"Who are you?", Bryn asked in a shaky voice.
She didn't hear them coming in and at that point, she started believing that her mother was right and that there are such things as demons and other dark creatures. Did she sin so much that they came to take her soul? She shivered and curled up in the bed while trying to increase the distance between her and the shadows.
One shadow silently moved toward the desk and with a click, the table lamp turned on. Bryn's eyes widened when she realized that she is looking at Sarah and Aiden.
"What are you doing here?", Bryn asked, unsure what to think of the current situation.
She glanced at the closed door and wondered how did they get inside because she didn't hear anything. Are they demons? Can they walk through walls or create portals to Hell?
Bryn didn't consider that Sarah and Aiden entered through the open window because her apartment is on the fourth floor.
"I wanted to see how you are doing.", Sarah said.
Bryn didn't believe her. Is this a social visit?
"Do you check on every person you fire?", Bryn blurted out.
"No. But I check to see the effects of my retaliation. It seems that you still didn't comprehend what happened to you…", Sarah said and sat on the edge of the bed. "It seems that I was right in my initial assessment how between you and Kaia, Kaia is the leader, while you follow her blindly."
Bryn frowned at these words. How is Kaia related to Sarah and Aiden coming to her room?
Aiden stood behind Sarah and put his hand on Sarah's shoulder. He didn't like that Sarah is so close to Bryn, but he didn't want to intervene. The most he could do was to stay vigilant.
Sarah didn't see the bruises and cuts on Bryn's body, because she changed her clothes, but few bruises on Bryn's face and exposed skin of her arms told Sarah that Bryn got a beating.
Sarah was surprised that she didn't feel anything. No joy, no sorrow, no pity. She had absolutely no emotions to spare for Bryn, and she wondered if that is because she saw too many gruesome things in the last few years and her feelings got numbed.
Sarah came here to tell Bryn that what she provoked people she shouldn't have.
"Let me remind you.", Sarah said with a dull smile. "Yesterday, you tried seducing my husband and you neglected your duties as a salesgirl at Blanc, so you got fired. Instead of sucking up the loss as a just punishment, you decided to retaliate by creating fake articles that will tarnish Blanc's reputation. Later that night, you went to Reflex and met four young men with whom you ended up in a hotel room, and now everyone knows how promiscuous you are. Did you get all this, or do I need to repeat or maybe give you more details?"
Bryn narrowed her eyes while she thought of Sarah's words. "Your retaliation? Did you send those men? And you leaked the photos online?"
Sarah clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Really? Out of everything I said, you only heard the part about the photos of you screwing four guys at the same time? For your information, the photos were not leaked. They were posted in a straightforward manner. And the answer is 'yes'. I sent those men."
"You bitch!", Bryn said through her teeth.
Bryn wanted to move toward Sarah and hit her, but Aiden's glare made Bryn freeze in the spot. Bryn's heart ached at the way Aiden looked at her with malice, while gently holding Sarah and protecting her silently. No one ever protected her that way, and she was jealous.
"I've been called worse.", Sarah said flatly, making Bryn focus her attention on her again. "You see, we could have moved on with our lives and you would never know how things ended up this way. But I wanted you to know that it was me because I don't want you to blame bad luck or some supernatural forces. Will you hate your arrogance and stupidity, or me for retaliating? I will leave that up to you, but I want to know, how does it feel to have a taste of your own medicine?"
"Taste of my own medicine? I don't see you shunned by everyone, without anything, or beaten up by your own mother."
"But if your plan succeeded, you would take my husband away and damage my company. As for my mother beating me… I don't want to talk about it." Sarah cringed internally when she remembered all the training Stella put her through. "The difference between you and me is that I used my head and planned my moves. Even if you expose what happened, no one will believe you."
"I can call my mother right now."
"You can. Call her, see if she will respond. Or do you think that she will care? What will you say? That you have people in your room? Or are we demons?", Bryn's eyes widened at Sarah's words and she wondered if Sarah can read minds. Sarah snickered and continued: "Considering what you put her through, your mother will probably be happy that demons came to claim you. Aren't you giving her only headaches?"
Bryn was dejected that Sarah saw through her bluff. She didn't want to call her mother, even if the devil himself showed up because, for Bryn, her mother was the devil. Bryn felt her eyes burning and she was unable to stop her tears from falling.
"I only wanted a carefree life where I can party and enjoy without thinking what others will say.", Bryn said through sobs. "You have it, why can't you understand how difficult is to live like this? I only wanted a bit of it. Was that so bad?"
"It's not bad to have ambitions, but your approach was wrong. You can't build happiness on someone else's misery.", Aiden said stiffly. He didn't like that Brin acted against them and now she is asking for sympathy. Sarah is hormonal... will she give in and help this treacherous woman?
Sarah observed Bryn in silence.
After a moment of her heart wavering, Sarah shook her head and looked at Bryn mockingly. "You are delusional if you believe that there is such a thing as a carefree life without responsibilities. Everything has a price, and the ones who only party run out of money quickly."
Sarah stood up and looked at Aiden. "Let's go…"
Bryn saw Aiden and Sarah move toward the window.
"You are just leaving?"
"Yes.", Sarah responded. "I wanted to give you a final warning not to try anything against Blanc or us again if you want to keep your life, but I see that you are broken already."
Sarah knew that Bryn's mother will beat Bryn into submission. There was nothing here for them to do.
Bryn looked at Sarah and Aiden as they slipped out through the window and climbed up like there was a ladder… but Bryn knew there was none. She went to the window and looked out, seeing darkness. The only proof that Sarah and Aiden were in her room was the table lamp that was still on.
Bryn returned back on her bed and laid in silence, waiting for midnight so that she can go into the kitchen and find some food. She was hungry.
---
If you are not reading this at 'W e b n o v e l .. c o m', then the content you're reading is stolen! Please support the author by reading this novel from the original source.