With a blank expression, Perry answered, "Yes, I am. Ouch!"
With a loud crack, Maria's palm landed heavily on her fair cheek. Her head buzzing, Perry took some time to recover.
The whole floor went so silent that one could hear a pin drop. Everyone in the PR department was shocked by the scene that had just played out in front of them.
Speculations on whether Perry had slept with James were all in their minds.
The blow was so heavy the stars danced before Perry's eyes. With tears glittering on her lashes, she stared at Maria and gasped out, "Ms. Song... Ah!"
Another resounding slap hit her. By now, the employees were transfixed with fear.
However, none of them dared to stop Maria. After all, her name was widely known all over the HL Group.
Moreover, the manager of the PR department came out to welcome her himself when he found out about her visit.
Ignoring the manager, Maria whirled to face the aggrieved woman in front of her. "Weren't you quite arrogant? Now I want you to know how a mistress gets slapped." "Ms. Song, you misunderstand me." Perry had no intentions of admitting to anything.
"I misunderstand you?" Maria retorted snidely. "I have read all the messages that you sent her. Tell me, what exactly did I misunderstand?"
Biting her lower lip, Perry complained in a low voice, "You have nothing to do with her. Why do you care so much?" 'How could that bitch, Summer, tell Maria?'
"Who told you that I had nothing to do with her? She's like my sister. What do you have to say to that?"
The response stunned Perry. Even so, she was not convinced. "Ms. Song, keep your nose out of other people's business. This has nothing to do with you."
Those who were eavesdropping immediately felt relieved at what they heard. As it turned out, the confrontation between the two women was no because Perry slept with James. It made sense, because who would opt for someone like Perry, who was inferior to Maria in all aspects? They believed that James had better taste than that.
Maria was relentless in her verbal attack. "Is it honorable to be a mistress? How shameless! Tell me, who was the cosmetic surgeon who managed to give you such a thick skin? Tell us the name so I can have the clinic blacklisted!"
"I've never had cosmetic surgery!"
Maria sneered. She was not blind, after all. Of course she could tell that the woman had never had anything fixed because she wouldn't look so ugly otherwise. "Then hurry up and have one! I'm so disappointed-all along, I thought you were pretty. And look at your makeup. Even makeup applied by a robot would look better than yours!"
Color rushed up to Perry's face at Maria's mocking sarcasm. She looked beseechingly at the manager for help, but the man dared not say anything. He could only feign ignorance and turn a blind eye to the cry for help written so clearly in Perry's eyes.
In the end, Perry could only exclaim, "Why are you picking on me? One cannot clap with only one hand. She herself should reflect about her own shortcomings. Day in and day out, all she ever cares about is work."
Maria had never met such a shameless person like Perry. "One cannot clap with only one hand? Let me show you how to do that." Again, her palm landed on Perry's face.
"Argh!" By then, Perry's face had started to swell up. However, even if she wanted to fight back, she didn't dare.
The three slaps she had managed to land made Maria's anger abate. She warned, "If you know what's good for you, you will return the villa and the luxury items that he gave you, and keep your distance from him."
By then, tears were streaming down Perry's face, but she dared not utter a peep.
Satisfied that she was able to get her message across, Maria rearranged her expression into a more pleasant one and said to the others, "I'm sorry for kicking up a fuss. I only came here to help my friend teach her husband's mistress a lesson. Please go on with your work, everyone."
Soon after, the news that Perry was someone's mistress spread like wildfire. In no time, everyone in the company knew about it.
After leaving the PR department, Maria didn't go to meet James. Instead, she headed straight to the hospital.
Summer had been transferred to the in-patient department. Maria arrived at the ward to see Summer's mother shedding tears by the side of the bed.
The older woman was effusive in her thanks. Maria said in a low voice, "Ma'am, you're welcome. I just did what I had to do. How are Summer and the baby doing?"
Summer's mother wiped the tears from her face and replied in a mournful tone, "The baby is gone."
For a moment, Maria didn't know what to say.
At that moment, Summer slowly stirred, and the first person she saw when she opened her eyes was Maria.
"How are you feeling, Summer? Do you feel hurt or uncomfortable anywhere?" Maria asked in concern.
With a weak smile, Summer shook her head and said, "I'm fine, but..." With a hand on her flat belly, she whispered, "Is it gone?" She was not ignorant. After all, she had lost so much blood, so she figured that it was impossible for the baby to survive.
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