Chapter 35\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe company wants to hold me responsible and make me pay damages,\u201d Ariane snorted. \u201cSo, I told them I quit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Juliet pressed her lips together. \u201cHow much did they want?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey wanted 50 thousand for medical bills plus emotional distress.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ariane snarled. \u201cThat\u2019s ridiculous! I\u2019m leaving. They can call the police if they\u2019ve got the guts to. The company\u2019s got cameras. We\u2019ll see who\u2019s in the right.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough about me. What about you? You look pale. Did Caleb say something again? Don\u2019t let that scum get to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Juliet set her cutlery down. She met Ariane\u2019s worried eyes. Something inside her softened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAri. I was just thinking\u2026 It feels like I\u2019ve always been standing on the edge of a cliff.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ariane froze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Juliet lowered her gaze. Her voice was quiet. \u201cWhen I was a kid in the countryside, all I thought about was how not to be sold off by my dad. Later, when I started staying with the Greenes, I desperately tried to be likable. I was terrified they\u2019d kick me out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I became Asher\u2019s wife, I was afraid they\u2019d think I wasn\u2019t worthy of the position. I studied day and night how to be a proper society wife,\u201d she said, letting out a bitter laugh. \u201cI flattered my mother-in-law. Even buttered up those rich ladies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like a vine crawling up a great tree. I believed that as long as I climbed high enough, I\u2019d see the sun.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She gave a self-deprecating smile. \u201cNow I realize I don\u2019t even know how to stand on my own.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ariane\u2019s heart twisted. She reached across the table and clasped Juliet\u2019s hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t say that. You\u2019re not a vine. You\u2019re just you. Is it really your fault if you needed a tree to survive? You were born into that world. Did you have a choice?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tree was at fault. He made you believe he was your whole world, and then he turned away to shelter someone else.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice rose with anger. \u201cLeaving him means freedom. It\u2019s your second chance!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Juliet\u2019s eyes reddened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m grateful to the Greenes Without them, I\u2019d still be drowning in the mud, wondering who my dad would sell me to Mrs. Gevene always wanted Asher to marry into a powerful family. I should let go and let everything return to where it belongs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ariane handed her a tissue. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with wanting to survive and have a better Bife Without you, Asher wouldn\u2019t be running the company now. He would have become a professional racer and might\u2019ve gotten into an accident then.\u00a0<\/p>\n
right, enough about him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ariane couldn\u2019t stand seeing her best friend cry. She leaned over and wiped Juliet\u2019s tears.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Juliet was breathtaking even when she was barefaced. Her eyes always carried a faint sadness. They had a natural air of melancholy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, she was stubborn to the core. When she cried, it could melt anyone\u2019s heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Arian forcibly changed the subject, shrugging with forced cheer. \u201cAnyone, I quit, and you\u2019re unemployed now, too. We\u2019re jobless comrades. Maybe we should start something of our own.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, a man in a designer suit approached the two with a wine glass in hand. He stopped squarely by Juliet\u2019s table.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, beautiful. Can I get your number?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes were glued to Juliet, completely ignoring Ariane.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Juliet\u2019s tear-stained beauty had struck him like lightning. The man finally understood why some would move mountains for someone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Juliet silently stared at him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man smiled, pleased with himself. He slid a business card across the table. \u201cLet\u2019s be friends, I\u2019m Bob Wagner. I\u2019m in finance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ariane was about to explode when a nonchalant male voice drifted from behind them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She doesn\u2019t taste that bad.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Juliet stiffened at the familiar voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bob frowned and turned around\u00a0<\/p>\n
The newcomer wore a well-tailored casual suit in muted tones. It was elegant without being flashy. He had one hand carelessly resting in his pocket. His facial expression radiated authority\u00a0<\/p>\n
didn\u2019t lock the an eary intars\u00a0<\/p>\n
Xalue ripped this chits and Bub and deawled, \u201cWhat firm are you with Business must be bad\u00a0<\/p>\n
if you\u2019ve got time to hit uns were alae\u2019s wife during work hours\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
@umillured in front of a beauty, Bub bristled\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd who are you?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 35\u00a0 \u201cThe company wants to hold me responsible and make me pay damages,\u201d Ariane snorted. \u201cSo, I told them […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-save-your-pleas-im-with-your-best-friend-now-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":454,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415\/revisions\/454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}