Chapter 31
The sound of a slap never came.
I gripped Amara's wrist tightly, squeezing harder and harder, calmly enjoying as her expression grew increasingly uncomfortable.
Finally, Amara couldn't bear it anymore and spoke, "That hurts, let me go!"
Only then did I release her hand, watching her stagger back two steps, feeling a sense of mockery.
"What's wrong? You wanted to slap me? Too bad you couldn't. I'm no longer the Seraphine who obeyed your every word and let you manipulate me."
I stepped closer to Amara.
"Keep an eye on your daughter, mother. Some tactics are foolish when used once, but using them twice is self-destruction."
After saying this, I didn't wait for Amara's reaction and turned to go upstairs.
In any case, this mother-daughter duo and I had already confronted each other openly and covertly. There was no need to pretend we had a deep mother-daughter bond in private.
Regardless of their future attitude toward me, my revenge was inevitable.
I went upstairs and closed the door. As I turned around, I saw that Amara had already taken out her phone and was hurriedly leaving while making a call.
What she was doing and whom she was contacting didn't interest me.
Having dealt with the previous matter, my mind was now filled with thoughts of Octavius.
Nolan had suffered a heart attack from anger—how was he doing now?
If Nolan discovered that Octavius was in contact with me again, would his health deteriorate further?
In that case, given how much Octavius cared about Nolan, he would probably follow his family's wishes and continue his relationship with Quinlan.
Various thoughts swirled in my mind.
I sat down and scrolled through my phone screen. When I came back to my senses, I realized I had already dialed a number.
Octavius's number was displayed prominently on the screen.
My heart contracted sharply. I was about to hang up when the call connected.
Octavius's deep voice came through the receiver, "What is it?"
As if scalded, I quickly pressed the end call button, my heart nearly jumping out of my chest.
What should I do? Should I apologize about Nolan's situation?
But my apology would seem so hollow and meaningless.
What good would a verbal apology do?
Just then, my phone suddenly rang.
It was an incoming call from Octavius, persistently flashing on the screen.
I pressed my lips together, but ultimately didn't dare to answer.
The ringtone echoed in the room for a long time before automatically disconnecting, and the screen went dark.
Octavius didn't call again, and I spent a sleepless night.
The next day.
I arrived at the company with dark circles under my eyes.
The receptionist greeted me, her eyes showing a hint of sympathy.
After Octavius's intervention yesterday, I had become a pitiful victim framed by my sister, while Brielle's reputation was completely ruined.
"Ms. Whitaker, the collaboration team from the Capulet Group has arrived and is waiting to sign the preliminary cooperation agreement with you."
I paused briefly.
Octavius never delayed on his promises.
Before today, I would have been very happy, but after hearing about Nolan's situation, receiving this cooperation only deepened my guilt toward Octavius.
He was bearing family pressure behind the scenes, yet still unconditionally supporting me when I needed it.
I had to do something.
Even if it was insignificant.
"Alright, I understand."
I turned and went back to my office upstairs.
In my previous life, after being driven out of the Whitaker Group by Brielle and Amara and stripped of my shares, I had worked as an intern at a medical research institute to survive.
Later, after becoming a full-time employee, I had participated in a project for a special heart medication.
With my current abilities and conditions, it was impossible for me to replicate that special drug.
But I vaguely remembered that some of the core ingredients were beneficial for heart health and symptom relief.
I acted immediately. After signing the contract, I left the company and went to several large pharmacies.
Based on my hazy memory, I purchased several herbs, extracted their effective components, mixed them with harmless starch, and made a few pills.
This was the only form of compensation I could think of.
I asked Ondine for help, and she quickly found out the address of the sanatorium where Nolan was recuperating.
In the afternoon, I took time off and secretly went to the high-end sanatorium.
Nolan hated me, so I couldn't visit him directly. I wore a hat and mask, pretending to be a distant relative of the Capulet family, bringing him medicine.
The duty nurse didn't suspect anything. Upon hearing that these were supplements good for the heart, she accepted them.
After completing this task, I left hurriedly, lost in thought. Just as I got into my car, a black Maybach slowly drove past me.
I returned to the company with a heavy heart and continued with my work.
Working overtime until late at night, my office light was the only one still on in the entire floor.
I didn't want to go home and planned to spend the night in the office rest area.
Just as I picked up my car keys to go to the convenience store downstairs for some food, the office door was pushed open.
Mitchell stood at the door, holding a bag of food.
"Seraphine, still working so late? I heard you hadn't gone home, so I knew you were busy. I came specially to bring you something to eat."
His tone was gentle, as if we had never had a falling out.
My stomach churned, and I coldly replied, "You're not welcome here, Mitchell. Please leave."
Mitchell acted as if he hadn't heard, closed the door behind him, walked a few steps toward me, his face full of regret.
"Seraphine, I know I was wrong. You're the one I truly love! Give me another chance. Let's start over, okay?"
He took out a jewelry box from his pocket and placed it in front of me.
I was somewhat surprised.
It was a limited-edition necklace from a top luxury brand that I had once loved, worth a million dollars.
Mitchell had always been stingy. Why was he suddenly so generous?
It seemed he was really going all out to achieve his goal.
"Start over?" I scoffed. "Mitchell, everything between us ended the moment you thought about having an affair with Brielle!"
I didn't want to waste more words with him. I picked up my car keys and bag, standing up to leave.
Mitchell grabbed my wrist.
"Seraphine, don't be like this! Let's talk!"
"Let go!" I shouted harshly, forcefully shaking off his hand, and rushed toward the elevator.
He followed closely behind.
As the doors closed, I was about to press the open button to get out when the elevator lights flickered several times before completely going out.
Then, the elevator made a dull, loud noise and abruptly stopped.
A power outage!
My heart sank. I quickly pressed the emergency call button, but found it unresponsive.
I took out my phone—the screen showed no service.
No signal?
As I was fiddling with my phone, I suddenly heard Mitchell's voice in the darkness.
"Seraphine, this is fate. You can't escape. Forgive me. Let's go back to how we were, okay?"
I sensed him moving closer to me, bringing that cologne smell I detested.
I immediately backed away cautiously. "Mitchell, stay away from me!"
Mitchell became more presumptuous, attempting to touch my face.
"Seraphine, stop resisting. I know you still have feelings for me; you're just angry."
I used all my strength to strike in the direction of his voice, my palm stinging from the impact.
Taking advantage of the moment Mitchell was hit, I pushed him away forcefully.
"I only have Octavius in my heart now. You can't even compare to a single strand of his hair! Stop flattering yourself!"
"Octavius?"
Mitchell couldn't believe it. "That moody monster? Seraphine, you're rejecting me for him? What's so good about him? He just has some money!"
He approached again, his breathing heavy. "Fine! Then let's see if Octavius still wants you after tomorrow's headlines report that we were trapped in an elevator all night and rekindled our old flame!"
"Get away from me!"
I trembled with anger, raising my phone to hit him.
The next second, I heard a rush of air as Mitchell lunged at me, his hot breath on my neck, as if he was about to forcibly kiss me.
"Get off!"
I turned my face away, struggling desperately, feeling nauseated.
Just as his lips were about to touch me...
A knocking sound suddenly came from outside the elevator.
Then, an incredibly familiar voice came through.
"Seraphine! Are you in there?"
It was Octavius.
It was him!
I instinctively started to tear up and immediately wanted to respond loudly, to tell him I was here.
But just as I opened my mouth, a hand firmly covered it!