Chapter 976
When There Is Nothing Left But Love
âI have something that might work!â The sobbing woman muttered excitedly before she paused and
whispered, âI am not going to take this silently any longer. Why do I have to put up with her? Iâm going
to make her burn her finger, and yet thereâs nothing that she can do about it.â
âWhat do you plan to do about it?â
I could only hear hushed whispers, but not what they were saying clearly. However, I felt oddly amused
by their demeanor. No wonder people were looking at me all weird whenever I came into the office
recently. It looked like this was the reason.
After hearing nothing for some time, I thought the two women had left. My stomach was still wringing in
pain, and there was no rush to leave the bathroom. However, I could hear heels clacking coming from
the outside all of a sudden.
Then, someone chimed, âHi, Ms. Collins!â
Stella? I was stumped.
Suddenly, the air grew still in the bathroom. A text came in on my phone. It was from Hailey. She asked
when I would be able to meet her as she was planning to go back to K City.
I replied to her and kept my phone. Then, I heard a scream from my neighboring bathroom stall. âAhh!
Who is that?â
Sounds of water splashing could be heard, and I was stumped for a brief moment. I headed out of my
stall, and bumped into two women holding two big buckets.
Are these two women trying to teach Stella a lesson?
âWho is that? Have you lost your mind?â A voice berated from inside the stall. I turned around to the
bathroom stall, and noticed that someone had locked it from the outside. The person inside had no
means of getting out of there unless someone unlocked the door for her.
The three of us exchanged glances in astonishment. We were still reeling in from the shock. I could
have pretended that I didnât know if I hadnât seen the culprits, and just treated it as a prank. But now
that Iâd seen themâ¦
I had no interest in meddling in their business as well. I gestured for them to shush while they were still
eyeing me in trepidation. Then, I signaled using my hands that we could all get out of here, quietly.
The two women were dumbfounded at my response. Then, all of three of us tiptoed out of the
bathroom in silence.
After we got out of the bathroom, the two women high-fived each other triumphantly and broke into a
cackle. Then, they snapped back into their senses and realized that I was actually there too. The two of
them ceased smiling in an awkward manner and looked at me. âMrs. Fuller!â
I smiled back at them and asked, âWho is inside that bathroom stall?â
âItâs⦠Ms. Collins!â The two women were obviously embarrassed and cast apprehensive looks at me.
âMrs. Fuller, will youâ¦â
âNo,â I gave them a grin. âI wonât rat you girls out. But donât do this again, itâs not um⦠safe.â
The women grinned from ear to ear and nodded.
It had been some time since I left, and I turned on my heel to head back to Ashtonâs office. However,
the two women stopped me in my tracks and asked, âMrs. Fuller, arenât you going to ask why weâre
doing this to Ms. Collins?â
I thought for a brief moment and replied, âItâs none of my business. Alright, get back to work, you two.â
The two of them exchanged glances at my reply and nodded before they left.
Not long after, I noticed that the cleaning lady was heading to the bathroom. I said nothing and made
way to Ashtonâs office.
Before I could head inside his office, I heard hasty footsteps behind me. Turning around, I noticed that
it was Stella. Her clothes were soaking wet, and she looked disheveled with her damp hair and her
faded makeup.
I stopped and put on a surprised face. âMs. Collins, what happened to you?â
The woman seemed taken aback at the sight of me. She forced a smile and replied, âI was attacked by
a few crazy people in the bathroom.â
I nodded. âYouâd better sort yourself out. Luckily, youâre about to get off work. Take care, or youâre going
to get sick from the cold weather.â
She lowered her head and mumbled a response before leaving.
To be frank, I was actually surprised at the way she dealt with her coworkers. She had always given me
the impression of a tactful person, and I was confounded by the way other people talked about her.
Back in Ashtonâs office, he was still on a conference call. I did not disturb him and waited for him to
finish the meeting as I sat on the sofa. He was finally done after half an hour.
He kept his document when it was time to get off work and looked at me. âWhat would you like to eat?
Letâs go have dinner together.â
âWeâre going to the hospital tonight. Mom and Dad are worried about Summer. Letâs go to the hospital
and visit her later, and just think of a way for her to undergo the bone marrow transplant surgery as
soon as possible. She doesnât have all the time in the world to wait.â
He nodded, took his keys, and held my hands as we exited the office.
In the elevator, he bit on my lip and looked at me, âDonât meet Armond without me next time. I donât
know what Iâm going to do if that happens again.â
I was rendered speechless. Heâs still pining over it. Move on⦠mister.