Chapter 4

"Please, Julian, I can't afford to lose this job...I still need to cover grandma's medical bills..." Theresa sobbed, her voice shaking with desperation.

Julian looked like his heart was about to shatter just seeing her cry.

He jabbed a finger at me, his hand shaking with anger. "Seraphina, don't go too far! I personally brought Theresa in. No one's firing her on my watch!"

"You might be the general manager, but this is the Ashbourne Group," I shot back, my voice icy as ever.

Julian sneered, "Ashbourne Group? Don't kid yourself. All the major deals these years were thanks to me! Without me, your company would've been dead in the water. You really think I can't walk out with my team and watch your stock nosedive tomorrow?"

Was he threatening me?

In my last life, I totally fell for that nonsense.

I was terrified he'd leave and ruin the company, so I kept caving in. Hell, I even gave him my shares, just to make him stay.

And what did it all lead to?

As soon as he got his hands on those shares, he booted my family out and crowned Theresa as the queen of the company.

"Go ahead," I said, pulling out my phone and hitting record. "Just try leaving. Got your penalty money ready?"

Julian's face froze.

He never thought I'd push back like this.

Back then, all it took was a cold glare from him, and I'd be scrambling to apologize, desperate to smooth things over.

But now, this Seraphina was like a total stranger, and it threw him off, made him uneasy.

Still, he quickly shook it off, sure I was just bluffing.

"Yeah, you've got guts," Julian scoffed, taking a deep breath and grabbing Theresa's hand. "Come on, Theresa, let's get out of this dump. I'll set you up with a proper office somewhere else."

He paused at the door, then spun around and shot me a nasty glare.

"Seraphina, you'd better figure out how you're gonna come crawling to me tonight at the charity gala. Without me as your date, let's see you crash and burn," he sneered.

With that, he slammed the door behind him.

Finally, some peace in the office.

I called the cleaning lady over. "Throw out everything in here and disinfect the place three times. That chair? Just burn it."

The cleaning lady jumped in surprise. "Ms. Ashbourne, that chair costs a fortune..."

"It's contaminated," I said, wiping my hands with a look of pure disgust.

Tonight was the annual charity gala—the one event the Ashbourne family had to show up for, no matter what.

Every year before, I'd be hanging off Julian's arm, the power couple everyone gossiped about and envied.

But this year...

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, all glammed up, and a cold smirk curled at my lips.

If he wanted to see me crash and burn, I'd give him a surprise he'd never see coming.

The gala was a dazzling swirl of high society—designer gowns, sparkling jewelry, and the scent of expensive perfume everywhere.

The moment I walked in, every eye in the room turned to me.

My burgundy couture dress made my skin glow like porcelain, and my presence was impossible to ignore. I was commanding the room.

But I walked in alone, with no one by my side.

The crowd started buzzing with gossip.

"Hey, why did Seraphina show up alone? Where's Julian?" someone whispered.

"Word is, they had a fight. Julian brought someone else tonight," another person gossiped.

"He brought someone else? At an event like this? Isn't that super embarrassing for the Ashbournes?" someone else muttered.

Right in the middle of all the gossip, a sudden commotion erupted at the entrance.

Julian showed up.

He was rocking a sharp white suit, turning heads and oozing confidence.

And the woman on his arm was none other than Theresa.

She was wearing the Chanel jacket she'd "borrowed" from my office, paired with a faded floral dress and a pair of sneakers.

Her mismatched outfit looked completely out of place among all the couture gowns, almost laughable.

But she wore a confident smile, like she was pure and real, totally unpretentious.

Julian gazed at her with pure adoration, as if she were some rare treasure.

The crowd erupted in shock.

"Who is this country bumpkin?" someone blurted out.

"Has Julian lost his mind? Bringing someone like her to a banquet like this?" another person scoffed.

Julian seemed to be loving all the attention, striding right up to me with Theresa in tow.

"Seraphina, you see this?" he shot me a mocking look. "Even without you, I'm still the star of the show. And you? Standing here all alone, like some abandoned wife nobody wants."

Theresa shrank behind him, her voice trembling. "Seraphina, please don't be upset... Julian just wanted to tease you a little. Honestly, he still cares about you deep down..."

"Shut up," I gave her a frosty glare. "No one asked for your opinion."

Julian's face darkened with anger. "How can you talk to Theresa like that? She's just trying to help, and this is how you treat her?"

"Trying to help?" I picked up a glass of red wine from the waiter's tray, swirling it lightly. "Parading around in clothes you stole, and you call that being nice?"

Julian's face changed. "Stole? I told you, it was just borrowed! Borrowed! Don't make it sound so harsh!"

"If you take something without asking, that's stealing," I snapped.