I watched Thomas charge at me, his hand raised to strike. My eyes narrowed, but I stood my ground, unmoving.
"Thomas, was your last hospital stay too short for your liking?"
The last time Thomas and his mother ended up in the hospital because of me should still be fresh in his memory. After that fight, he'd mostly left me alone. He was a typical bully, preying on the weak and fearing the strong. I bet he wouldn't dare to hit me.
And just as I thought, Thomas met my gaze and skidded to a halt. He cursed under his breath, "Damn it, I'm actually a little scared of this bitch!"
Then, he pointed a finger at me aggressively. "Zephyra, Steven protected you last time and told me to stay away. But you're divorced now, you think I'm still afraid of you? I went easy on you back then. Otherwise, you think you could've laid a finger on me?!"
"Get her out of here! Throw her out!"
Steven protected me? I raised an eyebrow but didn't dwell on it. Steven always protected his family. Who was I to him? The fact that he kept it quiet only meant he found the whole affair too embarrassing to publicize.
"I'll make this clear: anyone who hurts me is fired."
Some people in the office looked ready to move, but my words stopped them in their tracks. Verna didn't move either. Anyone else might question my authority, but she wouldn't.
The young assistant, having just sent a message, hurriedly said, "Mr. Thomas Lancaster, please, don’t! Mr. Lancaster will be furious!"
Thomas sneered. "Steven won't be angry. He hates her guts. She's a violent psycho and a cheater. Weren't you all over social media with some pretty-boy singer a while back? What happened, did you dump him as soon as he got into trouble?"
"And now you're back at Aether Studio, trying to latch onto Steven again, huh? You gold digger. Getting into the Lancaster family once was the luckiest thing that ever happened to you, but as long as I'm around, you'll never get a second chance. Let me tell you, Steven doesn't do leftovers! Now get lost!"
The assistant was frantic. "Mr. Thomas Lancaster! Mrs. Lancaster was brought here by Mr. Lancaster himself!"
Thomas froze, then his face contorted with rage. He grabbed my wrist and yelled, "No wonder Mom called you a siren! You bitch, stay away from Steven! You weren't even there for him when he was in trouble, when he needed you most! What right do you have to come crawling back to him now?"
He didn't control his strength, and his grip on my wrist was painful.
I didn't fight back, watching Thomas' furious tantrum with a flicker in my eyes.
This kid was a playboy, completely mediocre, but he was a good family who always listened to Steven.
"It's Steven who wants me back, what can I do? If you've got a problem, take it up with him and convince him to let me go. Stop yelling at me. Let go, you're hurting me."
Verna came over and tugged on Thomas' arm.
"Mr. Thomas Lancaster, since Mr. Lancaster brought her here, it means they've made up. You should just leave it alone. If you make Mr. Lancaster angry, you'll be the one to suffer."

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