She carefully set the tea cup down onto the table, using the piece of cloth to gently tap around the curves of her lips before she looked up to meet my intense gaze.
"Why aren't you drinking your tea?" She asked casually as her eyes flickered down to look at my still full cup. "It's going to go cold and stale," she commented.
"I'm not in the mood to be drinking tea when you literally kidnapped me," I snapped back, my tone carrying a slight edge to it.
A low chuckle left her lips, slipping through the gaps of her fingers. "Oh, so that's why you got that frown on your face. Darling, look…" She drawled. "Like I told you, I wanted a nice place to talk to you in peace."
"You could have just told me in the office lobby or in the car, why did you feel the need to drag me all the way here?"
She laughed again, leaning back into her chair this time as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Then where's the fun in that?"
"There's nothing fun about this," I said coldly as the frown that was already etched onto my face deepened. "Just tell me, what's your purpose? What do you want from me?" I urged as I kept my gaze steady, leaning forward as I pressed my palms against the edge of the table.
The corners of her lips curved upwards into a slight smile and a knowing look flashed past her eyes.
"Fine, I will tell you," she said, pulling out a piece of paper from her purse and slamming it onto the table in between us, sliding it across. "I want you to leave my son. Here's a cheque for $50,000."
My eyes naturally flickered down to look at the paper, and sure enough, it was a piece of cheque like she said. I couldn't help but let out a snicker.
"$50,000 and you want me to leave Xavier?" I questioned with a raised brow, amusement dancing in my dark eyes. "No way. I'm not doing it."
"You think it's too little, huh?" Her sharp voice sliced through the tension that was brewing in the air as she glared at me with disdain swimming in her eyes. "I knew it…Aren't you a greedy little bitch?" She spat the words out like they were poison in her mouth, narrowing her eyes at me as her cheeks turned red with anger.
She grabbed another piece of blank cheque and furiously scribbled over it. She grabbed it and threw it right in my direction. "Here, one million dollars. Are you happy now?!"
A cold chuckle left my lips as I remained unfazed by her crude remarks. I picked up the cheque and tore it up, letting the pieces fall onto the table.
"You can offer me $100,000 or $1,000,000 and I'm still not leaving him."
She let out a loud scoff. "A million dollars and you won't even bat an eye? I don't believe it," she snarled. "Aren't you just after my son for his money now that he is successful and rich? Back when he was struggling to get by, you left him for another man!"
I gritted my teeth. "I have my reasons," I stated. "And no, I'm not after his money."
She cackled.
"That's what you girls all say but we all know that's all you want. Without your baby daddy, you will have no one else to provide for you so now you are leeching off my son!" Her shrill voice boomed loudly, echoing in the room as her words dripped with accusation. "I will not stand for this and pretend like everything is normal. He couldn't see it now but I can, and I see it very clearly, I will never allow my son to raise another man's child!" She hissed with a disdainful scorn as her voice shook with rage.
I remained calm despite the anger that was starting to spread inside of me. Clenching my fists beneath the table, I looked right into her eyes that were burning with a fiery blaze.
"Well, then, you are greatly mistaken," I announced, my voice remained unwavering. "I'm going to say it one last time, I'm not after his money and I am not leaving him. No amount of money is going to change that. He is my lawfully wedded husband even if you refuse to acknowledge it."
The sound of the chair screeching across the floor rang in my ears as I rose from the seat, ready to leave and walk out of the room. At that moment, I felt her fingers wrap around my arm as she held me back.
I snapped my head around to meet her eyes and she tightened her grip on me as a smirk appeared on her lips. "Maybe for now, but not for long, I won't allow it," she taunted.
I yanked my hand out of her grasp, a cold look was plastered across my face.
"I'm not letting you come between us."
"Good luck with that."
***
Level 30.
The soft ding echoing in the elevator reached my ears and the door slowly opened. I looked up from my phone to find myself coming face to face with Paula who was about to leave.
She had this smug look plastered across her face as a slight smirk tugged at the corners of her lips as we locked eyes.
"What are you doing here?" I questioned, my voice dripping with accusation as my tone carried a sharp edge to it.
A knowing look gleamed in her eyes. "Can't I be here to see my son?" She snarled, her voice filled with arrogance as her features hardened. "Who are you to question me?"
The air crackled with unspoken tension as the memories from before flooded my brain in an instant.
A low chuckle emerged from my throat as I let a smile fall on my lips.
"Calm down, I was just asking a question. Of course, you can see your son."
She let out a loud scoff, eyeing me with contempt. "Just you wait and see," she warned as she shoulder-checked me and left.