A group of onlookers had gathered round to see what the commotion was all about. However, Derek remained unfazed by the attention he was attracting and merely got his subordinates to send them away.
We were just two women up against a group of burly men. Unable to fight against them, we were soon brought upstairs and thrown into a hotel room with Derek.
He leered at us as he paraded around with a devilish grin, his beer belly now even more protruding. “It’s been a while since I’ve had so much fun. I’m going to enjoy myself to the fullest today.”
Linda got flustered and started flinging items at him, all of which he successfully ducked.
Not wanting to take the risk of either of us acting up again, Derek called for his subordinates to tie us to our chairs.
“Ms. Stanhope, look what you’ve done to yourself. If you had cooperated with me right from the start, I’d have gladly taken you in after Anthony dumped you. You could have avoided all this.”
The smug look on Derek’s face as he spoke to me made me feel sick to my core, so much so that I didn’t even feel like replying.
He dragged a chair in front of me and sat on it, locking eyes with me. “It’s still not too late now. If you get together with me, I can provide you with a comfortable life. What do you think?”
“Will you stop being so gross?” I shouted. If my hands weren’t tied up, I’d have slapped this pathetic excuse of a man.
Instead of being offended, Derek howled with laughter. “What a character! No wonder Anthony fell for you.”
“Hey Derek, have you looked into a mirror recently?” Linda mocked. “You may not see it yourself, but trust us when we say you’re disgusting. You better let us go soon, or you’ll regret it.”
Derek fixed a steely gaze on Linda as he chuckled. “Do you think I’m still the same person from five years ago? The one you so easily manipulated? And do you really think the Murphys have any power over me here in A City?”
“The Murphys may not be able to do anything to you, but I can!” We were all taken by surprise when Nora’s voice rang out of the blue, only to see her emerge from the bathroom.
She leaned casually against the door frame, her lips in a pout. “Mr. Watson, what do you think will happen if I pressed this?” she asked as she slowly held her phone up.
When Derek didn’t reply, the doe-eyed Nora continued, “Why don’t we try it? I’m so curious to know what might happen!”
“Nora,” Derek grunted. Even though he was still smiling, one couldn’t miss the hint of annoyance in his voice. “How did you get in here?”
Nora pinched her cheeks as she muttered, “Having to fake a smile is so tiring. My face has gotten all stiff from it.”
She ignored Derek’s question and looked around the room for a spot to get comfortable in, her phone still tightly clutched in her hand.
“Mr. Watson must have been so busy with work that you forgot this bar was given to me by my grandfather. I was bored and came here today for a drink. But I got a little tipsy and entered this room for a shower and nap. Unfortunately, I got more than what I had bargained for when I ran into this scene.”
Nora’s devil-may-care attitude was starting to get on Derek’s nerves. She continued her innocent act as she propped her chin up with her hand. “I’ve seen and heard everything, and I can’t possibly pretend otherwise. My grandfather had always taught me to stand up bravely for what’s right. If I were to do the right thing and call the police now, what do you think will happen to you, Mr. Watson?”
That last sentence wiped the smile away from Derek’s face. “Tell me, what do you want?” he asked with a glare.
Nora sighed as she thought about it. “To be honest, I have everything but a man. But that’s not something you can give me. You’re too old and fat, and you have bad teeth and body odor.” She shuddered. “Ugh… I wouldn’t want you even if you offered.”
Derek shook with anger, but Nora ignored him as she continued to be deep in thought. “How about this? I saw you slap them earlier, so why don’t you let them return the favor?”
Derek’s expression darkened as he clenched his fists tightly. There was no doubt he was fuming, and I thought he was about to blow his top. To my surprise, he acceded to Nora’s request and even personally untied Linda and me from the chairs.
We stared in bewilderment, neither of us knowing how to react to this sudden turn of events.
Nora said nothing as she started playing with her phone. Derek stole a glance at her before turning to face Linda. “Hit me!” he said through gritted teeth.
Everything was happening so fast that Linda hadn’t gotten a chance to recover from her shock. She turned around instinctively to look at Nora, only to find her still playing with her phone nonchalantly.
“Just leave,” Linda finally said.
Her response stunned both Derek and Nora, though neither said anything.
Nora shrugged innocently when she caught Derek staring helplessly at her. “Don’t look at me. You’re the one who hit her. You should be thanking her for being so kind, not me.”
At that, Derek immediately thanked Linda before looking back at Nora. “Please send my regards to your grandfather.”
Nora hummed in response and went back to playing on her phone. Not wanting to stay and be snubbed any further, Derek angrily left with his subordinates.
Now that the worst was finally over, Linda and I could finally calm our racing hearts.
After exchanging glances with each other, we looked at Nora, half expecting her to say something. Instead, Nora remained silent as she stood up and prepared to leave.
“Ms. Oberick, thank you for your help,” Linda called out.
“It’s ok. I just happened to be here,” she replied coolly as she continued to head toward the door.
After everything that had happened, the awkwardness I felt with Nora earlier had long been dispelled. “Didn’t you want to drink with Linda? It’d be insincere for you to leave now, wouldn’t it?”
Nora stopped in her tracks and turned to look at me with a raised eyebrow. “Did I say I was leaving? I just wanted to use the bathroom.”
As soon as she said it, she walked into the bathroom and closed the door.
Linda was left even more confused by this interaction and gaped at me. “You two know each other?”
I nodded.
After a while, Nora walked out of the bathroom and looked at us. “I’ve ordered some drinks. Shall we have them together?”
“Of course!” Linda replied excitedly. “If we’re having drinks, should we get some food too?”
“Done! Delivery shouldn’t take long,” Nora said with a grin as she scrutinized Linda. “I heard you’re Armond’s personal assistant?”
Linda cleared her throat nervously. “Well, there’s nothing personal about it. It’s just a job.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Linda beckoned me to sit with her.
I sat next to Linda but realized Nora refused to look in my direction. Judging by that reaction, I figured she was still mad at me from earlier.
A sharp-eyed Linda also noticed the tension between us and tried to change the subject. “We’re so thankful for your help today. Otherwise, who knows what that scumbag Derek would have done to us.”
“Don’t mention it,” Nora casually replied.
Piqued by curiosity, Linda couldn’t help but continue, “Ms. Oberick, the grandfather you mentioned earlier, is he the Mr. Oberick that I’m thinking of?”
Nora pursed her lips as she pondered about the question. “Don’t think so much. Meeting you was fate, so let’s drink to that!”
It was at that moment when I realized how little I knew about Nora. We had initially met in Venria, and even though everyone shared their stories, we all kept them brief. Even I didn’t divulge much about myself, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if she had held back information about herself too.
Linda noticed Nora’s reluctance to elaborate and thus didn’t ask any further. It was also then when the food and drinks got delivered.
Linda poured us our wine and raised a toast to us. “Once again, I have to thank the two of you for today. Here’s to our friendship!”
Nora raised her glass of wine in return and drank it in one gulp.
“I’m still curious though, how did you get in here? We didn’t even see you around before this. It seems too much of a coincidence, doesn’t it?” Linda quizzed.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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