Chapter 230 - Intricate Details (1/2)

In a blink of an eye, Natalia Vasiliev's arms dropped, and her legs wobbled like jelly. She almost turned deaf with how loudly her teeth chattered as she lived through every second of her nightmare called Olivia.

She slumped in the chair and her eyes met Olivia's. A million thoughts ran through Natalia's head—all of which were horrible things that Olivia might do to harm her.

Natalia knew what Olivia was capable of, but she was confident that her brothers would protect her at all costs. How foolish of her to think she would go unscathed for the things she did against Olivia. How silly Natalia must be to think Olivia wouldn't retaliate on her machinations. Slowly, Natalia felt every molecule of her body dissipate into the air.

Her eyelashes fanned as her eyelids grew heavy. And just as she closed her eyes, her mind drowned in the silhouette of Olivia, turning her golden locks into ashes.

”That's so evil,” Ava whispered with the softest voice she could possibly manage. To be honest, she didn't know what to feel after witnessing Natalia faint in her seat.

When Emily shushed her, Ava watched with wide and laser-focus eyes akin to a child witnessing a science lab experiment for the first time as Olivia worked on Natalia's hair, stopping at an inch away from her scalp.

Ava didn't want to wake up the sleeping princess, not when Olivia was busy burning a portion of Natalia's hair. But the laughter of Olivia and Emily was contagious. She covered her lips when a snort escaped from her c.h.e.s.t.

”Oh, she's knocked out cold. What do we do now?” Emily asked and took a sip of her champagne.

”Time to play dress-up,” Olivia beamed at her gal pals, satisfied with her work of art.

An hour later, Natalia woke up to voices echoing around the room. She could hear ladies happily chatting as if they were on a picnic.

She didn't want to open her eyes, afraid of what she would see in the mirror. The image of Olivia igniting her hair into flames was still fresh in her mind. Add to that the smell that lingered in the room.

”Girlfriend is up,” Emily mused. She removed the ball gag off Natalia's mouth. ”It's better to hear her beg, don't you think?”

Much to Emily's chagrin, Natalia was still woozy, shaking her head and repeatedly apologizing to everyone including Ava whom she did nothing wrong.

”I'm sorry,” Natalia uttered, but her apology wasn't enough for Emily.

”Sorry won't cut it, Missy. First of all, what you did back then cost me my job,” Emily seethed.

How could she forget how her name was dragged through the mud after the incident? How could she forget that painful day when she had to sit through an hour of fingers pointing at her—the board blaming her and her 'incompetence' to secure the vicinity?

Knowing in her heart what was about to come, Emily held her chin high and slipped her resignation on the table—stepping down from her position as head curator of the Cultural Center.

Ignoring Natalia so Emily wouldn't gnash the former's veneers, the latter focused on the nail she was sprinkling with glitters.

”Please don't hurt me,” Natalia croaked, but all she heard was a snort from Emily.