Chapter 63

The deafening sound of a slap echoed through the break room, drawing colleagues from all over the office.

Everyone crowded outside the door, craning their necks to peek inside with curiosity.

Abigail's cheeks were flushed red as she glared at me viciously, her chest heaving with anger.

She looked around and saw that almost everyone from the company had gathered. Her expression grew even uglier.

Probably afraid of losing face, she suddenly screamed like a madwoman, "Layla! How dare you hit me! I... I'll fight you!"

With that, Abigail raised her hand and lunged at me.

Her slap didn't land on my face, but her sharp fake nails scratched my cheek, and a burning sensation hit me.

I touched the wound, and my fingers were instantly stained with bright red blood.

"Serves you right, who told you to hit me first?" Abigail lifted her chin triumphantly. Looking at her smug face, my anger surged.

I didn't know where I got the strength, but I suddenly grabbed her collar and slapped her hard three times in a row.

It happened so fast that even the colleagues closest to us didn't have time to react.

By the time they pulled Abigail and me apart, half her face was swollen and red, with her lip split open.

"Layla! I... I'm going to kill you!"

Through the reflection in the glass door, Abigail saw how awful she looked. Her face twisted with rage as she reached out to attack me again.

But this time, she didn't even touch my clothes before Ember brought people to break up the fight, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her back.

Watching her being pinned against the wall by Rhea, our company's burly colleague, I suddenly felt all my anger drain away. I almost pitied Abigail for growing up without her brain fully developing.

I smiled calmly, held my head high, and stared at her coldly. My voice was firm and steady. "Abigail, you know better than I do why I hit you. I'm a housewife who's been out of work for three years, with no reputation in the industry. I haven't even finished my probation period, yet the client specifically asked to kick me out of the project team by name and have you take over. Even an idiot could see what's going on here."

"Abigail, who are you putting on this pitiful act for? Do you think everyone's stupid enough to fall for your sob story and rumors?"

I said that last sentence extra loud on purpose, making sure everyone present could hear.

Whether or not there were any gullible fools among them, after hearing what I said, they would all become smart people.

Even if some continued to suck up to Abigail, they wouldn't trust her anymore. At most, they'd just keep up appearances.

This kind of fake relationship was the most fragile. Even if they stood with Abigail now and mock me, once she lost power, they would be the first to expose her.

I'd already figured out the self-serving relationships between office colleagues, so I didn't care anymore who was close to whom or whether they'd join Abigail in excluding me.

Under Abigail's fierce glare, I warned coldly, "If I hear you spreading rumors about me behind my back again, two slaps won't be enough to settle it."

I really didn't want to use William's name to intimidate people at this moment.

But right now, this was my only way to shut Abigail up.

I was not a pretentious person, and I wouldn't be like those novel heroines who had a solution but chose to suffer for the sake of pride.

Besides, I was still the Brown family's daughter-in-law. Stopping these rumors would only benefit them, not harm them.

I slowly walked a few steps toward Abigail. Immediately, whispers rose around us. Ember grabbed my arm. "Layla, I know you're upset, but this is the office. Making a bigger scene won't be good for you."

She lowered her voice, her eyes full of concern.

I smiled calmly and patted the back of her hand confidently. "Don't worry, I won't hit her. And she won't dare cause me trouble either."

Seeing this, Ember let go, looking puzzled.

Even Rhea was intimidated by my cold presence and unconsciously moved aside, exposing Abigail.

"Wh-what do you want?" Abigail was scared enough to stutter, her body instinctively shrinking back.

"Abigail, you spread these rumors about me because my parents are dead and I have no family to back me up. But you seem to have forgotten I still have the Brown family."

At this point, I leaned forward half an inch, close to her ear, and reminded her coldly in a volume only we could hear, "The Brown family cares most about their reputation. What do you think they'll do to you and your parents if they find out you've been spreading rumors about me like this?"

This was the first time I'd used my identity as the Brown family's daughter-in-law to threaten someone.

It might sound bad, and it was behavior I used to think was shameful, but I had to say, watching the panic and fear flash in Abigail's eyes gave me a secret thrill.

I straightened up and deliberately raised my voice before leaving, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Abigail, there's a three-year age gap between us. When I met my first love, who is now my husband, you were still in high school. By the time you went to college, my husband had already gone abroad to study. So tell me, how did you two even meet? And how did I steal your boyfriend?"

Ember was even happier than I was. She linked her arm through mine and rolled her eyes at Abigail with disgust. "Some people can make up stories, but don't make them so ridiculous."

The colleagues outside the break room automatically cleared a path for us. The way they looked at me no longer held the previous disgust and doubt, but instead showed some admiration.

"See, I told you. Their ages don't even match up. How could Layla have stolen Abigail's boyfriend?"

"So ridiculous. Abigail can't even get her lies straight. I really don't know how she got into college."

"I saw her resume. It's one of those colleges you can buy your way into. Her former colleagues also said she was suddenly parachuted in with no real skills. Basically, she got in purely through connections. What intelligence or ability could she possibly have?"

"That explains it. I was wondering why Layla's design was clearly better suited, but was suddenly replaced with Abigail's."

Behind me, I could hear everyone whispering. Without looking, I could imagine how awful Abigail's expression must be right now.

"Layla."

Just as Ember and I were walking back to the design department like victors, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind, making my heart skip a beat.