Chapter 125 I Quit
BELLA'S POV
“I’m sorry if I sounded disrespectful for calling you by your name, Madam,” I said, my lips curving slightly as the sarcasm slipped into my voice, making sure she caught every bit of it. There was no way she wouldn’t. I wasn’t even trying to hide it.
“If you haven’t forgiven my mom and I for the little things we did in the past, then why did you still accept my work application knowing fully well it was me?” I added, my grip tightening around the handle of the mop I was holding.
She didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes met mine with a coldness that made my chest tighten. There was no warmth there. No familiarity. Just bitterness, thick and heavy.
“You call all the pain and suffering you two put me through little things, huh?” she said, her voice sharp, every word laced with venom. “You’re going to find out soon enough if it’s little or not. And to answer your question, I accepted your application not because I’ve forgiven either of you, but because I want you to have a little taste of what you put me through those years ago.”
Her words hit me harder than I expected. For a moment, I couldn’t even breathe properly. I just stood there, staring at her as everything started to slowly make sense.
I had been wondering why she would still let me work under her company when she clearly despised me. I thought maybe time had softened her heart. Maybe she had moved on.
I was wrong.
She hadn’t moved on at all.
She wanted revenge.
She wanted to humiliate me.
She wanted me to feel what she felt.
Just because she had the money now.
Just because she was the CEO now.
“You can’t,” I blurted out before I could stop myself, my voice coming out weaker than I wanted.
“This conversation is over,” she cut me off immediately, turning back to her desk like I was nothing more than background noise. “Unlike you, I have lives to try and save, which once included yours. So save whatever you have to say and get back to cleaning.”
I clenched my jaw, biting down on my lower lip as anger burned in my chest. I had so much I wanted to say. So much. But I swallowed it all, knowing that if I opened my mouth again, I might say something I would regret.
She took her seat slowly, then reached for the glass of red wine she had been drinking moments ago. She raised it to her lips and took a small sip, her eyes never leaving me. Then, without warning, she tilted the glass and poured the rest of it on the floor.
The red liquid spread across the tiles.
“Oops,” she said casually, like it had been an accident.
But it wasn’t.
I knew it wasn’t.
Years ago, when she was still staying with us, I had done the same thing while she was mopping the floor. I remembered it clearly now
She wasn’t joking when she said she was going to put me through everything I put her through.
“Well, don’t just stand there,” Anna said, her voice flat. “Mop the whole place. And do it twice. I don’t want to see any stains.”
“Twice? But once would get the stain off,” I said, unable to stop myself.
“You’re mopping it twice because I told you to do so,” Anna replied, not even looking at me.
No.
This couldn’t work.
I couldn’t just stand here and let her treat me this way. No matter how rich she was now, no matter her title, she was still a lowlife to me. Money didn’t change who she really was.
Her company wasn’t the only one that needed a janitor. I could find another place. I didn’t need this humiliation.
Even Mom would agree with me.
I dragged the mop across the floor to where she poured the wine and started cleaning. The smell of the wine filled the air as I scrubbed, my hands tightening around the handle. I wiped every inch carefully, making sure not to leave a single mark.
Then I did it again.
By the time I finished mopping the office twice, my back was aching badly. A dull pain spread through my shoulders and down my spine, making me straighten slowly. I let out a small breath and turned my attention back to her.
She was still sitting there.
Watching.
“I quit,” I said firmly, picking up the mop and bucket. I didn’t wait for her response. Without another word, I turned around and walked out of the office.
She could eat the job for all I cared.
I wasn’t going to allow a lowlife to humiliate me.
First thing tomorrow, I will go to as many companies as I can find and get a new job. There had to be somewhere else. Anywhere else.
That was what I thought as I left the building and walked home, my steps heavy with exhaustion.
I didn’t tell Abby or Dan. There was no point. Abby wouldn’t understand anyway, and I didn’t have the strength to explain.
By the time I got home, my feet were sore and my back felt like it might snap in half. I pulled off my flat shoes and dropped them by the door before sinking onto the couch, finally allowing my body to rest from all the unnecessary work they had made me do today.
The smell of food drifted from the kitchen. Mom was already cooking.
She came out moments later, a shocked look spreading across her face the moment she saw me.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “Aren’t you meant to be at work?”
“I quit,” I said simply. “I’ll go look for another job tomorrow.”
Her eyes widened like I had just told her the most shocking news of the day. “You what?” she exclaimed. “Why the hell did you quit?”
“Because today I found out that my boss, the CEO of Quinn’s Med, is Anna,” I said. “Your once daughter.”
“So?” she replied without hesitation, no surprise on