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Sophia stared at Jessica for a few seconds after hearing her speak. Her fingers slowly tightened against her bag.

“If nothing tangible comes out of this meeting for you, I should expect worse?” Sophia repeated in shock.

For a moment, she really almost thought she had heard wrongly. The same Jessica who had laughed with her, painted with her, eaten in her house and slept under her roof?

Her chest felt like it was being squeezed.

“You’re wicked.” Sophia said quietly.

Jessica looked at her for a moment before letting out a small sigh, then she leaned back comfortably.

“You know what?” she said casually. “I’ll do you a favor.”

Sophia stayed silent, waiting to hear the next thing that was going to come out of her mouth.

Jessica stirred her drink slowly.

“I’ll tell you how things really are.” She said slowly.

Sophia’s stare remained fixed on her and Jessica smiled faintly, loving the expression on her face.

“I’m a huge fan of Damien Sterling actually. I’ve followed his interviews, read articles, and watched everything people posted about him.” She laughed softly and let out a breath in a relaxing manner.

“And… I always thought that one day, maybe someone like me could meet someone like him.”

Sophia’s face remained expressionless as she still stared at her, listening to what seemed like bullshit.

Jessica looked down at her drink, with more to say, then she looked up.

“I dreamed of marrying him, and if that wasn’t possible…” She smiled strangely. “I at least wanted him to desire me.”

Sophia froze slightly.

“But then he got married.” She gave a fake laugh. “And suddenly all possibilities disappeared.”

“So I thought… fine. If I couldn’t get close to Damien directly, maybe I could get close another way.”

Sophia’s expression slowly changed, showing hurt and Jessica loved that look.

“That’s why I got close to you. I wanted to understand your relationship. Figure out where the cracks were, and maybe destroy it.”

“Goodness.” Sophia said softly, looking at Jessica unbelievably.

“But honestly…” She shook her head. “When I came to your house and actually saw him, I couldn’t control myself. So, I decided to try my luck.”

Then she shrugged. “But your husband turned out to be annoyingly loyal. I wonder what you did to him.”

Sophia felt anger rise inside her chest at this point.

“Oh, don’t look so red. Well, after everything failed, I decided if I couldn’t have him, I’d make sure you lose something too.”

“So, that post was it?”

Jessica nodded without guilt. “Yes.”

Sophia’s eyes narrowed. “The text I got.”

Jessica smiled. “About you and Damien not lasting?” She nodded again. “That was me too.”

Sophia looked at her quietly. Everything suddenly connected.

The strange question in the cab, the sudden closeness and even the sleepover request.

“That’s it?” Sophia said, her eyes looking hurt more than angry. “You’re despicable. I can’t believe I was a fool.”

Jessica shrugged, then Sophia picked up her bag.

“You already told me everything I needed to know.”

Without another word, she turned and walked away.

Jessica just watched her leave and then she rolled her eyes and took another sip of her drink.

Looking ahead, she smiled faintly and said under her breath, “This is only the beginning.”

Her smile widened. “There’s more coming.”

Jessica stayed seated for a few more minutes after Sophia left. She slowly stirred the ice in her drink while watching the restaurant entrance like she expected Sophia to turn back but she didn’t.

Jessica leaned back and smiled to herself. She knew she should probably feel angry after being rejected by Damien and exposed that night, but strangely, she didn’t.

She felt excited.

To her, this was no longer about attraction. Now, it felt personal. She stood up eventually, picked up her bag and walked out of the restaurant.

By the time she got home, she locked the door behind herself and dropped her bag onto the couch, then she spun around once in her living room and laughed.

“At least things are moving.”

She walked to the mirror and looked at herself. Sophia probably thought their conversation changed something but Jessica disagreed with that.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

Tomorrow was another day and she had already started thinking of what to do next.

Even her expression became thoughtful.

If she could make Damien appear publicly connected to her somehow… if she could create something believable, then maybe things would become messy enough to cause problems. But she knew she had to be careful.

She smiled faintly.

“I’m going to make sure that I’m not reckless. Sure enough to be calculated.”

Feeling unusually energized, she headed to the bathroom and took a shower. Afterwards, she changed into comfortable clothes, grabbed snacks and settled on her bed while watching a movie.

Her mood stayed unusually light all night. Well, what villain wouldn’t be?

~

The next morning, Jessica arrived at work earlier than usual. She walked in expecting normal reactions.

Instead, the atmosphere felt strange. People looked at her and not with sympathy like she would have expected some people to, or admiration.

People stopped talking when she passed and they all had a look that showed that they were probably gossiping.

Jessica frowned. She adjusted her bag and continued walking, then she noticed something else.

The H.O.D’s office door was open and a second later, she stepped out.

The department gradually became quiet.

“Good morning, ma’am.” Jessica greeted, with a smile.

“Miss Jessica, you’re fired.” She said calmly.

Jessica’s eyelids fluttered and her smile disappeared.

“What?”

Before she could process it properly, movement appeared behind the H.O.D. Two police officers stepped forward as well and Jessica froze completely.

One of them looked at her and said, “And you are under arrest.”

Jessica stared at them in bafflement.

“What!” She exclaimed, looking baffled.

“You are being taken in regarding allegations connected to false public claims, digital harassment, and distribution of defamatory content.”

Jessica’s eyes widened. Immediately, she looked around. People were staring openly now.

“This is ridiculous. You have the wrong person.”

“Why do you think they have the wrong person?” Sophia said as she appeared in their midst with her showing a recorder on her phone to Jessica.