Chapter 40
Time until the elder sister, finally calmed down. I watched her shift peacefully in her sleep, holding the doll I had bought for her. My heart felt like it was being twisted into knots.
Why was fate so unkind to me? Why did the heavens have to be so cruel to this child? Altering my divination, the tension retreated to the usual state, like a still pond; not a single ripple could be stirred.
As I left the hospital, my phone buzzed. I didn’t even need to look to know it had to be that woman, Ranquelle, calling me again. I picked up the phone and asked flatly, “What is it?”
Racquelle’s tone was tinged with drunkenness as she inebriately demanded, “Where are you right now?” Before I could answer, she erupted in anger, scolding me. “Joshua, you better know your place and get your head straight! Don’t start entertaining impossible fantasies! Yes, Stanice is rich and has high status, but do you really think she would ever be interested in you? She only noticed you because she was… she was just a bit intrigued and wanted to have some… sadly, then you’ve a complete fool!” The switch hung up the phone.
The woman was harboring a lot of pent-up anger with nowhere to vent it. So, she deliberately drank a lot and used the excuse of being drunk to lash out at me. I had already seen through her thoughts, so I didn’t expose her. However, I also knew that the next time I saw her, she definitely wouldn’t let me off easily.
The next morning, I had just arrived at the office when Racquelle was already standing by the door, calling out to me, “Jonia, come in here.”
“Ms. Racquelle, I have a lot of documents to handle. I may not have time this morning, so maybe…”
“Shut up!” she cut me off in a sudden rage, grabbing my tie and pulling me into her office aggressively. “When I tell you to do something, you better do it without any fuss! You worthless dog! You’re getting more and more disobedient these days. Do you not want to treat your sister’s illness?”
I dared not resist her any further. My sister was my life. Seeing her pitifully clinging to me and begging me to take her home yesterday broke my heart. Regardless of how Racquelle punished me, I could take it. However, using my sister’s life as a bargaining chip was the one thing I couldn’t accept.
I looked back, steeling myself, and looked at her. Racquelle stamped her foot, pointing at me furiously. “What did Shanice want when she sought you out yesterday?”
Of course, I couldn’t possibly tell her the truth. If she knew Shanice was trying to poach me, she would only force me all the more ruthlessly.
“Did you two do something… sticky?” Unpalle’s pursuit progressed. When she saw that I hadn’t answered, she jabbed her finger toward me and asked, “Did you seduce Shanice?”
A sharp crack rang out as her palm struck my face hard, nearly making me lose my balance. “I want the truth, Joshua. So, is this why you rejected me that day—to be with someone like her?”
I wondered what exactly had made Racquelle so angry. Did she hate me that much? Who I was with had nothing to do with her…