Chapter 84

Chapter 84

The weight on my heart finally lifted halfway, but tears still couldn't help welling up and streaming down my cheeks as I said, "That's good to hear..."

Emily said firmly, leaving no room for argument, "I've already talked to my cousin and asked her to take extra care of Ethan. Don't worry about the medical bills and living expenses - I'll cover them first. The most important thing for you right now is to hurry up and get divorced from William. Don't worry about anything else."

I sniffled and wiped away my tears, saying, "Okay, I'm working on it as fast as I can. As soon as the divorce papers are done, I'll go abroad right away to be with Ethan."

Emily said worriedly, "You need to be careful! That crazy William is capable of anything. Don't meet him alone, and if anything happens, tell me right away. If it comes down to it, go to Matthew - at least he can protect you a bit."

I said okay. I appreciated Matthew's kindness, but I really didn't want to get more involved with the Browns. Every additional interaction meant more complicated trouble that was hard to explain.

After hanging up, I thought about many things before finally falling asleep late at night.

The next day at the office, I threw all my energy into work.

The design project my boss had assigned was a tough one, but if I could do it well, not only could I establish myself at the company, I might even save up enough money for Ethan and me to live abroad.

I immersed myself in the design studio. When I got hungry, I ate some bread. When I was thirsty, I drank cold water. When I felt very tired, I splashed cold water on my face. I managed to stay awake for three nights like this.

Finally, on the fourth day, I finished the design draft. Looking at the dense lines and notes on the paper, and the final plan after repeated revisions, I let out a long breath. My eyes were full of bloodshot veins, but they also showed a sense of accomplishment.

Clutching the design draft, I jogged to find my boss.

Just as I reached the office door, I ran into my boss anxiously holding a folder and rushing out.

I quickly handed over the draft, saying, "Mr. Fields, I've finished the design!"

Alan didn't even look up. He casually took the draft and tossed it on his desk, saying vaguely, "Just leave it there. I have an urgent meeting. I'll look at it later."

Then he strode off without giving me a second glance.

I stood there stunned for a moment, feeling a bit disappointed, but I knew the meeting was urgent, so I could only turn back to my desk and wait for his feedback after the meeting.

I waited until the afternoon.

The office door was suddenly pushed open. Alan stood in the doorway with a dark expression, clutching my design draft in his hand, suppressing his anger as he said, "Layla! Get in here!"

I quickly walked over.

Alan slammed the draft on the desk and shouted angrily, "Look at this yourself! This is what you stayed up three nights to produce? Blank! It's all blank! Are you fooling with me?"

I stared at the design draft on the desk, and my mind went "boom" - it exploded.

The pages that had been filled with design drawings and notes were now completely blank. Except for the texture of the paper itself, there was nothing!

I quickly picked up the draft and flipped through it. From beginning to end, every page was clean and empty. I said in disbelief, "That's impossible, Mr. Fields. When I handed it to you, it was completely filled in. How could it turn out like this?"

Alan's face turned red with anger. He pointed at my nose and scolded, "You still want to make excuses? I casually left it on my desk this morning, and no one touched it except you! Now the draft is blank - you tell me what happened? Did you not do it at all and deliberately try to fool me with blank pages?"

My eyes turned red with anxiety. I desperately tried to recall what happened when I submitted it, explaining, "No, I really did it. I handed it to you personally yesterday morning. You even said you'd leave it on the desk. How could I possibly fool you with blank pages? Something must have gone wrong."

Alan sneered and said distrustfully, "Everyone in the office knows about the mess between you and Mr. Brown lately - your mind isn't on work at all! I think you didn't take this project seriously, just did a sloppy job, and now you're trying to make excuses!"

I opened my mouth but didn't know how to explain.

The draft was indeed something I had stayed up three nights to complete - it was all my hard work. But now with blank paper in front of me, anything I said sounded like an excuse.

I asked with one last shred of hope, "Mr. Fields, think again - is it possible someone else touched your desk? Or could the draft have been misplaced?"

Alan waved his hand impatiently, "Who could get into my office besides me? I kept the draft on my desk the whole time - how could it be misplaced?"

"Mr. Fields, I really didn't lie to you! I worked on this draft for three nights. Every page was filled to the brim. How could it be blank? Someone must have tampered with it!"

Alan slammed the folder in his hand on the desk with a "bang" that made me shrink back.

He pointed at my nose, his tone urgent and harsh, "Tampered with it? Who would be so bored as to mess with your crappy draft? My office door has been locked the whole time. Besides me, only you've been in here. Now you're trying to push the blame onto someone else?"

I quickly explained, "I'm not pushing blame! There have always been people at the company who don't like me. They've come to make trouble for me before. Maybe they made a copy of your key while you were in the meeting and snuck in to switch my draft!"

Alan sneered and said, "You say they switched it - show me the proof! Anyone can make empty claims. I think you just didn't finish it and want to make an excuse to get by!"

I was suddenly speechless. Yes, I had no proof.

I couldn't just say "I feel like it was them" - that kind of statement wouldn't hold water in Alan's eyes at all.

I grabbed his arm and pleaded, "Mr. Fields, give me one more chance. I really can do it. I know you don't believe anything I say now, but look at my eyes - they're full of bloodshot veins. I really stayed up three nights!"

Alan shook off my hand impatiently, "Don't give me that act. I don't care if you stayed up or not. What I need is a design draft I can submit, not your sob story."

He picked up the blank draft on the desk and shook it, saying, "You were the one who confidently claimed you could handle this project.Now you hand in this thing - how am I supposed to explain this to the client? How am I supposed to explain this to the company?"

I couldn't get a word out for a long time. Grievance washed over me like a tide, and my eyes instantly turned red.

Alan said harshly, "Layla, if you can't do it, don't force yourself to take it on. Let me tell you, tomorrow morning at ten o'clock, the client is coming to see the preliminary draft. If you can't produce it, the loss from this project falling through will all be on you! When that happens, not only will you have to compensate the company for the loss, you'll also have to pack up and leave!"

Alan's voice got louder and louder. Colleagues outside the office were craning their necks to look inside.

My whole body stiffened. I stared blankly at Alan. Compensate the company for the loss? The little savings I had now wouldn't be nearly enough.