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ISADORA’S POV
<b>63 </b>
10 vouchers
My boss wasn’t around at the moment, and there were no customers to attend to or keep me busy, so yeah… I could spare some time. The silence of the café pressed against me, the low hum of the refrigerator and the faint clink of a clock the only sounds breaking it. I hated silence, it gave me too much room to think, too much space for my bitterness to swirl around inside my head. But today, silence might be useful. It left room for something else. For him.
“Of course,” I said, gesturing toward the table by the window.
I slipped my apron off with deliberate care, trying not to look as though my pulse had just quickened. My fingers fumbled slightly as I hung it on the hook, and then I slid into the seat opposite him. I quickly studied his posture, the measured way he moved, how his eyes seemed to weigh and strip apart everything theynded on. He wasn’t just Olivia’s uncle. He was dangerous, and that both unnerved and thrilled me.
“Now tell me, youngdy, what’s your name?” he asked.
His tone was casual, but there was an undercurrent there, something sharp.
“I’m Isadora,” I replied.
He repeated my name under his breath, as if testing the sound of it, then nodded slowly.
“Okay, Isadora. You managed to get my attention from what you said earlier, so I have a few questions to ask.” He leaned forward just slightly, his eyes pinning me. “Why do you hate Olivia exactly?”
I let out a smallugh, though it sounded more bitter than amused. I knew why I hated her. I could feel it burning in me like acid eating through steel but sometimes the words tangled in my throat. Hatred that deep didn’t always trante neatly into sentences.
“Well,” I began, dragging my fingers across the edge of the table to ground myself. “It’s kind of hard to exin, but my hatred for her revolves around her taking something from me.”
“Really?” He tilted his head, the corners of his lips twitching into something between curiosity and recognition. “Then I guess we’re riding the same boat, miss. Because she also took something from me.” He reached into the brown bag he’d been holding and pulled out his coffee, setting it on the table as if he had all the time in the world.
I blinked. Didn’t he just get that to go? Why drink it here?
“She took something from you?<b>” </b><b>I </b>asked, unable to hide my intrigue. “What could that possibly be?”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he peeled back the lid of his cup and took a long, deliberate sip, letting the silence stretch until it prickled at my skin. Then he leaned back
“Before we start talking about my side,” he said smoothly, “let’s talk about your side. Tell me more.”
I clenched my fists in myp, my nails digging into my palms. Fine. He wanted more, I’d give him more.
vouchers
“Well, we’ve known each other for over seven years now,” I said, my voice tightening with each word. “And each year that passes, I hate her even more. Since the day my man saw her, hepletely fell for her and pushed me aside. I’m no longer as important to him as I used to be. Everything between us changed, all
because of her.”
The bitterness slipped free, raw and jagged. “I wouldn’t be working in this rundown café if it weren’t for her. She ruined my life just by existing.” My hand clenched tighter around the napkin holder in front of me, and the tremor in my voice betrayed how deeply I meant it.
“Fair enough.” His eyes glittered, and he rested his chin against his fist. “Now… what do you n to do about her?”
My breath caught. My n. My secret.
For a moment, hesitation curled around my chest. No matter how much he sounded like he despised Olivia too, I couldn’t forget he was still her blood, her uncle. Blood ties had a way of twisting even the most venomous hatred into unexpected loyalty. If I said too much, if I exposed myself, he could easily turn this on me. He could tell her everything. Worse, he could already be recording this conversation. My gaze flicked, for just a second, to his jacket pocket. Could there be a mic hidden there?
I forced myself to stay calm. I couldn’t rush. I had to be careful.
“Before I do so,” I said finally, steadying my tone, “I’ve told you why I hate her. So I wouldn’t mind hearing what she took from you.”
His eyes narrowed slightly, as though he was measuring me again. Then, slowly, he began to speak.
“Well… you see, everything she has right now – the money, the wealth, the power it was all meant to be mine. I’m sure you know she’s the CEO of ke Enterprise?”
Of course, I knew. Everyone did. Olivia ke, the golden princess of the business world. The name that haunted my dreams, the face I wanted to see destroyed.
“I wasn’t meant to sit on the sidelines,” he continued. “That seat was supposed to be mine. But my stupid brother…” His jaw tightened, venom dripping from the word brother. “…he decided to make a mistake and hand everything to his darling daughter instead. That’s why I’m here in New York. I came to give them a stern warning. A final one that Olivia should step down and do the needful.”
I leaned forward unconsciously, drinking in his words like they were oxygen. My pulse thrummed so hard 1 thought he might hear it.
I heard everything he said, but one word snagged in my mind and refused to let go. House.
“You came here to warn them,” I said, my voice sharper than I intended. “Which means you know her house, and you have ess?” The desperation slipped out before I could cage it.
He studied me for a long moment, then nodded once. “Yes.”
The air in my lungs seemed to expand. My lips parted as a rush of adrenaline coursed through me. <b>“</b>This is good. This is amazing.” The words tumbled out under my breath, half–whispered to myself. “This <b>is </b>the fuel I need for my second n…”
:
His brow arched. “What n are you talking about?”
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<b>63 </b>
10 vouchers
I met his gaze, fire burning in mine. For the first time, I didn’t bother hiding my hunger for Olivia’s destruction.
“From what I understand,” I said, leaning in closer, my voice carrying the tremor of excitement I could no longer contain, “we both want the same thing. So why don’t we work together… and bring her down.”