CHAPTER 9
LILY’S POV
“You must be out of your mind!” Scarlett roared as she came at me fiercely from outside the door, shocked at what I just said. “How dare you blame me for your mess-up? Everyone knows this was all you. You have hated this company from the start and have been waiting for the right opportunity to paint it black. Since you deliberately did this, how sure are we you don’t have other bad intentions?”
“Ever since you got into this company, all you have ever tried to do is make me look bad in front of everyone because you’re jealous of me,” I shot back at her. “Goodness knows I have been working my ass out for this company and will never do anything to sabotage it. You, on the other hand, don’t contribute anything. Since you arrived, all you do is nothing but look pretty and follow Robert around like a puppy. There is no doubt you did this. Who helped you? Because I know you’re too dumb to pull it off on your own… who helped you get access to my laptop and replace my slides with all that embarrassing stuff?”
She was completely bewildered, her eyes blazing like she couldn’t wait to get her hands on me and murder me.
“Okay employee of the decade,” she said with a heavy sarcasm in her tone. “Tell me why in the fuck’s sake will I be jealous of you?” She scoffed in puzzlement, giving me a disdainful look. “You’re not even up to a quarter of what I am. I understand you messed up big time and just got fired. The feeling must be overwhelming. You’re frustrated and can’t bear that I’m replacing you so you’re looking for who to point fingers at and vent all that anger at. Sweetheart, you can go do that with someone else as jobless as you after you’ve packed your stuff and left the building.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I answered with a smug expression on my face. “Because I’m married to Robert and you’re not…”
That infuriated her to the bones. She growled and glared daggers at me. “You don’t know what you’re signing up for, bitch! Sooner or later, I’m going to be the only woman in his life…”
She was about to lunge at me when Robert intervened and held her back.”That’s enough!”
“Calm down okay,” he said while calming her. “Let me take care of this. There is no need for you to get angry. Don’t let her words get to you.”
Breathing hard and still glaring at me, she kept muttering some curse words under her breath. But I couldn’t care less. Everything I said about her was true. She knows it too well. And I hoped it was only a matter of time before Robert found out too.
Her anger and irritation weren’t letting her give in to Robert’s attempts at calming her so he guided her out of the office. He didn’t even bother to find out if I was doing okay.
It pained me, deep in my soul that I’ll go through hell to get things done for him. No matter the situation, I’ll always stand up and cover for him. But he won’t do the same for me. He never appreciates me. He couldn’t even try to at least vouch for me or let the board members know that what happened back at the conference room was a mistake since he obviously wouldn’t believe Scarlett was behind it all after they decided to fire me. Goodness know if it were him I would have done everything in my power to not let it happen.
He and everyone else that thinks this was a deliberate action were wrong. I’ll never do anything to betray his company – neither steal, tarnish its reputation or give out confidential information to our competitors or enemies. I wanted what was best for him and his company at large. I wanted what’s best for us. For our marriage even though it was based on a contract and wasn’t something real. That’s why I chose to remain forever faithful to him even though he didn’t give me the attention and love I deserved. Even though he hardly touched or made love to me, I have never looked at another man the way I looked at him. I have never wanted another man the way I wanted Robert.
I don’t know if he remembered correctly but that night he returned drunk and made love to me, that was my first time. He took my virginity. And I was happy he was the first man that got to do that. It was one of the best moments of my life. It was quite painful at first but I endured and enjoyed it because I wanted to please him. I bled that night but changed the sheets quickly the following morning so he wouldn’t notice.
Yet all this time I stayed true and faithful to him, he was screwing and impregnating that bitch behind my back. He had no regard for me. He never valued me and I don’t think he ever will. Sooner or later, after his grandpa dies, he will be kicking me out of his life for good. I bet he can’t wait to do that since his grandpa was the only reason he chose to marry me in the first place. I blame myself for always expecting a change from him and hoping things will turn out for the better. Because from the looks of it, I don’t think it will.
Several minutes after he was done comforting Scarlett, he came back into the office and shut the door kind of urgently. As usual, he had that angry and disapproving look on his face but this time, it wasn’t as severe as before. Did he find out I was right about Scarlett? Has he realized what an asset I was to the company and decided it was best not to fire me?
I didn’t get my hopes high as I maintained a calm demeanour. He gave me thirty minutes to pack my stuff and leave the company premises but I bet it was past thirty minutes by now. I also noticed he was holding a brown envelope in his hand. I couldn’t help but wonder what could be inside.