Their argument amused me. Before I could stop myself, I joined in. “Liking somebody is something you couldn’t control. It is not wrong of you to like Anthony. You can continue to pursue him, but I will also keep being in the way. Let’s call it a fair game between two rivals.”
“Sienna, are you crazy?” Linda gawked at me. “Another woman is after your man, and you’re still this generous?”
“I trust Anthony completely.” I shrugged. “If he does fall in love with Rachel, it’s his choice. If he does not and turns her down without even giving her an opportunity, doesn’t that show that it was worth all of the trouble I had gone through to make him my husband?”
“That’s true…” Linda nodded.
Rachel continued to glare at me fiercely. “Sienna, you’re too confident with yourself. After the honeymoon phase, we’ll see if you still feel the same.”
She did have a point. “Like I said, fair game amongst rivals.”
Rachel’s screams and sobs had attracted a large group from the base.
When Armond and Anthony arrived, they saw Linda and I standing tall and proud over the wretched figure of Rachel on the floor.
The outcome of the confrontation was obvious at a glance.
Rachel cleverly used this opportunity to weep harder and blubber about how Linda and I were the ones to assault her.
Anthony looked at me sternly. My heart thumped nervously at his impending accusation.
It felt like I had done something grievously wrong just from the way he was looking at me.
“Linda!” Armond called with a frown. “Ms. Zimmer is a director of Featherstone Corporation. You two have crossed a line!”
Linda readily admitted her mistake. “Mr. Murphy,” she said as she hung her head. “I am sorry. I acted rashly.”
She sank into a magnificent bow to Rachel, who was still weeping on the floor. “Ms. Zimmer,” she said sincerely. “I would like to beg for your forgiveness for the incidents that had transpired today. I was too irrational. I hope that you could forgive me!”
I was stunned. Linda’s ability to adapt astounded me.
Armond appeared satisfied with her apology. “Ms. Zimmer,” he said to Rachel. “No matter whose fault it was today, Murphy Corporation will bear the responsibility accordingly. We will send you to the hospital to check if you had sustained any injuries. Meanwhile, we will carry out punishment to Linda and Sienna here. Again, we sincerely apologize for your ordeal.”
I was about to ask why but was promptly silenced by Anthony’s furious glare.
After that, Armond turned to address me. “Ms. Stanhope, no matter whose fault it was, this place belongs to Murphy Corporation, and everybody is a guest here. The altercation that you have had with Ms. Zimmer is unacceptable behavior.”
I turned to Linda, and she gave me a wink. Then, I regained my senses and apologized to Rachel as well with the same deep bow.
Now it was Rachel’s turn to be embarrassed. She had assumed the role of the victim to gain sympathy, but now it was backfiring on her.
After we had apologized, Linda rolled up her sleeves to reveal the scratches Rachel had caused.
“Ms. Zimmmer,” she said to Rachel. “You were not the only one hurt from this ordeal. Sienna and I are hurt too. Your nails are awfully long, you know. Sienna’s neck and face had been ravaged by you. Besides, you are aware of how hard you’ve pinched and choked us. You’re not the victim just by sitting on the floor and crying about it.”
“As a partner of Featherstone Corporation, you are a guest here at Murphy Corporation, which is why Sienna and I had apologized to you. As for whose fault it was, we are all clear about it in our hearts.”
Linda looked at Armond, all traces of her apologetic demeanor vanishing as she said, “Mr. Murphy, we’re leaving!”
She tugged me by the arm, and we left.
But before I could get far, Anthony grabbed hold of my wrist. He was silent the entire time, but now he had a dark and dangerous look in his eyes.
I did not know what he intended to do with me. “Linda, why don’t you go ahead and treat your scratches. I’ll be right behind you.”
Linda was startled but complied with my request.
Armond shifted his gaze from Anthony to Rachel on the floor but said nothing.
“Did you hit her?” Anthony asked in a low voice.
“Yes, I did.” I nodded with no intention of lying.
He deliberated for a moment and said, “As the wife of Featherstone Corporation’s chairperson, you were wrong to be intolerant and to raise a hand against an employee of mine. For that, you owe Ms. Zimmer an apology.”
I felt as nonplussed as Armond looked. We both thought that Anthony was prepared to give me the scolding of a lifetime.
Rachel’s look of shock on her tear-streaked face told me that she did not expect Anthony to be this lenient with me as well.
I hesitated for a fraction of a second but repeated my sincere apology toward Rachel.
Anthony looked down at her. “Ms. Zimmer, I, too, am sorry for whatever transpired today. I will be sure to make the arrangements to see that you are compensated for.”
He was indifferent but cunning about how he had crafted that sentence.
Rachel was deathly pale as she stood up. She gazed at Anthony with disappointment but was unable to say anything more.
All of a sudden, Joseph appeared and took her away to the hospital.
Armond had nothing more to say as well. He exchanged several words of courtesy with Anthony and promptly departed.
After they left, Anthony and I remained where we were. I hung my head and prepared myself for the telling-off I was about to receive.
“I shouldn’t have hit her,” I blurted out. “I won’t do it again.”
“If you didn’t hit back, she’d walk all over you,” he said with an unflinching gaze at me.
I was shocked, to say the least. I looked up at him quizzically.
Anthony gently lifted up my sleeves and frowned at my scratch scars. “Did you return the favor?”
I nodded. “I did, but I trimmed my nails a few days ago, so I think they didn’t hurt her. I did pull out some of her hair, though.”
Anthony gazed at me with a crestfallen expression written across his handsome features. “You could have used your fists or, at least, kicked her.”
I fought down a smile. “I’m not like men who fight with fists and feet. Actually, it was a good thing that Linda had drenched her before the fight got too out of hand.”
Anthony eyed me with some playful disdain. “Two of you ganging up on a woman, and you still managed to get yourself hurt. You weren’t even the one who threw the water! If Linda weren’t here, would Rachel have kicked your ass?”
I was speechless and hung my head like a guilty child. “If Linda weren’t here, I wouldn’t have dared to start a fight,” I said in a small voice. “I wouldn’t have been able to beat her anyway. She’s too vicious!”
Anthony grunted and turned to leave at that.
I followed closely behind him but squatted down after a couple of steps. My heart filled with joy at every step he took that led him further from me.
Anthony turned to look behind him when he did not hear me anymore. “What is it?” he asked.
“I’m hurt. I can’t walk.” I remained squatted and pretended to be injured.
He was near tears with exasperation. “Just tell me. What should I do with you?”
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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