The tension in the office was thick as Amelia stood her ground, her arms crossed, refusing to back down. Across from her, Mrs. Zhao stood fuming, her eyes sharp as daggers. They were in front of the lab, the door barely cracked open, and the scene was being witnessed by none other than Professor Lewis and Adam Carter. Both men looked increasingly uncomfortable, unsure if they should intervene or stay out of the escalating argument.
"You know, Amelia, your behavior last night was completely undignified," Mrs. Zhao snapped, her voice dripping with disapproval. "It was entirely inappropriate for you to react the way you did when Rowena was simply trying to be courteous to Nick."
Amelia's eyes narrowed, her anger barely contained. "Courteous? Is that what you call it? Pouring drinks for another woman's husband? Not only that. She kissed Nick. Intentionally!" She paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, but as his wife, I have every right to protect my boundaries."
Mrs. Zhao's lips curled into a sneer. "If you don't want other women making their moves to your husband, then perhaps you should stay closer to him. You're the one who leaves his side. Don't blame anyone else when women take advantage of that."
Amelia felt her blood boil, but she forced herself to keep calm. "I wasn't away from Nick because I didn't care. I was giving him space to mingle with the staff and the other employees. I didn't want anyone thinking we were there playing lovey-dovey, parading our marriage around like some badge of honor. I wanted Nick to engage with his team, no matter who they were or where they came from—without bringing up our family names, our money, or any of that nonsense."
Mrs. Zhao raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "And yet you lost your temper. Tell me, is this how you defend your marriage? By acting like a jealous child?"
"I defended my right as his wife," Amelia shot back, stepping forward. "It doesn't matter if I'm from the Wang family or if Nick is from the Zhao family. No woman has any business touching my husband like that, whether they know who I am or not."
The room went silent for a moment. Even Professor Lewis, who was pretending to check his clipboard, shifted uncomfortably. Adam Carter glanced at his watch, probably hoping this would all blow over soon.
Mrs. Zhao's eyes flared with indignation. "You've never had a problem socializing with men before. I've seen you laugh and joke with your male friends—what makes this different? Isn't it hypocritical to allow yourself to have male friends but get upset when Nick talks to other women?"
Amelia's jaw clenched. "Have I ever stopped Nick from socializing with women? No. I've never had a problem with it. But what Rowena did last night—pushing boundaries, pouring drinks, touching him, kissing him—it was out of line. And I won't stand for that."
Mrs. Zhao folded her arms, trying to maintain her composure but clearly shaken. "You're being overly dramatic. If Maia were in your shoes right now, she would have handled this with much more grace than you. Maia wouldn't have caused a scene. She would've dealt with this in an elegant, sophisticated manner, not like some... barbarian."
Amelia let out a dry, sarcastic laugh. "Elegant? Sophisticated?" She shook her head, the anger bubbling to the surface. "No matter how 'elegant' or 'sophisticated' a woman is, jealousy is still jealousy. I'd love to know, Mrs. Zhao, how you'd react if a woman started flirting with your husband. Would you stand by and watch? Would you say nothing, just smile and be 'elegant' about it?"
Mrs. Zhao opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. For the first time in the entire argument, she seemed caught off guard.
Amelia pressed on, her tone firm but her voice steady. "And let's be clear, no decent woman would go after a married man. A decent woman would look for an available man, not someone who's already committed to another."
Mrs. Zhao's face turned red with rage. Her hand shot up, her fingers twitching as if she was about to slap Amelia across the face.
"Enough!" Nick's voice boomed through the hallway as he stepped between the two women, grabbing his mother's wrist just in time to stop her from landing the blow.
The room fell silent. Professor Lewis let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, while Adam shifted nervously from foot to foot.
Nick's eyes moved between his mother and his wife, his face a mix of frustration and disbelief. "What the hell is going on here?"
Mrs. Zhao yanked her hand free from Nick's grip, glaring at him. "This woman," she spat, "has no respect. She has no class, no dignity."
Nick turned to Amelia, his brows furrowed. "What happened?"
Amelia's shoulders were tense, but she stood tall. "I'm not going to stand by while your mother talks down to me, Nick. I defended myself because I won't let anyone, not even your mother, tell me how to handle my marriage."
Nick sighed, running a hand through his hair, clearly overwhelmed by the situation. He looked at his mother, his expression serious. "Mom, you can't just show up at my workplace and start arguments like this. We're adults. Amelia and I handle our marriage the way we see fit."
Mrs. Zhao scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. "You call this handling it? Letting her embarrass the family, making a fool of herself in front of everyone?"
Nick's patience was running thin. "We don't care about that, Mom. Amelia isn't embarrassing anyone. What happened last night wasn't her fault."
Mrs. Zhao looked like she wanted to argue further, but Nick's firm tone made it clear that this was the end of the conversation. She huffed in frustration, her eyes burning with resentment. "I see I'm not welcome here anymore," she muttered, before turning and storming off down the hallway.
Nick turned to Amelia, rubbing his temples as if trying to ease the headache building behind his eyes. "You okay?"
Amelia sighed, her anger simmering down but still present. "I'm fine. But you better deal with your mother, Nick."
Nick nodded, watching as his mother's figure disappeared around the corner. "Yeah," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else, "I'll handle it."
As Nick ran after his mom, at the same time, he heard Rowena screaming from one of the rooms, begging Harry not to fire her.