Year Five The Perfect Goodbye Plan novel Chapter 172

To put it bluntly, whatever Shipley had done for her was nothing more than paying off a debt for Vianne’s past mistakes.

For years now, Silvia had run herself ragged for Shipley’s sake. She’d more than repaid what she owed.

Her expression was icy, and as Silvia spoke, her gaze never once landed on Shipley. She treated him as if he were invisible.

Seeing her so indifferent, Shipley faltered, the warmth in his eyes fading, his smile slipping just a little.

Silvia had called him trash.

How could that be?

His sweet Silvia would never say something so cruel to him—he was sure of it.

But that old anxiety he’d tried so hard to bury began to creep back in, tightening in his chest. Forcing a smile, Shipley tried to brush it all aside. “Come on, don’t joke like that with your big brother. It’s not funny at all.”

“In your eyes, this is just a joke?” Silvia, realizing that Shipley was as impossible to reach as ever, decided not to waste another minute. She waved her former colleagues over. “All right, everyone, come here. Let’s get your paperwork sorted.”

“Silvia.”

For the first time, Shipley didn’t use her nickname. His smile grew even brighter, voice gentle as velvet. “I don’t want you making a scene like this. These people are still my employees—their contracts are with me.”

Contracts?

Silvia let out a low, almost mocking laugh when she heard that.

Her eyes drifted to Vianne, who stood off to the side, visibly tense. Silvia said quietly, “Why not let her tell you whether those contracts still exist?”

“What do you mean?” Shipley’s gaze turned cold, but he couldn’t help glancing at Vianne.

Why had she done it?

Because they’d brought up Silvia.

Vianne had figured, since they were moving to the city anyway and would need to hire new staff, she might as well get rid of the old employees. That way, no one would know Silvia, and no one would mention her name in front of Shipley. If Shipley got upset later, she could always smooth things over.

She’d intended to act first and deal with the fallout later—what could Shipley really do about it?

But seeing her former colleagues ready to jump ship and join Silvia’s company, Vianne realized she’d badly miscalculated.

This was all Silvia’s fault!

“Silvia, why are you doing this to me?” Vianne’s tears spilled down her cheeks, her face crumpled with misery and wounded innocence. “You told them to come to me and ask for release. You’re trying to ruin the trust between Shipley and me—aren’t you?”