened, and his voice turned cold.
“Corrine, you heard her. It was just a joke. Why did you have to blow it out of proportion?”
“A joke?” Corrine’s lips curved into a bitter smile.
“Tell me, Bruce, have you ever seen someone joke about life and death? But then again, Leah is your golden girl, isn’t she? Even her faults are painted in halos for you.”
“You!” Bruce’s pride took a hit, and his eyes burned with indignation. He shot her a glare sharp enough to cut.
“Apologize to Leah. Right now!”
“Are you out of your mind?” Corrine’s gaze was as frigid as a winter morning, her voice dripping with disdain. Then, almost lazily, she added, “Fine, I’ll apologize-when she kneels down to hear it.”
Leah recoiled, burrowing deeper into Bruce’s arms, her fear as palpable as a shadow in the room. Bruce’s grip on her tightened protectively, his heart breaking for her.
“Corrine!” he bellowed, his voice shaking with fury. His eyes blazed with a mix of disgust and disbelief as they locked onto Corrine’s.
“How did you turn into this person?”
Corrine’s expression didn’t falter; her eyes gleamed like shards of ice.
“Because you never really tried to understand me, Bruce,” she said, her tone devoid of emotion.
“You see, I live by one rule: an eye for an eye, and if someone strikes, I hit back harder.”
Bruce’s brows furrowed, the storm in his eyes darkening.
“You’re impossible to reason with.”
Corrine gave a faint, dismissive laugh, her smile slicing through the air like a blade. She turned her attention to Leah, her voice steady but laced with warning.
“Leah, let me give you a free lesson. Being a celebrity comes with a price, and joking about someone’s life isn’t just reckless-it’s dangerous. Think about it. You’re fresh off the plane, trying to build your image here. If tonight’s little episode…”
Becomes public knowledge, do you think your career in entertainment will survive the fallout?
Each word hit Leah like a battering ram.
Her composure cracked, and panic flickered in her eyes. Her grand plan to humiliate Corrine and assert her dominance had gone terribly wrong. Instead of triumph, she found herself trapped in a web of her own making, bitterness choking her like a noose.
“Miss Holland, my boss is waiting for you,” Matias said, appearing from the shadows like a phantom. His tone was polished, his posture impeccable.
Corrine nodded, brushing an imaginary speck of dust from her sleeve. Without a backward glance, she strode away
Leah watched, helpless and fuming, as Corrine walked away unscathed. Her arm throbbed with pain, forcing her to abandon any thoughts of retaliation for now. She nestled against Bruce, her frustration pooling in her eyes.
From the corner of her vision, she saw Corrine step into a sleek Rolls-Royce parked under a streetlamp. As the car door opened, a man seated inside came into view.
He wore a tailored suit with an elegance that seemed to belong to another world. The dim light played across his sharp features, his chiseled jawline highlighted by the soft glow. He exuded an aura of power-calm, restrained, and utterly commanding.
Who was he? And why had she never seen him in Lyhaton before?
The car door swung shut, effectively sealing off any prying eyes from outside.
“Take this for the medical bills,” Matias said, extending a check filled out to the last dollar.
Bruce bristled at the gesture. As the esteemed CEO of Ashton Group, his pride was not to be undermined. How could he, of such stature, accept charity?
Dismissing the offer with a flick of his wrist, Bruce retorted, “Do you really think your money means anything to us? You’re giving yourself too much credit!”
Matias’ eyebrow quirked up in response. Nate was typically met with respect, and defiance was uncommon. Bruce, however, showed remarkable boldness. Was it that being the CEO of Ashton Group made Bruce think he was capable enough to antagonize Nate?
The car window slid down silently, and Nate’s voice emerged, calm and cold.
“I’ll pay what I owe, but take this as a final warning-don’t cause trouble where you shouldn’t.”
His tone was as cold as ice, sending a shiver down the spine, unsettling yet clear.
Bruce and Leah glanced at the black Rolls-Royce, their eyes wide with curiosity about the man inside.
Nate, however, swiftly closed the window, severing their curious looks with the rising glass.
As the vehicle pulled away, Bruce’s expression was stern. Leah, cradling her arm, winced in pain-a sharp echo of agony for Bruce. He comforted her, saying, “Hang in there, Leah. We’re heading to the hospital now.”
Only after Bruce and Leah departed did the scene quiet down. Meanwhile, bystanders had caught the entire altercation on video, identifying Leah as one of the entertainment industry’s budding talents. The footage spread like wildfire, igniting a storm of online debate.
But as debates flared online, the video vanished, along with related web pages-clearly, someone had stepped in to scrub the evidence.
Rumors swirled about the mastermind behind the events.
Leah held her arm, her face turning pale as she said to Bruce, “I’m sorry for the trouble, Bruce. I didn’t expect things to go this way. I hoped Corrine would forgive us, that she wouldn’t resent you, but I’ve ruined everything.” Her tears fell quietly, adding a fragile sheen to her already pale cheeks.
Bruce responded by drawing her closer and tenderly wiping her tears.
“You’re so considerate, Leah. If Corrine were reasonable, she wouldn’t have caused you this pain.”
Bruce’s face hardened as he recalled Corrine’s behavior, his eyes narrowing with residual anger.
“I know I share the blame for how Corrine ended up like this. I’m honestly concerned about her.” Leah bit her lip, her eyes glistening as she added, “Bruce, aren’t you the least bit curious about the man in the car? And how Corrine got into Lonsong Restaurant so effortlessly today? Maybe she’s hit a rough patch and turned to someone powerful for help…”
Bruce cut her off sharply, saying, “No! Corrine might be ruthless, but she isn’t that desperate!”
Throughout their three-year relationship, their closeness had only ever extended to embraces, as Corrine had held firm on not escalating their intimacy before marriage.
In these modern times, Corrine’s beliefs felt outdated, yet Bruce always respected them, seeing them as a reflection of her strong character. And knowing Corrine’s pride, she would never just latch onto a powerful man.
Leah’s eyes flickered with a cold, vengeful light upon hearing his defense.
She was eager to see how things would play out.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.