Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Matilda's POV

I stared blankly at Emily, my brain seeming to short-circuit, unable to process the word she had just said.

Was I being removed from Wellington's team?

Emily seemed to notice my confusion and immediately explained, "Don't worry, this transfer is a lateral move. Your position level and salary won't be reduced at all. I've reviewed the current staffing of the partners' teams, and only Charles Miller's team is currently short of a capable assistant."

"Mr. Miller mainly handles corporate law and some non-litigation matters. His work pace and style may differ from Mr. Learmond's, but given your learning ability and adaptability, I'm sure you'll get up to speed quickly."

As she spoke, she picked up another, thicker folder from beside her and pushed it in front of me.

"This is Mr. Miller's information. Also, your unfinished work will be handed over to Ms. Williams."

A buzzing filled my ears, and my mind completely shut down.

So, Wellington had kicked me out of his team, and my position would be taken over by Kerena.

I had no idea what had happened these past few days to make everything take such a sharp turn for the worse.

Emily suddenly noticed my distraction and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Do you have any concerns or difficulties with this arrangement?"

"No!" I snapped back to reality, shaking my head frantically and forcing out a smile with difficulty.

"I'm just too surprised, I didn't react right away. Thank you for Mr. Learmond's arrangement. I'm very grateful for Mr. Learmond's care and guidance during this time. I'll go pack up my things right away and get familiar with the new work as soon as possible."

At this point, I felt my throat tighten, and I could barely continue speaking.

Afraid that Emily would see my panic and confusion, I quickly stood up, grabbed the documents from the desk, and fled her office in what felt like an escape.

I clutched the documents and walked toward my workstation in a daze.

I had successfully passed my probation and was being laterally transferred to another team. Just as I had wished, Wellington and I truly had nothing to do with each other anymore.

But why did my heart feel so strange?

I wasn't sure if this discomfort was because everything happened too suddenly, or because I was genuinely sad about being completely disconnected from him.

I quickly packed my things, carried the box with my head down, and walked toward the new office area.

The two sides were separated by a long corridor, and I inevitably had to pass by Wellington's office.

As I passed that familiar door, I couldn't help but stop.

As if possessed, I turned my head slightly.

Through the frosted glass, I could only see a blurry, upright silhouette.

He stood in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window, his back to the door, seemingly on a phone call.

He always seemed so busy.

Endless meetings, endless documents to process, endless phone calls.

And it seemed that no matter what chaos and emotional turmoil he experienced in private, once he returned here and put on that Wellington Learmond armor, he could immediately adjust back to his perfect working state.

This was the real him.

The chaos of those past days felt like nothing more than a dream of mine.

Matilda, it's time to wake up from the dream.

I said this to myself silently, forcing myself to look away, clutching the box tighter, and preparing to walk past quickly with my head down.

"Matilda!" Suddenly, a somewhat mocking female voice called out behind me.

My body stiffened. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Kerena.

I took a deep breath, not wanting to engage, and kept walking.

"Stop!" Kerena hurried after me and blocked my path.

She looked me up and down without courtesy, her eyes on the box I was holding, then a sharp, sarcastic sneer curved her lips.

"Congratulations, you passed your probation?" She said mockingly.

"I just wonder, now that you've left Mr. Learmond's team, how many more days can you last at the firm?"

Was Wellington finding an excuse to fire me?

I clutched the box tighter, panic growing wildly in my heart.

Why?

Just because I said I wanted to end things? But my work ability wasn't bad at all.

But Wellington never lacked capable people around him.

I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Matilda, guess why I kept warning you to stay away from Mr. Learmond?" Kerena walked up to me and lowered her voice.

"I've worked at the firm for many years. Do I understand him better, or do you?" She laughed coyly.

"You thought he only cared about you? How naive. While you were sleeping with him, he was still messaging me. All that special treatment you thought you were getting was just his standard routine for seducing women. You don't really think he has some condition and only you can excite him, do you?"

She pulled out her phone and showed me her chat history with Wellington.

The timestamp was from that night at the hotel, probably when we were in the heat of passion.

The message he sent Kerena was: [Go to bed early, I'll come find you tomorrow night.]

Below that was a photo.

White, messy hotel sheets, a woman's disheveled hair on the pillow, half-covering her face so you couldn't see her features clearly, but the hotel background was very familiar.

Obviously, that was me.

So, all those caring gestures—he was being intimate with Kerena on one side while making me intoxicated in his tender embrace on the other, willingly offering up my body.

Maybe even him making Kerena and me live together was just part of his special kink?

I couldn't believe it. This was too different from the Wellington I knew.

But it was all too real, too real for me not to believe.

The thought that when I was drunk and barely conscious, instinctively seeking warmth from Wellington, he was leaving marks on my body while taking photos like this to send to another woman?

I covered my mouth and bent over in pain.

But Kerena had no intention of letting me off.

"Can't handle it already? But I warned you long ago."

"Kerena," I steadied myself against the wall, barely managing to stand, "what about you? What are you doing all this for?"

Her lies, all these things she told me.

Kerena stroked her meticulously manicured nails. "I told you you're stupid, and you still don't believe it. Of course, it's because I don't want you having any contact with Mr. Learmond anymore."

She finally admitted it.

"But you said you didn't like him."

"Idiot." Kerena laughed lightly. "I really don't like him, but that doesn't mean I want to share a man with someone else, especially not a man as excellent as Mr. Learmond."