The entire room fell silent, his harsh words hanging in the air. I slowly clapped my hands, the sound drawing all eyes toward me. I could see pity in their gazes, but I remained calm under the weight of their stares. Without a word, I removed my work badge and placed it on the dining table before me.
My voice was steady as I spoke, "In that case, I'll step down and let Miss Bennett take over. Congratulations on your promotion."
Adrian's eyes grew colder, his expression hardening. "Emily, have you completely lost your mind?"
"I'm not crazy." My calm and straightforward response irritated him even more.
"Fine! If you've got the guts, go to HR right now and resign!" he shouted.
I turned to leave, but Clara grabbed me by the arm before I could take a step.
Her voice was thick with fake concern as she said, "Emily, please don't jeopardize the company's future because of me."
A thermometer slipped under her arm as she spoke, shattering on the floor and spilling mercury across the floor, splashing onto my feet. Panic surged through me, and I immediately kicked off my heels, terrified for the baby inside me. I wanted to wash the area as quickly as possible.
But before I could move, Clara yanked my arm back with all her strength, causing me to lose my balance and fall hard to the ground.
Adrian instinctively reached out to catch me, but Clara cried dramatically, "Oh no, Adrian!"
Suddenly, Adrian pulled back and rushed to support Clara instead, leaving me to hit the floor. My palm landed on the broken shards of the thermometer, and I felt the sharp sting as blood began to drip from the fresh cuts.
Before I could even register what had just happened, Adrian slapped me in the face. "Emily, how could you be so vicious?! You tried to hit Clara with your heel?!"
My cheek throbbed with pain, but I forced myself to hold back the tears.
I tried to defend myself, but my voice was calm but painful. "I didn't touch her."
But Adrian didn't hear a word I said. He didn't even glance at the blood pouring from my hand. Instead, he scooped Clara into his arms before everyone and stormed out of the banquet hall.
He threw one last cold remark over his shoulder as he walked away. "If anything happens to Clara, Emily, I will never forgive you."
I laughed bitterly. This is what they mean, then.