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Eric lowered his voice and coaxed her, “I do have work to handle, and I can’t afford delays. If it were just about firing a secretary, why would I lie to you?”
Clara still wouldn’t let it go. “Fine, don’t fire her. Then make her stay on her knees at the company entrance for a whole day. Is that okay?”
This time, Eric agreed and looked over at Elie.
“These contracts are tied to a major deal. You either pay eight million, or stay on your knees at the entrance for a day.”
Elie knew he was doing this to appease Clara.
There was no way she could come up with eight million, so she staggered to her feet and, enduring the humiliation, stayed on her knees at the front. door.
She hung her head low, hiding the burn in her eyes, while the chatter of passing coworkers reached her ears.
“Isn’t she Mr. Lawrence’s most trusted secretary? Why’s she on her knees out here in front of everyone? So embarrassing.”
“I saw it too. She didn’t do anything wrong. She just pissed off Ms. Grayson and got punished for it.”
“Ms. Grayson is Mr. Lawrence’s first love. Even after all these years apart, he still isn’t over her. Messing with Ms. Grayson? Yeah, she had it coming.”
Chapter 3
Each word stabbed into Elie like a needle, making it hard to breathe.
Some
She suddenly thought back to school. On Clara’s birthday, boys had made fun of her, saying she was the cow dung that highlighted the campus belle.
Everyone burst into laughter. She’d bolted, hiding in the stairwell.
It was Eric who found her there, handing her a pack of tissues.
“Don’t worry about others. Just focus on yourself, that’s enough.”
Even now, Elie still remembered those words.
She always thought Eric saw something special in her, and that’s why he kept her close. She gave everything to her work, never complained, and always did her best.
But the moment Clara came back, he threw all her years of hard work and loyalty aside, just for Clara..
Yeah… In the end, she was just a secretary he could fire at will.
Now that she was no longer useful, it was time to leave.
Elie stayed on her knees all day. Her skin was torn and bleeding, and the pain made it nearly impossible to walk.
When work ended, she limped back to the office to grab her bag and ran into Eric.
He glanced at her injuries and frowned slightly.
“Take a few days off. Get some rest. Come back when you’re better.”
Elie murmured, “Okay,” without looking at him, then turned and walked
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away.
Once she got home, she treated her wounds and started packing her things.
The moment Clara’s return made the news, Eric had told her to move out of the villa.
Back then, she’d left in a hurry, just tossed everything into a box, making
a mess.
Now that she was going back to her hometown, she figured it was time to clean things up properly.
She got rid of the jewelry Eric gave her, the photos she’d secretly taken while he was asleep, the diary where she wrote about her crush on him at the university, and all the other little things.
Every now and then, gossip from the office group chat would pop up.
When Clara came back from shopping
with sore legs, Eric got down to his knees and gave her a massage. When she complained the office lights were too bright, he had the entire building’s lighting replaced overnight. When she was in a bad mood, he canceled all his meetings just to accompany her.
Elie kept scrolling quietly, repeating to herself, “It’ll be over soon. Just hang in there.”
Once her injuries healed, it was time for the company’s annual party.
Eric showed up with Clara, and the whole room burst into applause. Everyone was saying how perfect they were for each other–rich, good- looking, a match made in heaven.
He helped Clara down the stage, fixed her dress, took off his jacket to put
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around her shoulders, and turned down the drinks others tried to toast her with.
Elie sat quietly in a corner, watching the way Eric smiled at Clara. She lowered her eyes silently.
Then came the award ceremony.
Just like every year, Elie won Employee of the Year.
With all eyes on her, Elie stepped onto the
the stage. The screen behind her
started playing a slideshow of her accomplits over the past year.
She adjusted the mic, ready to give her speech, but suddenly, there was a commotion in the audience.
People were whispering and looking at her with odd expressions.
