Chapter 346
To her dismay, Fenton was already waiting there for her. He pulled out his phone, his expression smug. “Take a look at this. Do you even realize what you’ve done? I recorded everything!”
Annabel stared at the video on his phone. For a moment, the world spun-she absolutely refused to believe that the crazed woman in that footage was actually her.
“This is fake! You edited it with Al or something!” she snapped, desperate to deny
it.
Fenton smirked. “If you think it’s fake, go ahead and have it analyzed. In fact, why not show everyone? Let’s see how they react to your little meltdown.”
“You… Don’t you dare!” Annabel stamped her foot in frustration.
A sly glint flickered in Fenton’s eyes. “Come on, Annabel. What are you going to offer to make it up to me?”
Before he could finish, the doorbell rang.
Fenton scowled, clearly irritated, but an uneasy feeling crept over him-someone was here to rescue Annabel.
While he hesitated, Annabel seized her chance. She darted toward the door, moving so fast she nearly tripped over her own feet.
Fenton lunged, grabbing at the bedsheet wrapped around her.
Caught off guard, Annabel felt the sheet yanked away.
She shrieked, arms flying up to cover her chest, then her hips, frantically trying to shield herself but only succeeding in exposing more.
Furious, she stamped her foot again, grinding out, “Shut your filthy eyes!”
Fenton just grinned, his gaze lingering. “Why so shy? It’s not like I haven’t seen it all before.”
“You-you-” Annabel’s face flushed such a deep red she could barely get the words out.
Then, from outside the door, came Effie’s voice: “Annabel? Are you in there? I brought you some clothes.”
Hearing Effie was like hearing angels sing. In a flash, Annabel snatched the sheet from Fenton’s hand, wrapped it tightly around herself, and rushed to open the door.
Fenton watched her retreat with a resigned shake of his head. Another wasted day.
“Annabel, are you alright?” Effie asked, concern etched on her face.
She’d heard Annabel scream and was worried something had happened. But
aside from her flushed cheeks, Annabel seemed otherwise unharmed.
Annabel’s eyes flickered with embarrassment as she remembered the scene from moments before. “I’m fine. Let’s just go.”
She practically bolted out of the apartment.
After dropping Annabel safely at home, Effie and Lyman headed off to work.
Effie had barely stepped into the design department when she sensed the tension in the air. Several colleagues were clustered around Shirley, voices sharp and indignant.
Shirley, trapped in the middle, looked utterly miserable, her head bowed in silence.
Effie made her way over and greeted Shirley.
The others shot her frosty looks. One of them snorted, “You’ve got a lot of nerve talking to Shirley! Hypocrite!”
Another chimed in, “Yeah! If you can’t keep your promises, don’t make them! First you dangle hope, then you snatch it away-what kind of person does that?”
No one named names, but their words were cutting.
Effie turned to Shirley, her brow furrowed. “What happened?”
Shirley glanced up, red-eyed and fragile as a wounded rabbit. She opened her mouth, as if to speak, but couldn’t bring herself to say anything; she just turned away, looking even more dejected.
It was clear Shirley didn’t want to talk to Effie.
Effie frowned, bewildered by the hostility, but she was determined to sort things out. Shirley had been her very first friend at this
company-they’d clicked instantly. She’d always assumed they’d stay close. Now, suddenly, everything felt uncertain.