The second Daniel's car turned the corner, everything changed. The woman who had been screaming bloody murder at Lina moments earlier simply stopped. She smoothed her hair, adjusted her designer handbag, and walked away calmly as if nothing had happened. The big show was over.
But for Lina, the trouble was just starting.
The restaurant manager came over to her, looking very upset."You need to leave," he said. "Now. You caused a big problem here. You are not welcome anymore."
Lina flinched, the world still spinning. "What? I didn't— She was the one who—"
"I don't care who started it," he interrupted, his patience clearly exhausted. "I can't have this kind of disruption in my restaurant. I cannot afford this kind of scandal." He said pointing to the door.
Before Lina knew what was happening, she was pushed out the door. She tripped and fell, her purse and all her things spilling out onto the ground. Her keys, her wallet, and her phone scattered everywhere. The door slammed behind her with a final, deafening thud.
For a minute, she just sat there on the cold ground, feeling completely humiliated. The slap, the yelling, all those people watching—and now this. She felt like trash left on the curb.
Slowly, she pushed herself up, her eyes scanning the ground until they landed on her phone. She crawled to it, hands shaking so badly she could barely swipe the screen. She hit Bella's contact and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Hey, Lin! What's up?" Bella's cheerful voice was a knife to the heart.
The sound of her best friend's voice broke the dam. A choked sob escaped Lina's throat.
"Lina? What's wrong? Talk to me!" Bella's tone shifted instantly.
"I… I…" she choked out, "Bella, Can you… can you come get me? I'm outside The Oak Grill. Please." She said, her voice thick with tears.
"I'm coming right now," Bella said. "Don't move."
---
Two blocks over, the "wronged wife" slid into the passenger seat of a parked sedan. The driver—Liam—Daniel's assistant—handed her a thick cream-colored envelope without a word.
She took it, the weight of it pleasing in her hand. She made a show of peeking inside, thumbing the edge of the stack of hundred-dollar bills. A slow, predatory smile spread across her face. "Always a pleasure," she purred, tucking the envelope safely into her bag. "You tell Mr. Viggo my door is always open. If he ever needs a bitch to play a bitch again, he's got me."
Liam gave a single, curt nod, his eyes fixed on some point in the distance. "Okay."
She stepped out, and the car pulled away silently. Liam immediately picked up his phone, hitting a single speed-dial number.
"It's done, sir," he said into the silence.
---
Bella's taxi screeched to a halt just minutes later. She burst from the back seat, her eyes scanning the sidewalk until they landed on Lina's huddled form.
"Lina!" she cried, rushing forward. She knelt, her hands gently cupping Lina's face, her eyes widening at the sight of the red mark on her cheek. "Oh, honey. What happened?"
Lina could only shake her head, fresh tears falling.
"Okay, okay," Bella said, her voice softening. "Let's get you out of here." She helped Lina to her feet, supporting her as she guided her into the waiting taxi.
"Where to?" the driver asked, eyeing them warily in the rearview mirror.
"West Haven Apartments, please," Bella said.
Lina shook her head. "No, Bella. I have to go back to work. It's still… lunch time."
"Work can wait," Bella said, her voice leaving no room for argument. "You're going home." She told the driver to go.
When they got to the apartment, Bella helped Lina inside and to her bed. She helped her remove her shoes making her comfortable.
"Lina," she asked softly, sitting on the edge of the bed, her hand on Lina's trembling arm. "What the hell happened back there? And who was that woman?"
"I don't know," Lina whispered, her voice breaking. "I swear to god, Bella, I've never seen her before in my life. I don't know why she... I don't understand any of this."
The confusion and genuine fear in Lina's eyes told Bella she was telling the truth. It made the whole thing even more terrifying.
Bella stayed until Lina's breathing evened out into an exhausted sleep. She filled a glass with water and left it on the bedside-table, along with some ibuprofen. She hated leaving, but she had no choice. "I'll be back as soon as I can," she whispered, kissing Lina's forehead before reluctantly heading back to her own office job, feeling very upset, her mind racing the entire afternoon.
Lina slept through the afternoon, she was woken hours later by a persistent knocking. Disoriented, she shuffled to the door and opened it. She thought Bella must have forgotten something.
"Did you forget something?" Lina asked, her voice hoarse from sleep.
Bella stood there, still in her work clothes, holding a bag of takeout. She looked at Lina, puzzled. "Forget something? Lina, I'm back. It's past seven."
Lina stared at her, the words not computing. "What? No, it's… the afternoon." She turned and fumbled for her phone on the table. The screen lit up, blinding her: 7:18 PM. She had slept the whole afternoon away.
Bella stayed the night.
The next day was Friday. Lina had not slept well. She felt terrible and did not want to go to work. Every instinct told her to hide from the world, but she forced herself to get ready for work. She moved through her morning routine like a ghost, the bruise on her cheek a faint but visible reminder of her ordeal.
Later that morning, Carter summoned Lina to his office. Her immediate fear was that he had seen a video of the fight and would fire her for bringing negative attention to the company.
She entered his office with her head slightly bowed, bracing for the worst.
Carter looked up from his desk, his sharp eyes immediately noticing the faint, yellowish bruise blooming on her cheekbone. "Lina," he began, his tone neutral. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she said automatically.
He studied her for a moment longer, then nodded, seemingly accepting it. "You said yesterday you had something to discuss. What was it?"
Lina was caught off guard. She had completely forgotten about Bella's idea. She took a deep breath. "I was thinking… maybe our company, could work with Elara Designs. We could make a new product together—their designs and our perfumes."
Carter leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. He was quiet for what felt like an eternity, his expression unreadable. Lina held her breath, bracing for the moment he would see the proposal for what it was and dismiss it as not just foolish, but deeply unprofessional.
"Alright," he said finally. "Let's do it."
Lina's head snapped up. "What? Really?"
The relief that washed over Lina was so powerful it nearly brought her to tears. "Really?"
"Really. Set up a meeting." A faint smile touched his lips.
She left his office feeling a giddy, disbelieving joy and immediately called Bella. "You won't believe it," she whispered into the phone, "I did it!"
To her astonishment, Carter acted fast. He called Elara Designs himself, and a meeting was scheduled for that very afternoon. The final shock came when he stepped out of his office and told her to grab her things. "You're coming with me," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "After all, it was your idea. You have to be there."
The meeting, held over lunch at a quiet restaurant, could not have gone better. Representatives from both companies were excited about the potential collaboration, eagerly brainstorming and looking forward to the project. By the time they finally stood to leave, the lunch service had long ended, and the evening had grown dark outside.
Walking out into the night, Lina felt a small, fragile sense of accomplishment. The success of the meeting and the energy in the room became a small, steady light, helping to fight off the chill of the darkness that had followed her since the previous day.