Her voice pierced through the air, jolting me back to reality.
"Hope you don't mind," she let the words roll off the tip of her tongue as a smirk tugged at the corners of her lips.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance before I forced my lips to curl upwards into a smile, trying my best to maintain my professionalism despite the anger that was pulsing through my veins at that moment.
"Nope," I said, popping the 'p'. "Of course, I don't mind. Take a seat," I gestured to the empty chair in front of me with a small smile on my face.
She slowly walked towards me, the sound of her high heels clicking against the polished floor of my office space echoed in my ears as if to taunt me. She reached the chair, pulling it out to settle down beside her partner.
I watched as she placed her bag down on the desk and turned to the lady beside her. "I will take it from here, thanks for your help, you may leave now," she urged and the lady simply nodded and obliged without saying another word as she made a beeline for the door.
As soon as the lady left, Evelyn turned back to face me and she smiled at me as we locked eyes, a knowing look twinkling in her eyes.
"You looked surprised to see me," she taunted as the smirk resting on her lips grew even wider this time. She leaned back into the chair and folded her arms across her chest. "Did you want to see me get thrown behind bars?"
"I would love to," I mentally chided inside my head. But I only looked at her, not saying a word as the air between us crackled with unspoken tension and silence enveloped the both of us.
"But guess what, Aurelia?" She snarled with a disdainful scorn as she leaned forward to get closer to me. "I'm the daughter of the richest family in the country. You can try and expose me for bribery but I will never face the consequences. My daddy got the money to do anything, do you know what money can do for you? Many things. And that includes getting out of jail," she said smugly, her voice doused with arrogance as she watched my reaction carefully.
I remained unfazed by her remarks as I simply stared at her with a slight smirk tugging at the corners of my lips before a soft chuckle erupted from my parted lips.
She raised her voice this time and slammed her palm against the desk, her blood boiled with anger and rage as I was unbothered by her antics and intentionally infuriating words.
"Why aren't you saying anything?! What's so funny, huh?!"
"Nothing," I quickly said with a condescending smile plastered across my face. "What did you want me to say? Congrats on getting out of jail with your daddy's money?" I questioned with a raised brow and watched as her features contorted into an angry expression.
She scoffed loudly, unhappy with the way I was reacting as I wasn't giving her the reaction that she wanted.
"You know what?" She began. "At least I have a dad. Your dad left you when you were a kid and your mum doesn't give a fuck about you. Isn't that pathetic?" She sneered.
"No."
"No?"
"What's pathetic is you coming in here and talking shit like I care," I retorted, my voice carrying a sharp edge to it as I glared at her with an intense look swirling in the depths of my eyes "This isn't highschool. You are in your mid-twenties, why are you acting like a child?"
"Aurelia!" My name left her lips with disdain and the smirk that was once on her lips faded quickly. "I –"
I didn't let her complete her sentence as I cut her off.
"So tell me…" My voice trailed off as I leaned back into my seat, easing my shoulders and posture. "Why are you here? What are you doing this for? You must have some motive showing up here unannounced. Are you trying to get close to Xavier? Or are you going to try and ruin our company and career?"
"Whatever it is…" I continued. "Don't even think about it."
"What makes you think you have a choice here?" She let a laughter slip through the gaps of her fingers, her laugh was low and taunting as she looked at me and we locked eyes. She pushed the file that was already lying on the desk across, pushing it closer to my side. "Sign this, and we will start on this project right away," she demanded as a smirk morphed itself on her lips.
My eyes naturally glanced down to look at the file once again before I looked back up and our gazes matched, tension continued to brew between us.
"No, I'm not signing it." I kept my gaze on her, unflinching as my voice hardened.
"Are you sure?" She questioned with a knowing look gleaming in her eyes. "I think I know something that might change your mind," she taunted, her voice heavy with a threat as the smirk on her face grew wider.
"There's nothing that could change my mind," I stated as my voice remained firm but my mind was already racing with thoughts as I thought of what she could possibly have against me or up her sleeve. Knowing her, she wouldn't make any idle threats.
I quickly found out within the next second as she said the next few words. "I know you are pregnant," she began slowly, her voice dropping to a low whisper as she deliberately drew each word out as if she was savouring every single syllable.
Her eyes twinkled with cruel satisfaction as she looked at me and slammed the picture of an ultrasound onto the desk.
"Wouldn't it be an interesting twist if Xavier's parents found out you are pregnant with another man's child?"