Chapter 60 Manipulation
Verena
I walked outside of the station, not minding the heads that turned to take a look at the bruises on my face, the silent whispers that followed as I swept my eyes around until my gaze fell on him.
Good!
His body went taut, his eyes bleeding with a thousand emotions before dark fury crossed them. I had to make this more believable so I offered him a weak smile, taking a step forward, feigning a stumble when he caught me before I could fall.
His fingers clamped around my arm, as he touched the crusted blood softly while I faked a wince, turned my head slightly—so he could see the handprint welt on my cheeks.
I heard him smother a gasp, feeling the heat of his burning gaze on my cheeks and the anger that radiated from him.
His lips wobbled, voice jagged. “Ve…Ver…Verena, who did this to you?”
I forced out a smile. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are here and have proven that the wristwatch is mine. Thank you Daxton,” My voice was barely a whisper.
Daxton was having none of it as he shook his head. “No. You need to tell me who did this to you. Why do you have blood on your face?”He shouted, voice dripping with pain.
I winced, fingers fluttering to my ear. “Can you not raise your voice? I feel like my eardrums are on the verge of rupturing. And if you feel the need to raise your voice, please yell into this ear and not this,” I twisted my head.
He dropped his hand from my arm, stumbling back, face scrunching as he clenched his heart before fixing his eyes on me. “Can you hear me perfectly now?”
I nodded. “Somehow but there is this continuous ringing in my ear,”
His shoulders fell. “Who hit you? Is it Cassandra?”
I shook my head. “No…” I ducked my head. “It is Mandy but it is okay, she is my superior. I mean, she misread the situation and that was the reason she hit me seven times” My voice cracked in the end.
Daxton gasped, fist clenched at his side, anger darkening his eyes. “She hit you? Seven times,”
“It is okay”
“No it isn’t. Violence in a workplace isn’t normal—” He almost screamed.
Now, the final icing on the cake—my tears.
Moisture gathered in my eyes, crystals of tears dropping down my cheeks as his eyes softened. “I did nothing to Cassandra or Mandy…” I pushed my lips forward.
“I tried to tell them that it was mine. The wristwatch is mine but Cassandra was adamant that it was hers, and she had insulted me, embarrassed me, and mentioned that she would let it slide when I went on my knees. Then when I wouldn’t kneel, Mandy slapped me many times that I almost passed out,”
“Gavin was the only one who stood up for me,” I choked out.
Daxton remained in the same spot, devastated, completely ruined as he took tiny steps toward me, wedged his arm under my shoulder, and pulled me to his chest. “I am sorry for not being there. For not verifying things before calling for an arrest,”
I sniffled, sobbed, and allowed myself to drown in the warmth of his embrace.
I pulled back, his eyes piercing deep into mine as he gripped my cheeks gently. “They should have offered to clean the blood at least,”
“They did but the blood wouldn’t stop trailing down when I was in the cell,”
“I am sorry” He leaned in and pressed a warm kiss to my forehead. “They wouldn’t get away with this. I promise you that none will,”
Satisfaction curled in my stomach. He already told me what I wanted to hear.
He removed his coat, draped it around my shoulders and I was about to open my mouth to speak when that annoying, grating voice of that witch pierced into my ears.
Cassandra.
“Mr. Daxton”
I could feel the fury that coursed through him as he turned toward the source of the voice, his jaw clenched so hard that I was sure it must hurt.
Her hand flew over her mouth the moment our eyes met. “Verena,”
This witch! Mandy trailed her, stricken with fear.
“I came straight here when my artist said she took it. I am deeply sorry for this mistake, Miss Verena. Please forgive me”
I did an inward eye-roll. Forgiveness my foot!
All Daxton did was stare at her and she looked like she could wilt at the weight of his gaze. The tension between all four of us thickened before Daxton finally broke it. “I heard you haven’t seen your twin sister in eleven years now?”
Cassandra’s eyes widened briefly, her laugh dry. “Yes, she has been away for a while now…” She trailed. “I would compensate Miss Verena for this mistake and—”
“Away in jail,” Daxton interrupted.
My brows furrowed in confusion. What was he talking about? What did her twin sister have to do with this?
Cassandra swallowed, blinking. “Yes, but—“
He cut in again. “You will be seeing her soon. For a very long time,”
She tilted her head to the side and I could see the horror slowly slipping through her features. “I don’t know but I feel uncomfortable…” She darted her eyes to me, flashing me that fake smile. “My team will reach out to you and we can talk about compensation. I feel like we would be best of friends soon,”
The audacity. I wish I could claw at her face with my fingers.
She turned away, leaving Mandy to face Daxton. “I—”
“You hit her?”
She swallowed, fiddling with her fingers. “I did it because I got mad since she was adamant on not apologizing to the offended guest. I didn’t know she was telling the truth,”
“Emily told you it was Verena’s and you threatened her”
My girl, Emily. I loved her so much.
“Umm. I thought she was defending her because they are close friends,”
Daxton scoffed. “Doesn’t seem like it to me!”
“I am sorry, I couldn’t believe her when she mentioned that it was a gift from you. You never give gifts to your staff and…”
Daxton cut in sharply. “Because she doesn’t just work under me, she is my girlfriend!”
Mandy froze, eyes widening on me.
She shuddered, voice trembling. “I…did…didn’t…know,”
“That was why you slapped her seven times right?”
She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I only hit her once, you can ask…”
“I don’t care what explanation you have to make. You are fired!”