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“Laura,” Charlotte said sharply, her voice cutting through the thick, tense air like a blade. “Last time I spoke to you, I warned you to be kind, Clearly, you didn’t take that seriously. Now, look where you’ve landed–this mess is your own making. You have no reason, no right, to hate anyone.”
Her eyes bore into Laura with a cold, unyielding hatred that left no room for misunderstanding.
Then Charlotte turned to Georgia with a gaze edged in fierce resolve. “Georgia, you don’t owe her a thing. She’s gotten exactly what she deserves.”
Laura’s defenses crumbled. The arrogance that once cloaked her like armor evaporated instantly. Tears spilled freely down” her cheeks as she dropped to her knees, clutching desperately at Georgia’s clothes with both hands, her voice shaking as she pleaded, “Georgia, please! I’m begging you. This is the first time I’ve ever asked you for anything.”
But Georgia remained motionless, her face unreadable, untouched by the sudden display of vulnerability. A flicker of bitter amusement danced behind her eyes at Laura’s unexpected humility.
“That’s right,” Georgia said softly, her voice laced with icy detachment. “It is the first time. Because even if I played along land lied to the boss for you, he wouldn’t believe you now.”
Laura’s eyes narrowed with a flicker of bitterness. “Georgia, you’re just here to twist the knife, aren’t you?”
Her face was a storm of grief and wounded pride, as if she were discovering the true nature of the woman she’d once looked down upon for the first time. “I never expected you to kick me when I was down. You’re nothing but a despicable woman!”
Her words stung like poisoned arrows.
After her desperate request for help was met with cold refusal, Laura’s anger surged, turning to venom aimed at Georgia. But before she could utter another insult, Charlotte sprang to her feet and shoved her hard.
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Laura crashed to the floor, but even in that hu that silent submission, only deepened Charlotte’s disdain.
flare her temper at Charlotte. That restraint,
Georgia locked down at her, a sardonic smile curling her lips. “Kind people treat the world with kindness. The mean ones? They see nastiness everywhere. You’re a mirror, Laura. What you see reflects only yourself.”
There was a trace of helplessness in Georgia’s tone, a faint shadow of sorrow she couldn’t quite name.
Laura glared at her, eyes blazing with resentment.
Georgia pressed on, voice steady but cold, “I know exactly what kind of person you are. Still, I’m going to save your skin this time. Not because I want to, but because I have a belief.”
Laura stared in disbelief, surprise flickering in her eyes, but no hint of gratitude.
“Lorenzo, take me to him,” Georgia said quietly. Despite her resolute tone, a small part of her felt defeated.
The narrow corridor stretched before them, leading directly to the elevator. The airfelt suffocating–whether it was her imagination or the weight of dread, Georgia wasn’t sure. Each step felt like pressing down on hidden spikes, pain prickling her soles and rising in sharp bursts with every movement.
She followed Lorenzo in silence, the heavy tension between them almost tangible.
The elevator doors slid open smoothly, and Lorenzo paused, gesturing for her to enter first. “Miss Cooper, after you.”
Georgia hesitated briefly. She wasn’t the type to pry, but a flicker of suspicion made her glance at Lorenzo. “Aren’t you! coming up with me?”
Lorenzo shook his head calmly. “Mr. Hill only asked for you.”
Still gripping Laura’s arm, Lorenzo didn’t look back as the elevator doors began to close.
“Georgia Laura’s voice broke through the narrowing space, sharp and desperate. “You have to help me! You’re the most forgiving person I know. You wouldn’t turn your back while I suffer, right?”
Chapter 61
Lorenzo east an annoyed glance at Laura before focusing back on Georgia inside the elevator. “Miss Cooper, you don’t owe her a thing.”
His words hung heavy in the cramped metal box, the implication clear: Georgia needn’t plead or protect a woman so brazenly deceitful.
As the doors sealed shut, Georgia met Lorenzo’s eyes and said softly, “I know.”
Outside, Laura’s gaze remained fixed on the closing elevator doors, muttering bitterly under her breath, “I wonder if she’ll say anything kind for me. But I doubt she’s that generous. If she speaks ill of me, I swear, I’ll make her regret it.”
Lorenzo tightened his grip on Laura’s arm, the sudden pressure like iron clamps biting into flesh. A sharp gasp escaped her lips as pain radiated through her limb.
“It hurts! Let go!” she hissed, struggling to shake free.
“Shut up.” Lorenzo snapped, voice low and filled with disgust.
“You’re going too far! Laura protested, shocked by his cruelty. Usually, men melted at her pitiful display.
“If I were you, I’d keep quiet,” Charlotte’s voice cut through coldly. “Lorenzo isn’t a guest here. He’s not going to go easy on
you.”
Helpless, Laura had no choice but to obey
Inside the elevator, Georgia’s eyes were locked on the floor indicator, the cold numbers climbing steadily upward. Lorenzo’s words echoed in her mind: You don’t owe her anything.
She knew the truth of it all too well. Laura was no one to her, no reason for mercy. Yet the thought of explaining herself or Justifying anything was unbearable. Better to carry the weight silently.
When the elevator chimed open at the top floor, Georgia inhaled deeply, then exhaled with slow determination.
She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the elevator’s mirror–a pale, strained face that betrayed the turmoil beneath her composed exterior.
To anyone else, she was simply coming to Mr. Hill to plead for mercy on someone else’s behalf. A small, unremarkable errand.
But for Georgia, this felt like a raw wound, deeper than any insult or threat she had endured.
“Mr. Hill, I’m here,” she announced quietly as she stepped into the vast apartment.
The main lights were off. Only a handful of cold, dim wall lamps cast long shadows, giving the room a hollow, eerie atmosphere. The darkness seemed to swallow the space whole.
Preston sat in a leather sofa beside the French windows. His body was relaxed, arms draped carelessly along the armrests,
a cigarette burning between his fingers. The occasional flare of red ember punctuated the shadows.
A sudden urge to flee rose within her, a primal urge to retreat from the suffocating silence and the weight of his gaze.
Georgia took a tentative half–step back, her instincts screaming escape,
Preston chuckled softly, a low, amused sound that broke the stillness. “Sit here.”
He gestured toward the sofa opposite him.
Georgia hesitated, caught off guard. Words failed her for a moment; she simply stood there, rooted.
“I thought you were here to plead for someone,” Preston said, breaking the silence.
“Yes,” Georgia replied, voice steady but cautious. She moved forward slowly and lowered herself onto the sofa opposite him.
“You’re sitting there just because I asked you to?” Preston’s tone was light but carried an edge.
Georgia’s thoughts bit sharply: You made me sit here. And now you’re acting like this is all my choice, like you’re toying with me.
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“I’m on your payroll. You’re the boss. So, I do what you say,” she answered coolly, refusing to show any weakness.
Preston almost laughed, the sound low and rich with dark amusement at her words.
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