Forsaking the Years of Longing novel Chapter 121

Chapter 2 After that, while I was still in a daze, he dragged me straight into the meeting room.

The board members sat in a circle, and right in the center, with a face as cold as ice, was Jason, his resentful gaze fixed squarely on me. Only then did I notice the smugly smiling Emily standing beside him.

In the eerie silence, Emily was the first to speak. She tossed a stack of documents right at my face, the edges scraping my cheeks, leaving several painful cuts.

"Caroline! How dare you leak our company's confidential plans?"

Emily shouted.

"I didn't."

The next second, Emily raised her hand and slapped me hard.

The room fell completely silent, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

"I. i n t o tears.

I'm sorry..." I started to say, but Emily beat me to it, bursting "T'm sorry, Caroline. I lost control. This project is so important to the company. The team has worked for three months, and now I just." Her voice wavered with exaggerated emotion, but the words only made the hot sting on my face throb more painfully, even making my teeth feel loose.

Instinctively, I looked at Jason, who sat at the head of the table.

His gaze was cold, and while he frowned slightly, he said nothing to defend me. After all these years with him, how could I not u n d e r s t a n d w h a t t h a t m e a n t ?

It was true— a major project had been snatched by a competitor recently, and Jason, in his fury, had ordered a thorough investigation to find the mole. Emily and her group were quick to suspect me since I was the project lead.

My heart sank as though it were falling into a frozen abyss.

Fighting to stay composed, I turned to Emily, my voice sharp, "Emily, think before you act. Do you really believe I would be foolish enough to destroy myself?"

"...Are you calling me brainless, saying I'm stupid?" she snapped, suddenly enraged and reaching out to hit me again.

This time, I didn't hold back. I sidestepped, causing her to miss and nearly hit the corner of the table. The assistant who had pulled me in earlier quickly stepped in to prevent her from falling.

"Unbelievable! A mere secretary dares to act so arrogantly.