Chapter 3
She sneered, eyes gleaming with malice, and exhaled a ring of smoke straight at my face.
“Amelia, you’re one tough cookie, huh? Even hiding medicine on you?”
I choked, gasping for air, desperately shaking my head.
She grinned wickedly, prying my fingers open one by one, before snatching the pill from my hand. With a cruel twist, she ground it under her heel.
The white powder mixed with the dirt, and she kicked it away with a casual motion.
“Don’t!”
My vision blurred with rage, and I struggled to grab it back, but she pressed the cigarette butt
down onto my hand.
The searing pain from my burnt skin made me cry out in agony.
Aiden had been clinking glasses with the others. He frowned at the commotion and walked over.
Ivy shoved the cigarette into my hand and immediately lunged at him, throwing herself into his
arms.
“Aiden, I was just trying to help her up, but she burned me with the cigarette!”
Aiden glanced at the cigarette in my hand, then looked at Ivy, who was coughing violently.
“Amelia, you still have the nerve to claim you’re allergic to smoke? What’s this then?”
“It’s not me… it’s her…”
I pointed weakly at Ivy, trying to show him the burn on my hand.
But Aiden didn’t believe me. His gaze was filled with disgust.
The others chimed in, backing Ivy up, “Ivy caught a cold and can’t stand the smell of smoke. No one here was smoking today. She’s obviously doing this on purpose!”
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but no sound came out.
I could only shake my head helplessly, tears streaming down my face.
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Aiden tightened his arms around Ivy. Just as he began to comfort her, his phone rang.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s the BBQ joint in the city center!”
He hung up the phone, his face lighting up with excitement.
“The Grant Group just called! Their CEO is on his way here!”
The group erupted in excitement, though confusion flickered across their faces.
“Wait, isn’t the contract signing next week? Why would the cold, distant Mr. Grant suddenly show up here?”
I gathered the last bit of strength to croak out, “He… he’s my brother… Nathan is my brother…”
They paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.
“Are you serious? What a joke. You, a Stone, trying to claim you’re related to Mr. Grant? Are you
out of your mind?”
Ivy giggled behind her hand.
“Is she acting again? Everyone knows that the chairman of the Grant Group only has one son, Nathan Grant. If he were really her brother, would we even need to beg for this partnership?”
Aiden’s expression darkened.
“What next? You going to tell us Nathan’s coming here for you?”
I nodded weakly. His hand cracked across my face before I could say another word.
Dazed from lack of oxygen, my head crashed to the floor with a heavy thud.
The ringing in my ears drowned out everything, and warm blood dripped onto the floor. Darkness clouded my vision.
“Amelia, you’re really disappointing me more and more. Lies… nothing but lies. Absolutely hopeless!”
“Since you
still don’t know how wrong you are, you can stay in the bathroom! So when Mr. Grant arrives, he doesn’t have to see your crazy behavior and dirty his eyes!”
He waved coldly at the others.
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“Get a server to clean this up. It’s bad luck just to look at it.”
Two of them yanked me by the arms and dragged me into the restroom.
“Please… call an ambulance… save me…‘
A broken plea tore from my throat, ragged and desperate. My face was turning blue from lack of
Oxygen.
They noticed something was off with me and hesitated before asking Aiden, “Aiden, she really doesn’t look good. Should we take her to the hospital?”
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.