Chapter 3
Over the next hour, Valentina’s messages kept coming:
“Vegal What did you say to him?!”
“Your husband rushed back in looking deathly pale and dragged Bailey out without saying a word.”
“Wait, they’re coming back! Oh my God, is Bailey wearing… a JANITOR’S UNIFORM?!”
I smirked. This outcome was even better than I’d anticipated.
“Vega, Bailey’s expression is absolutely PRICELESS!”
“Everyone is staring and whispering. I’m dying of secondhand embarrassment here.”
“Val, send me some photos,” I replied.
She quickly delivered several images.
In them, Knox sat expressionless.
Bailey was squeezed into an ill–fitting gray maintenance uniform, her makeup smeared, eyes puffy and red.
“This auction has super strict rules–no one’s allowed to leave once it starts. She’ll have to sit through the ENTIRE event in cleaning staff clothes.”
Valentina’s message dripped with schadenfreude.
“Your husband’s face is darker than a thundercloud.”
“Vega, that move was absolutely SAVAGE.”
“Bailey really picked the wrong person to mess with. She probably doesn’t even know what hit her.”
After the auction ended, Valentina sent another update:
“When they left, Knox looked like he was about to explode, and Bailey was sobbing uncontrollably.”
Valentina sent a fresh photo–the sapphire mermaid gown had been discarded in a trash bin.
“Got the shot you wanted, Vega.”
I immediately posted the photo on Tik Tok with a simple caption:
“Trash belongs in the trash can.”
Within five minutes, the post had over a hundred likes.
Anyone with half a brain could see that the dress in the garbage was the same one Bailey had been flaunting earlier.
My message couldn’t have been clearer.
“Vega, Knox was absolutely humiliated today. Won’t he cause trouble when he gets home?” Valentina asked.
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Chapter 3
I replied coolly: “Don’t worry. He wouldn’t dare, even if he grew a backbone.”
That evening, Knox returned home with a thunderous expression and approached me.
“Where are my things, Vega?” Ilis voice was hoarse.
I just stared at him silently.
Knox struggled to control his emotions.
“Vega, I admit my behavior today was inappropriate,” he said.
“I didn’t consider your feelings, and that was wrong.”
“But I did exactly what you demanded and completely lost face in front of everyone.”
“Can we please stop this now? Give me back my things.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Knox, you lost face because of your own inappropriate actions, not because of me.”
“Care to explain what happened today?”
Knox avoided my gaze.
“We have a purely professional relationship. I was just rewarding Bailey for her good work.”
I laughed coldly, pressing harder.
“Knox, there are countless ways to reward someone. Why did you choose the absolute worst one?”
“A luxury villa, an exclusive auction, a couture dress–you know exactly what these things symbolize to an ordinary girl like
her.”
“You refuse to take couple photos with me, yet you’re willing to pose
with her.”
“Each time you indulge her, you’re sending her encouraging signals. That’s why she’s grown so bold–bold enough to challenge me directly.”
“And honestly, does her mediocre performance actually deserve such lavish rewards?”
Knox remained silent.
“Your favoritism is only because she resembles your lost love, isn’t it?”
I bluntly exposed his thoughts.
“But a replacement will always be just that–a replacement. She can never become that person.”
“You need to see the distinction, Knox.”
His breathing grew heavier, but he still said nothing.
I retrieved the wooden box from behind me and handed it to him, softening my tone.
Chapter 3
“Knox, I understand your attachment to her memory, and I’ve never intended to destroy that beautiful connection.”
“But I hope you won’t destroy what we have, either.”
“What happened today is the first and ONLY time this will ever occur.”
Knox set the box aside and pulled me into a tight embrace.
“Vega, I’m sorry,” he said, his voice raw.
“I truly realize my mistake.”
“There’s nothing between Bailey and me, I swear. I’ll keep my distance from her from now on.”
“This will never happen again. Please don’t be angry anymore, okay?”
His voice carried genuine remorse as his arms tightened around my waist.
I sighed softly, finally choosing to compromise.
Then I lifted my head and bit his lip hard.
I only released him when I tasted blood:
“This is what happens when you cross me. Remember–there won’t be a next time.”
“Understood,” Knox replied without a hint of resentment, his eyes burning with intensity.
He lifted me into his arms and carried me to our bedroom.
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