Chapter 3
900 Words
Sabrina drew her hand back, her fingertips tingling faintly.
She looked at John. Those eyes of his were always so calm, yet now they were glistening with tears. Her voice choked as she said, "John, what am I doing? I'm teaching a lesson to a shameless mistress who is trying to wreck our family and lying through her teeth!"
She pointed at Lana, who was hiding behind John, and her voice rose with emotion. "She just told me, with her own mouth, that you didn't go to any business dinner yesterday. You were with her! She even said yesterday was the day you two got back together, that you spent the whole day with her. She even... even implied that you two did something! John, how dare she spread rumors about you like that?"
The moment John heard "you were with her yesterday," his expression stiffened despite himself. A flicker of guilt and panic flashed through his eyes, but he quickly forced it down.
His brows knitted tightly as he turned to Lana in anger and said in a low voice, "Lana! I let you into the company because we used to know each other. I didn't want you to come back to the country with nowhere to go. I did not bring you here so you could run your mouth and stir up trouble. Apologize to Sabrina. Now."
Lana clutched her cheek as tears streamed down her face. She stared at John in disbelief and cried out, "John, I..."
"Apologize!" John snapped, his frown deepening.
Lana bit her lip, then muttered to Sabrina with extreme reluctance, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Hayes. I was talking nonsense. Please don't misunderstand John."
Only then did John's expression ease a little. He reached out and wrapped an arm around Sabrina's shoulders, his tone softening as he coaxed her. "Sabrina, you heard her. She made it all up. Don't take it to heart. I really was discussing that acquisition deal yesterday. Why would I lie to you?"
Sabrina leaned into his arms. Her body still seemed to tremble slightly from anger as she lifted her tearful eyes to him. "But John, if she stays in the company, she'll only cause more trouble. This time, she spread rumors. Who knows what she'll do next time? Her intentions are wrong. Keeping her around you is a disaster waiting to happen. Why don't you... fire her?"
A hint of hesitation flashed through John's eyes. But when he saw how worried Sabrina looked for him, he still nodded. "All right. I'll do as you say."
He turned around and snapped at Lana with a cold face, "Did you hear that? Go to HR and handle your resignation. From now on, don't show up at Hayes Corp again, and don't appear in front of Sabrina either."
Lana shot Sabrina a resentful glare, then ran out of the office in tears.
With his arm still around Sabrina, John comforted her gently. "All right, it's over. Don't get upset over someone like her. Come on, I'll take you to lunch." He paused, as if something had just occurred to him, then added, "By the way, I bought a set of antique jewelry for you at an auction earlier. I can give it to you today."
At lunch, John was attentive in every possible way. He kept serving food onto Sabrina's plate and pushed an exquisite velvet box toward her. When the box opened, inside was a set of fine emerald jewelry, beautifully preserved and clearly worth a fortune.
Sabrina pretended to be annoyed and said she did not even like wearing jewelry, but in her heart, she was already wondering how much cash this set could bring in.
Halfway through the meal, John's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen, his brows tightening slightly. Then he gave Sabrina an apologetic look. "Sabrina, I'm sorry. Something urgent came up at the company. I have to go back and deal with it right away."
Sabrina smiled considerately. "It's okay. Work comes first. Go ahead. I can go back by myself later."
After paying the bill, John picked up his coat and left in a hurry.
Sabrina watched his retreating figure, and the smile on her face cooled instantly.
She calmly finished the last bite of food, then drove away as well.
That night, after Sabrina came out of the shower, her phone screen lit up.
It was an MMS from an unknown number.
She opened it and saw several photos.
One showed John's back as he worked in the kitchen wearing an apron. Another showed a dining table set with delicate dishes. The last photo showed Lana leaning sweetly against him, smiling as she held up a property transfer agreement. Behind them was clearly a luxury apartment in one of the most expensive areas in the city.
Unknown Number: John said I had been wronged, so he cooked for me himself to comfort me. He also gave me an apartment at Cloud Villa as compensation.
Expressionless, Sabrina finished reading it. With a light tap of her finger, she deleted the message.
Then she opened her contacts, found a number saved as Mrs. Vance, and typed a text before sending it.
Sabrina: Hello, Mrs. Vance. You mentioned before that you liked The Tears from my collection. If you're still interested, I can sell it to you for twenty percent less than what I originally paid.
- Writer
