Chapter 54
The emerald bracelet shimmered with a juicy luster in the bright light.
Iâm giving you one last shot, Elgin said coolly, âLetitia, just agree to the abortion, and both the emerald bracelet and the meds will go to your mom.â
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, âLetitia, donât bite the hand that feeds you. Is Waldenâs bastard more important to you than your motherâs illness?â
He was dead sure the kid was Waldenâs. No matter how much Letitia denied it, he just wouldnât buy it.
âWhy do you have to push me like thisâ¦â
âYou should be grateful you even have the opportunity to be pushed by me.â
Others donât get that from Elgin. Heâd 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.
âLast minute, Elgin declared, like he was setting a timer.
Letitia shook uncontrollably. Her legs turned to jelly, she almost couldnât stand, âElginâ¦
âWhich is it gonna be?â
Letitia was at a loss for words. He was cornering her, pushing her to the brink.
Finally, Elginâs patience ran out
âTimeâs up, he stood up. âyou donât need to answer me anymore.â
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, Letitiaâs pupils dilated in shock, âElgin! No!â
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.
Letitiaâs heart shattered along with it. She knelt down, gingerly picking up the broken emerald bracelet
âElgin, youâre so cold-hearted she murmured, ânever leaving a thread of hope, insisting on cutting off my dreams completely.â
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.
âThis was your own choice, Elgin stood over her, looking down, âyou 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, âYouâre having an abortion, itâs just a matter of time. Letitia, youâre terrible at making choices. The sooner you get it over with, the sooner you can have so much more.â
His voice faded into the distance. In the vast CEOâs 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.
âAh-â Letitia screamed in despair, her helplessness and humiliation encapsulated in that cry.
Outside, Elgin heard the scream and paused.
âMr. Ramirez, this.. Ranen tentatively asked, âshould we check on her?â
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 motherâs legacy
Blood still flowed from her hand, staining her sleeve, her pants.
âMaâam, youâre hurt,â Ranen was startled, âthat looks deep, we need to bandage it right away!â
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 secretaryâs office, rummaging through the first aid kit to stop the bleeding.
Vidonia, hearing the news, came rushing. âWhat happened, such a deep wound? It wasnât Elgin, was it? Did he abuse you?â
Ranen was scared witless, âMs. Bailey, you canât just say thatâ¦â
Itâs true though, isnât it? Letitia had only been to his office, only seen him! Where is he? Come out!â
âMs. Bailey, even if Mr. Ramirez was here, you canât do anything to him.â
There was a deeper meaning in that-who could stand up to Elgin
Vidonia stomped her foot, âDamn it!â
âIt wasnât him, I did it to myself,â Letitia spoke softly, âbut the wounds he caused, no one else can see.â
Her heart was already bleeding a river.
âLetitia, talk to me, what happened?â Vidonia asked, âMaybe itâll ease your mind to talk about it.â
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, âIâm fine.â
âWeâre best friends; I could help you outâ
Letitia sighed deeply, âI donât want to drag you into this.â
Vidonia asked, âIs it Shela stirring up trouble again, Elgin taking it out on you?â
Shela. She definitely had something to do with it!
âShe followed me, recorded my conversation with my mom, played it for Elgin,â Letitia answered, âgot him furious, and he smashed the emerald bracelet.â
âI knew it! The very first time I laid eyes on her, I could tell she is bad news!â
Vidonia was fuming, and with a firm grip, she pulled Letitia along, âLetâs go!â
Letitia numbly followed her out.
âThis smells fishy.â Ranen had a bad feeling about this, âI better give Mr. Stewart a heads-up.â
Vidonia was under Mr. Stewartâs wing; even Mr. Ramirez had to think twice before messing with her because of Mr. Stewartâs clout.
Not to mention the lady was Mr. Ramirezâs wife, after allâ¦.
Once Letitia was in the car, she snapped back to reality, âVidonia, where are you taking me?â
âWeâre going to settle the score!â
âSettle the score?â She didnât quite get it
âYeah, weâre hunting down Shela,â Vidonia gripped the steering wheel, expertly weaving through traffic, âWe canât just swallow this insult and move on!â
Vidonia was always upright and had a bit of a hot head. And that hadnât changed one bit.
Plus, sheâd 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 werenât for all the people holding her back. she wouldâve gone for it!
âWhatâs the point of finding her.â Letitia looked downhearted, âAre we gonna beat her up? Trash talk her? Itâs all pointless. I have no proof of the things sheâs done.â
Proof? Pfft! Dealing with a lowlife like her, you canât play nice.â