Chapter 16
I spun around quickly.
The ringtone sounded once, then abruptly stopped—so brief I might have imagined it. Certain I hadn't misheard, I instinctively walked back toward the sound. I caught Leopold closing his phone as he turned to go inside. At the same moment, my call disconnected.
Coincidence?
"Leopold!"
He stopped but didn't turn around. "Something else?"
I rushed in front of him, too focused to care about anything else. "Show me your phone."
Leopold lazily raised his eyes to meet mine, his gaze steady and intimidating. An invisible pressure emanated from him. In the past, I would have backed down immediately.
But not this time.
"I just want to confirm something. It won't take long."
Leopold frowned impatiently. "Why should I listen to you?"
"If you refuse, it means you're hiding something from me!"
Leopold stared at me intently, still not moving. We stood there, locked in a standoff.
Just as I was about to give up, Leopold pulled out his phone with deliberate casualness. "There's nothing between us but a transaction. No secrets. What do you want to check?"
His composure and calmness made my heart constrict.
"I want to see your Instagram username."
Leo's Instagram username was simply "Leo," with a minimalist logo of the letter as his profile picture. If that had been him earlier, he wouldn't have had time to log out of Instagram.
Leopold scoffed. "You're so disinterested in everything about me now that you can't even remember my account name."
I didn't respond, my eyes fixed on the screen. When I saw the deep blue ocean background and the username "Leopold," my heart plummeted. It wasn't him after all.
How ridiculous of me. Despite knowing Leopold couldn't stand me, I still let myself hope.
"Thank you. Sorry to bother you."
I moved past him toward the exit. After a few steps, Leopold's question came from behind me.
"Lucinda, who did you mistake me for?"
I stopped but didn't turn around. "It doesn't matter anymore."
I was planning to end my contract with Leo anyway, so there was no need for Leopold to know about him.
As I started walking again, I heard the sound of something being kicked aside behind me, followed by heavy, hurried footsteps shattering the corridor's silence. Growing more distant.
I sighed softly and continued on my way. This time, I didn't contact anyone.
---
That evening, I messaged Leo when I got home, telling him he could come back. Early the next morning, I checked my messages as soon as I woke up. Leo hadn't replied. I sent him another message asking him to contact me when he returned.
After a quick shower, I went to pick up my car from the dealership before driving to the ballet company.
Before heading to the practice room, I found our director, Samuel, and showed him the video analysis report from last night.
Samuel angrily slammed the report on his desk after reading it. "I can't believe Lillian lied and fooled all of us! Lucinda, I trusted her too easily. I'll call her in right away and set her straight."
Hearing that Samuel wanted to smooth things over, I spoke calmly. "Mr. Flores, while this report doesn't identify who was ultimately behind this, it wouldn't be difficult to find out. Lillian needs to be reprimanded, but I also hope no one will use this incident against me again."
"You know I've worked hard for years to compete in the International Ballet Competition. I can't afford distractions at this crucial moment."
"Lucinda, I understand. Don't worry—you're our principal dancer and represent our company. I won't let this affect you."
With Samuel's assurance, I could focus on preparing my application for the international competition. But it wasn't enough.
"Mr. Flores, I'm not pursuing this further because I don't want to disrupt the company. But if Lillian continues spreading rumors, I won't be so lenient."
Samuel agreed. "We're the country's premier ballet company, and everyone's watching us. If Lillian doesn't change her ways, I won't tolerate her behavior either."
"That's all I needed to hear." Having achieved my goal, I didn't linger.
Tomorrow was the registration deadline for the International Ballet Competition. I had prepared all the materials except for the ballet video recording.
This competition was fundamentally different from domestic ones. It featured prestigious ballet judges and extremely strict scoring standards that left no room for luck.
I chose a small practice room, set up my camera, and began recording. Suddenly, the door was kicked open!
Startled, I turned to see Lillian storming in.
"Lucinda, you're such a slut!" she shouted. "Wasn't last night enough to teach you a lesson? Now you're running to the director to tattle on me!"
"You're addicted to using men, aren't you? Fine, let's stop hiding it. I want to see what magic you possess that makes the director, at his age, stand up for you!"
As she spoke, she lunged forward and started tearing at my ballet dress. Though the fabric was stretchy, it couldn't withstand such pulling. Seeing my dress about to tear, I slapped her across the face.
"Lillian, have you lost your mind?"
Just then, others entered the room and, seeing what was happening, immediately began criticizing me.
"How could you hit her?"
"We're colleagues. Can't you talk things out?"
"Yesterday you put glass powder in Sophia's shoes, and today you're hitting Lillian for exposing you. You've gone too far!"
"Exactly! Instead of reflecting on your mistakes, you're throwing your weight around!"
Their righteous indignation only emboldened Lillian, who grew more aggressive despite the slap.
"Am I wrong?" she sneered. "Last night, right in front of Sophia, you practically stripped to seduce Mr. Percy. You're nothing but a cheap whore!"
"Sophia's too kind to hold it against you, but I'm not. I can't stand vicious, two-faced sluts like you!"
I had never been so publicly humiliated in my life. Seeing her about to lunge at me again, I pulled the video analysis report from my bag.
"You lack talent and are consumed by jealousy. You can't admit I'm better than you, so you had someone fabricate this video to force me out of the company. Lillian, I will never respect someone like you."
I opened the report and showed them the bolded text on the final page. Those who had been criticizing me moments ago turned red-faced. Lillian froze, clearly not expecting I'd actually obtained the report.
"This report might be—"
"Before you say something stupid, you should check whether this report has an official seal," I coldly interrupted.
"Lillian, it has the police station's seal. The report is genuine," someone quickly pointed out.
Lillian glared at me, gritting her teeth. "Lucinda, this isn't over!"
"Lillian, enough. Otherwise, I'll reserve my legal right to sue you for maliciously spreading false videos, verbal harassment, and physical assault."
Lillian slunk away in embarrassment. The others followed her out.
As the practice room returned to silence, I saved the footage of what had just happened and started recording again.
Just then, a familiar number flashed on my phone screen.