Chapter125 I Will Pursue This to the End
She clutched her phone, the screen displaying a location tracking interface.
"Those two fucking assholes."
Elara looked at the two people struggling in the private room, and the last thread of her rationality snapped.
She screamed as she stormed in, her high heels clicking sharply against the floor.
The moment Thomas saw his wife, his earlier demeanor vanished instantly. His legs nearly gave out, and he almost collapsed to the floor.
"H-honey, let me explain..."
Elara completely ignored him and charged straight at Miranda.
Miranda had just been cornered by Thomas in the confined space and had no time to dodge.
A gust of wind rushed toward her.
"Smack!"
The crisp sound of the slap echoed through the room.
Miranda felt a searing pain across her cheek. Her head jerked to the side, ears ringing.
Elara had used every ounce of her strength in that slap.
"Miranda, you shameless whore."
Elara pointed at Miranda's nose, cursing viciously. "A few days ago at the company, you acted so innocent, even threatened to sue me? And what happens? You turn around and have a secret meeting with my husband behind my back!"
"If I hadn't installed a tracker in Thomas's car, I would've actually fallen for your lies, you homewrecker."
Miranda held her face, slowly turning her head.
Half of her once-flawless face was now red and swollen, clearly marked with five finger prints.
She said nothing, but her eyes were frighteningly cold.
"Honey! Honey, listen to me!"
Seeing this, Thomas feared Elara would turn her fury on him. He dropped to his knees with a thud.
The way he knelt was practiced, almost pitiful in its familiarity.
He wrapped his arms around Elara's legs, sobbing with snot and tears running down his face.
"Honey, I swear it wasn't my idea to come here! It was her! This woman seduced me!"
Thomas pointed at Miranda, shamelessly throwing dirt on her without a hint of shame.
"She texted me earlier saying she was waiting at the restaurant, and that... that if I came, she'd do anything I wanted."
"You know how men are, sometimes we just can't control ourselves... But I swear, I was about to leave as soon as I got here. She grabbed me and wouldn't let me go. She kept trying to touch me."
He painted himself as the victim with such convincing tears.
Miranda was so angry she almost laughed. Could someone really be this shameless?
"You're full of it!"
Elara cursed him out, but clearly believed Thomas's words.
In her eyes, beautiful women like Miranda were guilty by default.
"Miranda, what do you have to say for yourself?"
Elara moved to lunge at her again. "Today I'm going to tear that face of yours apart!"
Miranda lowered the hand covering her face.
She took a deep breath, her tongue pressing against her slightly numb cheek.
The metallic taste of blood spread through her mouth.
Perfect.
She'd been too busy with work these past few days to bother with this bizarre couple.
And now they were pushing their luck?
Did they really think she’d just take it and never fight back?
Just as Elara raised her hand to deliver a second slap.
Miranda moved lightning-fast, catching Elara's wrist.
"You..."
Elara froze, caught off guard.
"Smack!"
An even louder, sharper slap rang out than before.
Miranda backhanded Elara hard across the face, sending her stumbling backward two steps until she crashed into a nearby chair.
"That slap was to return the favor."
Miranda's voice was ice cold, devoid of any warmth.
Elara held her face, staring at Miranda in disbelief. "You... you dare hit me?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
Miranda laughed coldly, giving her no chance to recover.
She turned, her gaze landing on Thomas still kneeling on the floor.
Thomas felt a chill run down his spine under her stare, instinctively shrinking back. "What... what are you going to do..."
"Since you love making up stories so much, let me help you out."
Miranda bent down and grabbed Thomas by his tie, forcing him to look up at her.
Then...
"Smack!"
Another slap.
This time, Miranda used her full strength, splitting Thomas's lip.
Thomas's head snapped to the side, stars exploding in his vision.
"That slap was to teach you honesty."
Miranda released her grip and wiped her fingers with disgust, as if she'd touched something filthy.
She straightened up, looking down at the couple from above.
"Thomas, you say I texted you?"
Miranda pulled out her phone, opening her call logs and messages, shoving it in Elara's face.
"Look carefully! This is my phone. Besides work groups, there's not a single record of contact with this trash!"
"And this restaurant reservation? Right here."
"I was waiting for my friend. This piece of garbage barged in on his own!"
Elara stared at Miranda's phone screen, her tear-reddened eyes full of obsession and unwillingness. "Anyone can delete chat records nowadays. Of course you'd show me after clearing everything!"
Miranda looked at this unreasonable woman before her and felt that saying another word would be a waste of breath.
She laughed coldly, tucking her phone back into her bag with swift, decisive movements.
"Elara, if your brain is just for decoration, I don't mind helping you scrap it."
Miranda looked at the couple, her voice icy. "How Thomas barged in here just now? Every corner of this restaurant has surveillance cameras. I'll have my lawyer immediately request the footage and preserve all the evidence."
"As for you."
Her gaze cut like a knife across Elara's twisted face. "Your physical assault on me just now, along with you and your husband's defamation of my character? I will pursue this to the very end."
With that, Miranda didn't give Elara a chance to react. She turned and walked out.
"Stop right there! What are you running from, you slut!"
Elara tried to get up and chase after her but tripped over the chair she'd crashed into earlier, forced to watch helplessly as Miranda slammed the door behind her.
The door closed with a bang so forceful it seemed to shake dust from the walls.
The sudden silence made the atmosphere in the room suffocatingly oppressive.
Elara breathed heavily, then whipped around, glaring at Thomas still kneeling on the floor.
"That woman is gone."
Her voice was sinister, squeezing through clenched teeth. "Now it's just the two of us. Thomas, tell me the truth. Is Miranda really your mistress or not?"
Thomas trembled all over, but his mind stayed sharp.
He absolutely couldn't tell the truth. Miranda was the perfect scapegoat.
He'd already offended Miranda anyway, and after the way she'd just humiliated him, he couldn't swallow that insult.
With that thought, a vicious darkness flashed in Thomas's eyes. He looked up, his face once again wearing that pitiful, tearful expression.
"Honey, it really is her."
Thomas crawled forward on his knees, clutching Elara's calves. "Think about it, I have high standards. Would I look at just any woman? It's only because she looks like that... any man would lose control."
As he spoke, he watched Elara's expression carefully, adding more fuel to the fire.
"I'm not lying to you." Thomas's voice was tight as he held up three fingers, refusing to lower them.
"I swear to God. If I'm lying, I don't deserve to stand before you."
His lowered eyelids concealed the venomous light in his eyes.