Chapter 98: Easton, Help Me!
Seeing Victoria fail to land a hit, she lost it and lunged at Ellis like a madwoman. Without hesitation, Ellis opened the door, ready to retreat. But just as the door swung open, an unexpected scene unfolded—a tall young man stood outside, his right hand slightly raised, clearly about to push the door open. That young man was Easton, fresh out of his meeting.
The moment Victoria saw him, her lips trembled, and she clutched her face, looking pitifully at Easton. “Easton, you got here just in time! Ms. Harper hit me; my face hurts so much!”
Ellis hadn’t expected Easton to show up so suddenly. One-on-one, she had the upper hand. One-on-two? She was no match for that scumbag. Her brain was screaming at her to run, and she moved fast, ready to bolt. The next second, a large hand blocked her path, and a displeased voice rang in her ears.
“Ellis!”
With the scumbag standing in her way, there was no escaping now. But even so, Ellis had no regrets about slapping Victoria. Glancing at the mistress, who was now whining and crying to Easton, she let out a mocking laugh. Victoria had Easton as her backbone, and now that he was here, she obviously wouldn’t waste energy hitting back—she’d rather let Easton do it for her.
“Ellis, apologize!” Easton ordered.
Victoria and Ellis were both in his office, and the fact that they’d gotten into a fight was something he hadn’t anticipated. The force behind Ellis’s slap was obvious—Victoria’s left cheek was already showing signs of swelling. Sure enough, after hearing Victoria’s tearful complaints, Easton’s first reaction was to order Ellis to apologize.
She turned her face away, unwilling to show weakness. “Apologize? To her? She’s not even worthy! If anyone should be apologizing, it’s her. I was already about to get slapped by this scumbag, and now he wants me to apologize? Not happening.”
“When are you going to learn to control your temper? It’s getting worse—hitting people now, huh? You think that’s some kind of achievement?” Easton didn’t know the exact cause of their conflict, but he could guess—Ellis’s bad temper had flared up again, and once she was angry, she didn’t care about anything.
“I haven’t even hit you yet!” Ellis turned to face him directly. “If you care about Victoria so much, how about I slap you too? That way, you can understand her pain and comfort her properly.”
“Enough already, huh?” Easton gently pushed Victoria away as she tried to lean into him, then looked down at Ellis. “Looks like I haven’t taught you a proper lesson.”
Ellis wasn’t just venting—she wasn’t joking. She meant every word. She wished he would drop dead so she wouldn’t have to see his face anymore.
Hearing her call him a psycho again, Easton’s expression darkened. He reached out to cover her mouth. “There are consequences for running your mouth like that! Do you even think about what’ll happen if you don’t apologize?”
She shoved his hand away and fearlessly lifted her chin, turning her left cheek toward him. “Isn’t this what you want? To slap me on Victoria’s behalf? Go ahead! Then you two scumbags can drop dead together!”
“Ellis!” Easton’s brows furrowed. “Can you say one thing without being completely unhinged?”
“Easton, my face hurts so much!” Victoria shot Ellis a covert glare before leaning against Easton’s side. “I didn’t do or say anything. I don’t even know how I offended Ms. Harper—she just hit me out of nowhere.”
“Ha!” Ellis let out a cold laugh. “Wench, quit pretending.”
She had no expectation of Easton saying anything good about her. After all, she had been on the receiving end of his insults too. Instead of reacting to Ellis’s words, he simply said with a cold expression, “You were in the wrong for hitting her. You actually think you’re justified? If you don’t apologize, you’re not leaving.”
“Are you deaf? Or just stupid? I already said—I’m not apologizing!” Seeing that Easton still hadn’t made a move, Ellis tilted her head back to its normal position. “I’m not leaving—what can you do about it?”
“Forget it, Easton,” Victoria interjected, linking her arm around his. “If Ms. Harper wants to hit me, then so be it.” She sighed dramatically. “After all, she’s still your wife. Even if I don’t care about her, I care about you.”
Ellis’s gaze landed on Victoria’s hand wrapped around Easton’s arm. She wanted to curse them both to hell. These two were made for each other.
Easton pulled his arm free from Victoria’s grasp and signaled for her to leave. “I’ll handle this. Come see me tomorrow.”
Victoria was stunned, then stomped her foot. “Easton, why?”
He didn’t answer, instead glancing toward the elevator.
“Easton!” Victoria refused to leave and glared at Ellis with a hint of anger. “You promised to protect me for a lifetime and to always treat me the same. I came to you today because it’s important!”
Even if she didn’t want to hear it, Ellis couldn’t block out Victoria’s words. Disgusted as she was, they reminded her of a past she had once envied. Back when Victoria and Easton’s engagement was still intact, Victoria had been his rightful fiancée. Meanwhile, Ellis had been nothing more than an outsider, forced to hide her feelings for Easton and…