Chapter 134
Gaia was cornered by the sink, two women flanking her on either side, hands pressing down on her shoulders.
Pearl stood directly in front of her, one hand yanking Gaia's hair to force her face upward, the other slapping her cheek—hard.
"What makes someone like you think you belong here?"
Pearl's voice was shrill, dripping with condescension. "A worthless nobody who thinks she deserves to stand in a place like this? Look at what you're wearing. Is that even fit for human beings?"
With her hair pulled back, Gaia's face was forced upward. Her eyes were so red they looked ready to bleed.
"I'm not worthless!"
Her voice trembled, but every word came out clear.
Pearl's hand paused, as if she hadn't expected Gaia to talk back.
Her eyes narrowed. The smirk on her lips slowly faded.
"You dare talk back to me?"
Her fingers tightened, pulling Gaia's hair even harder. Gaia gasped from the pain.
"You are worthless. Just like your mother. You and your mom—born to be trampled on. For the rest of your lives, you'll never rise above it."
Gaia's eyes flared red. She screamed at Pearl, "Don't you dare talk about my mom!"
Pearl laughed, clearly unbothered by her anger.
"So what if I do? Your mom is worthless. When we kicked her out, she didn't even have the guts to say a word. And you're the same—a loser. You'll spend your whole life under my heel—"
Before she could finish, Gaia lifted her foot and slammed it into Pearl's shin.
Pearl shrieked, her body lurching to the side.
Her grip on Gaia's hair loosened as she stumbled backward, her back slamming into the edge of the sink. She winced, teeth clenched.
"You—you kicked me?"
Her eyes went wide, face flushed crimson, nearly bulging out of their sockets.
"Are you all brain-dead? Hold her down!"
The two women snapped back to attention, gripping Gaia's shoulders even harder and pinning her against the wall.
Pearl rubbed her shin, limping back toward Gaia. Her face twisted into something almost unrecognizable.
She raised her hand, ready to slap Gaia across the face again—
Gaia's pupils shrank. She instinctively shut her eyes.
But the expected pain never came.
She pressed her lips together and cautiously opened her eyes. Pearl's hand was frozen mid-air.
A slender hand had reached out from the side, fingers locking around Pearl's wrist like an iron clamp.
Pearl's arm hung in the air, trembling violently.
Her voice shook. Her knees buckled involuntarily, and she nearly collapsed to the floor.
Lucinda stood in front of her, expression calm, but her eyes were cold enough to freeze someone in place.
"Let… let go…" Pearl's voice came out in broken gasps, tears welling in her eyes.
Lucinda didn't release her. Instead, she tightened her grip.
A red mark appeared on Pearl's wrist. Her bones creaked under the pressure.
Her legs gave out completely. Her knees hit the tile with a dull thud.
"You… Lucinda… you're insane…"
Pearl's voice carried a sob, but more than that—fear.
Lucinda looked down at her, gaze steady.
With a flick of her wrist, she shoved Pearl forward. Pearl toppled backward, landing flat on her back with a heavy thump.
The two women holding Gaia immediately let go, shrinking back several steps. Neither dared to breathe.
Pearl scrambled up from the floor. Her hair was disheveled, her makeup smeared. She looked nothing like the arrogant heiress from moments ago.
She looked up and met Lucinda's eyes. Her lips quivered. She wanted to curse, but the words died in her throat.
She remembered the last time—at Gaia's house—when this woman had single-handedly beaten a dozen thugs into the ground.
She remembered the suffocating grip around her neck.
Her legs were still shaking.
"Get out."
Lucinda said only one sentence.
Pearl bit down on her teeth and pulled herself up from the floor. She straightened her crooked jacket, refusing to meet Lucinda's eyes.
Her gaze shifted past Lucinda's shoulder, landing on Gaia, still trembling in the corner.
"You'd better watch yourself."
Her voice was low, but every word seemed to scrape out from between her teeth. "I'm not letting this go."
She turned and strode out quickly. The two women hurried after her. Their footsteps echoed down the hallway before fading into silence.
The restroom fell quiet. Only the sound of a dripping faucet remained—water droplets hitting the tile in a steady rhythm.
Gaia leaned against the wall, hair disheveled, eyes rimmed red, shoulders still trembling slightly.
She looked up at Lucinda, voice hoarse. "Ms. Wipere… I caused trouble for you again…"
"No, you didn't."
Lucinda walked over and gently smoothed Gaia's tangled hair. "You did well. That kick earlier—it landed perfectly."
Gaia blinked, then finally smiled through her tears.
"Thank you, Ms. Wipere."
"Let's go."
Lucinda turned and helped Gaia walk out of the restroom, heading toward the entrance. "The networking event is about to start."
Gaia nodded and followed behind her, her steps steadier than before.
"Does it hurt?" Lucinda asked.
Gaia shook her head, then nodded, and finally lowered her gaze. Her voice came out muffled. "Ms. Wipere… am I useless? Every time, you have to save me. Every time, people walk all over me, and I can't even fight back…"
"Gaia."
Lucinda stopped and turned to face her. "Today, you talked back. You kicked her. Would you have done that before?"
Gaia froze.
No. She wouldn't have.
Back at the Fisher family, when Pearl took her things, she didn't dare say a word.
When Pearl tore up her awards, she hid in her room and cried all night. The next morning, she still had to smile and walk out the door.
When Pearl dragged her off the stage at her birthday party, she fell to the ground while everyone laughed. She didn't even dare cry out loud.
But today, she fought back. She kicked Pearl.
"You're braver than you used to be."
Lucinda's words were calm, but they made Gaia's heart race. "It doesn't matter if you can't win. What matters is that you're willing to fight. Once doesn't work? Try twice. Twice doesn't work? Try three times. Someday she'll go out of her way to avoid you."
Gaia bit her lip and nodded hard.