04
At the company party that evening, Marina, the new hire, had been drinking a lot, thanks to the coworkers egging her on.
The manager raised his glass with a grin. “Marina, you’ve only just started and already you’re Mr. Blake’s personal assistant! Impressive! Here, let’s toast to that!”
She hesitated, but with everyone cheering her on, she took a drink, then another and another. Before long, she was clearly tipsy.
Lucian hadn’t said a word the whole time and just watched her.
The manager turned to me, holding out a glass of wine. “Selene, you’re the only one not joining in. Come on, take a shot with the new girl!”
I took the glass, but before I could reply, Marina suddenly turned to me, her eyes big and teary. “Selene, please, no more… I really can’t handle it
anymore.”
It almost felt like she was blaming me for all the drinks she’d had.
I set my glass down without saying a word.
But the teasing didn’t stop. Marina, now stumbling, ran out of the room, clutching her stomach.
Lucian’s face darkened immediately. He slammed his glass on the table and shot me a cold glare. “Selene, have you had enough?”
The room went silent. Everyone turned to stare at me.
“Why ganging up on her like that?”
Without waiting for a response, he stormed off.
The others awkwardly shuffled around. The manager came up to me, apologizing in a hushed tone, “Selene, sorry about that. We didn’t mean for it to go this far. We just wanted to loosen things up a bit. Mr. Blake is not gonna think we were all following your orders to get Marina drunk, right? Seriously, we didn’t mean for this to happen. Sorry if you got caught in the middle.”
I just forced a smile and nodded. “It’s fine.”
In Lucian’s eyes, I was just some jealous, manipulative woman, and there was nothing I could do to change that now.
From the corner of my ear, I heard the whispers from the other coworkers.
“Seriously? That drink was barely anything, how did she get that wasted?”
“Right? Maybe it’s all an act? Trying to get sympathy?”
“Yeah, who knows. Seems like she’s playing the victim card to me. So calculated.”
I was done with their gossip as my phone buzzed. It was the lawyer.
I stepped out to take the call. As I walked back in, I ran into Marina again.
She was backed up against the wall, her face tear–streaked, and Lucian was standing too close.
“What do you want from me?”
Lucian leaned in, voice low and cold. “Sign the agreement, stay with me, and I’ll pay you 150 thousand a month.”
I was about to leave, but then I heard her, sharp, determined. “Not happening.”
I froze. This wasn’t what I had expected from her.
50 est. And
Lucian smirked. “You sure about that? Remember that night? You were the one who came on to me first. And considering the money you owe, do you really want to keep running from your creditors?”
Marina’s face went red with anger. She slapped him hard across the face. “You *sshole! Is this revenge?”
“Yes! Either you’re with me, or I ruin your career. You won’t work a day in this industry again.”
Lucian’s tone softened, almost like he was pleading. “Marina, no one will ever love you the way I do.”
“Lucian, I won’t be the other woman.”
There was a moment of silence. Then, his grin turned even colder. “So, you want me to divorce her? Not a chance.”
I didn’t wait for another word and walked away.
