“That man is very talkative. He doesn’t even mind to comment on my lipstick,” Gabriella grumbled before applying red dye on her lips.
After a moment, her eyes flickered flat.
“Is it too thick?” the woman muttered as she took a closer look in the mirror.
A second later, the woman pulled out a sheet of tissue and wiped off her lipstick.
“No, this is too faded.”
After a few minutes, Gabriella finally got the color right. A satisfied smile appeared on her face.
“Do you think you are beautiful?” a woman who had just entered the door asked. “Are you happy that you take Max away from me?”
Gabriella suddenly turned around and furrowed her brows. “Amber?”
With her arms folded in front of the chest, the haughty lady walked over.
“Where did you get this?” she asked, noticing the authenticity of the lipstick that had just taken from Gabriella’s hand.
“Max gave it to me,” the honest woman replied in a stiff tone.
A second later, Amber snorted and gave a disdainful look. “Of course. A girl like you can’t possibly afford something this expensive.”
Gabriella’s jaw suddenly clenched tightly. She could have retaliated, but didn’t want to cause a fuss. Unfortunately, Amber has different thoughts. That lady was more provoked to test her enemy’s patience.
“Why? Did I misspoke? A woman like you doesn’t deserve to wear classy things, so as standing side by side with the CEO of a well-known company.”
Gabriella’s head was lowered and her breath began to wheeze. She realized that silence was not the right solution. As soon as the woman regained her courage, annoyance was evident in her eyes.
“Stop bothering me and give me back my stuff!”
The lady’s mouth suddenly opened wide. “You dare yell at me? You have big guts, apparently.”
Right at that moment, three cleaning services came in with fierce looks. Amber’s grin instantly declared a threat.
“You’re going to regret yelling at me,” she muttered, stepping back.
Without waiting for orders, two people came forward and caught Gabriella’s hand.
“What are you doing?”
Relentlessly, the women pushed her into a corner against the wall.
“Let go!”
Seeing Amber approaching, Gabriella started kicking. “Stay away!”
“Tsk, you’re so wild.”
With just one movement of the head, the cleaning service, which was originally standing still, rushed to hug Gabriella’s legs. The poor woman could no longer move.
“Get out of the way!” Gabriella screamed even more crazily.
“Shh! We will let you go after you are properly dressed,” Amber said while twisting the lipstick. A second later, she started doodling.
“Stop!” the woman who was still trying to fight back shouted. However, no matter how hard she tried to dodge, the lipstick that Max gave her still left a red trail on her face.
“You should be aware. You don’t fit in with expensive things at all.”
After saying two sentences, the face before her could no longer be recognized. Amber suddenly laughed seeing her work.
“This is what you really look like. Don’t pretend to be pretty in front of Max,” she said, throwing the lipstick into the trash can.
Gabriella gritted her teeth at the sight of Amber’s behavior. If only her hands were free, she would have grabbed the arrogant woman.
Unfortunately, reality was not on her side. She was still pushed to the wall. Even, when Amber took the photo, Gabriella could only look down and swallow in annoyance.
“Are you satisfied?” she asked after mustering up the courage.
Amber’s smile suddenly shrunk. “Of course not. Your tone is still haughty,” she shook hes head as her gaze turned to three women who were waiting for orders.
“Do you think this woman is suitable for wearing expensive clothes?”
Gabriella’s eyes snapped open. She had just sniffed out a much bigger threat.
“Take off all her clothes! They are too good for her.”
Gabriella’s heart immediately jumped as if it wanted to get out of a cage. With a look of horror, the desperate woman shook her head.
“Are you crazy? This has crossed the line.”
Unfortunately, Amber didn’t want to hear. She let three women in uniform strip Gabriella’s clothes.
“No! Don’t touch me!” Tears began to pool in the eyes of the helpless woman.
In just one minute, her body was no longer covered in a single thread. Gabriella was now sobbing with shame and anger.
“You are really bad!” she shouted between sighs. Again, she struggled. However, Amber’s troops did not let her free.
“Tsk tsk, you still have face, apparently. Well then, let’s test the limits of your arrogance. Are you still shameless after I captured this moment?”
While laughing happily, Amber took some pictures. She didn’t care at all about Gabriella’s cries or her crazed breathing.
“Look at this!”
A photo was displayed in front of Gabriella. The woman’s lips trembled even more violently.
“If this photo went viral on the internet, do you think Max still wants to defend you?” Amber asked with a triumphant smile.
Gabriella’s breath rumbled again.
“If you’re willing to go to jail, go ahead,” she replied in a low, gripping tone. That poor woman was getting tired of looking weak in front of her opponent.
Hearing the unexpected boldness, a sigh of disbelief spontaneously escaped from Amber’s mouth. “Did you just threaten me?”
After putting her cell phone into the small bag, the arrogant lady folded her arms again.
“It looks like this girl still hasn’t learned the lesson. Flush her to come to senses!”
Without missing a second, two women in uniform dragged Gabriella into the booth. The poor woman could only surrender when her body was wet with water taken from out of nowhere.
As soon as Gabriella wiped her face, the door in front of her was closed. Her eyes widened in an instant. With trembling hands, she pounded on the thick board.
“Get me out!” she asked repeatedly. However, not a single voice answered.
“Amber?”
It was useless Gabriella expected a reply. The people who bullied her were already out of there.
“They really left me? What should I do now?” the woman murmured in despair.
Hugging herself, Gabriella sat on the toilet. There was nothing she could do but wait and pray.
“Max will come looking for me soon,” she thought before closing her eyes and spilling out her sadness.
No one knew how long Gabriella was able to suppress annoyance. Her heart that was cracked a thousand could break at any moment.
***
Half an hour has passed. Max turned towards the door for the umpteenth time. Again, he had to sigh in disappointment. “Why hasn’t she come back yet?”
When the door opened, his eyebrows automatically rose. However, as soon as he saw Amber enter, his cheerfulness faded, especially when the woman stepped gracefully towards him.
“Next time, find a loyal woman! Don’t look for irresponsible women who leave the forum arbitrarily,” the lady whispered before returning to her chair.
Listening to the incitement, Max’s face suddenly turned stiff. His firm wink implied confusion.
“Gabriella can’t just walk away,” the man thought as he pretended to fix his tie. Worry just choked his neck.
“This meeting should end soon.”
***
“Max!” Sebastian called, stopping the CEO’s quick steps.
Subconsciously, Max let out an annoyed sigh before turning to face his secretary. “What’s wrong?”
“Why didn’t you tell me about that brilliant plan? I was like an idiot in that meeting.”
Max’s brows furrowed spontaneously to hide his displeasure. “I wanted to give you a perfect surprise,” he said with a curt shrug.
“Then you succeeded. By the way, where’s Miss Gabriella?”
The CEO immediately let a quick breath escaped his mouth. “That’s the reason I’m in a hurry. I have to look for her. Sorry.”
Before his secretary could respond, Max had slid into the CEO’s special elevator.
“Has that girl shifted my position?” Sebastian muttered as he watched the CEO’s back drift away. “That means, I have to try harder to keep it.” With relaxed steps, he walked towards another elevator.
Once in the lobby, Max went straight to the guard. “Did you see the woman who came with me, go out?”
The man in the black uniform shook his head. “No, Sir.”
The CEO’s fists suddenly tightened. After racking his brains for a moment, his eyes widened at a thought.
“Amber. She must have done something to Gabriella,” he guessed before heading back to the elevator.
Once upstairs, Max rushed to the women’s restroom. The word “broken” on the door immediately invited suspicion.
“Since when is there a sign like this on my building?”
Without hesitation, Max pushed open the door, which turned out to be locked.
“This is not right.”
A second later, Max started breaking down the door. His common sense had been completely overcome by worry. He didn’t have time to think about finding the key anymore.
As soon as the door was opened, the man rushed in. A second later, his eyes opened to the max. The bag he bought for his wife lay beside the sink. So did the hair tie that was supposed to be around Gabriella’s wrist.
“Why did she leave it here?” Max’s sighs were overshadowed by anxiety. After a blink, he turned his gaze in all directions.
“Gabriella?” the man called expecting an answer. However, no sound replied him.