Chapter 54
The emerald bracelet shimmered with a juicy luster in the bright light.
I’m giving you one last shot, Elgin said coolly, “Letitia, just agree to the abortion, and both the emerald bracelet and the meds will go to your mom.”
He was already being pretty damn generous, by his standards.
Nobody gets to push him around like this, not a chance. But for Letitia, he had compromised this far.
Elgin added, “Letitia, don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Is Walden’s bastard more important to you than your mother’s illness?”
He was dead sure the kid was Walden’s. No matter how much Letitia denied it, he just wouldn’t buy it.
“Why do you have to push me like this…”
“You should be grateful you even have the opportunity to be pushed by me.”
Others don’t get that from Elgin. He’d just cut them off, no second chances, not even a chance to see him! Letitia was already way luckier than most, just inches away from sharing his bed!
The room fell into a heavy silence, so profound that one could have heard a pin drop.
“Last minute, Elgin declared, like he was setting a timer.
Letitia shook uncontrollably. Her legs turned to jelly, she almost couldn’t stand, “Elgin…
“Which is it gonna be?”
Letitia was at a loss for words. He was cornering her, pushing her to the brink.
Finally, Elgin’s patience ran out
“Time’s up, he stood up. “you don’t need to answer me anymore.”
Letitia could only watch in silence as Elgin slowly approached, lifting the emerald bracelet in his hand. Right in front of Letitia, he let go. The moment the emerald bracelet fell, Letitia’s pupils dilated in shock, “Elgin! No!”
She scrambled to catch it, but it was too late. The emerald bracelet plunged straight past her, crashing onto the cold marble floor.
It fell, and the sound was crisp and pleasant to the ear
The moment the emerald bracelet hit the ground, it shattered into several pieces.
The bracelet that had been passed down from her grandmother to her mother, through the decades, was now broken in her hands.
Letitia’s heart shattered along with it. She knelt down, gingerly picking up the broken emerald bracelet
“Elgin, you’re so cold-hearted she murmured, “never leaving a thread of hope, insisting on cutting off my dreams completely.”
Letitia tried to piece together the emerald bracelet. But even if glued, it could be seen it was broken. It could never be the same.
Her hand trembled lightly, fingers clenched around the emerald in her palm.
“This was your own choice, Elgin stood over her, looking down, “you could have had the whole emerald bracelet
He was so high and mighty. In front of him, Letitia was like an ant
She held the emerald bracelet to her chest, the pain was intense.
Her heart felt like it had been ripped open.
Elgin walked past her, saying icily, “You’re having an abortion, it’s just a matter of time. Letitia, you’re terrible at making choices. The sooner you get it over with, the sooner you can have so much more.”
His voice faded into the distance. In the vast CEO’s office, only Letitia was left
She was clutching so hard, the jagged edges of the emerald were sharp, piercing her palm.
Blood oozed out, staining the emerald red, dripping drop by drop onto the floor.
“Ah-” Letitia screamed in despair, her helplessness and humiliation encapsulated in that cry.
Outside, Elgin heard the scream and paused.
“Mr. Ramirez, this.. Ranen tentatively asked, ‘should we check on her?”
Let her be.
Chapter 54
Almost half an hour passed before Letitia emerged. She carefully packed the broken emerald bracelet into her pocket, broken or not, it was her mother’s legacy
Blood still flowed from her hand, staining her sleeve, her pants.
“Ma’am, you’re hurt,” Ranen was startled, “that looks deep, we need to bandage it right away!”
But Letitia seemed numb to the pain, expressionless.
The cut did hurt, but compared to the agony in her heart, it was nothing.
Ranen rushed her to the secretary’s office, rummaging through the first aid kit to stop the bleeding.
Vidonia, hearing the news, came rushing. “What happened, such a deep wound? It wasn’t Elgin, was it? Did he abuse you?”
Ranen was scared witless, “Ms. Bailey, you can’t just say that…”
It’s true though, isn’t it? Letitia had only been to his office, only seen him! Where is he? Come out!”
“Ms. Bailey, even if Mr. Ramirez was here, you can’t do anything to him.”
There was a deeper meaning in that-who could stand up to Elgin
Vidonia stomped her foot, “Damn it!”
“It wasn’t him, I did it to myself,” Letitia spoke softly, “but the wounds he caused, no one else can see.”
Her heart was already bleeding a river.
“Letitia, talk to me, what happened?” Vidonia asked, “Maybe it’ll ease your mind to talk about it.”
Struggling to summon a comforting smile, Letitia found it just beyond her grasp. All she managed was a slight shake of her head, assuring softly, “I’m fine.”
“We’re best friends; I could help you out”
Letitia sighed deeply, “I don’t want to drag you into this.”
Vidonia asked, “Is it Shela stirring up trouble again, Elgin taking it out on you?”
Shela. She definitely had something to do with it!
“She followed me, recorded my conversation with my mom, played it for Elgin,” Letitia answered, “got him furious, and he smashed the emerald bracelet.”
“I knew it! The very first time I laid eyes on her, I could tell she is bad news!”
Vidonia was fuming, and with a firm grip, she pulled Letitia along, “Let’s go!”
Letitia numbly followed her out.
“This smells fishy.” Ranen had a bad feeling about this, “I better give Mr. Stewart a heads-up.”
Vidonia was under Mr. Stewart’s wing; even Mr. Ramirez had to think twice before messing with her because of Mr. Stewart’s clout.
Not to mention the lady was Mr. Ramirez’s wife, after all….
Once Letitia was in the car, she snapped back to reality, “Vidonia, where are you taking me?”
“We’re going to settle the score!”
“Settle the score?” She didn’t quite get it
“Yeah, we’re hunting down Shela,” Vidonia gripped the steering wheel, expertly weaving through traffic, “We can’t just swallow this insult and move on!”
Vidonia was always upright and had a bit of a hot head. And that hadn’t changed one bit.
Plus, she’d had it out for Shela for a while now!
The last time Shela tried to strip Letitia of her dress, Vidonia was ready to throw down. If it weren’t for all the people holding her back. she would’ve gone for it!
“What’s the point of finding her.” Letitia looked downhearted, “Are we gonna beat her up? Trash talk her? It’s all pointless. I have no proof of the things she’s done.”
Proof? Pfft! Dealing with a lowlife like her, you can’t play nice.”
