Page 22

With a frustrated pout, Ellie pushed her chair back and stood, turning to leave the room.
As she walked out, she muttered to herself, a sly smile creeping onto her face. "Mrs. Stark, since you won’t let me break the agreement, I have one option left." She glanced back at Liana, her eyes glinting with evil. "I just have to make your son break it for me. Get him to throw me out, and then you’ll have no choice but to pay me to leave him." Ellie turned and walked out the door.
Ellie stepped out of the Stark estate and climbed into the cab waiting outside. But instead of heading to Sawyer’s house, she gave the driver a different address.
The car stopped in a much darker, humbler neighborhood—nothing like the grand Stark estate. Ellie grabbed her suitcase and the food package from the back seat, then dragged her belongings up the street to a small building across from the cab.
She climbed the stairs and pulled out a key, unlocking the door. Inside, the house was dark, so she didn’t bother turning on the lights. She walked straight into the room, dragging the suitcase behind her.
Just as she entered, a comb flew through the air, narrowly missing her face. Ellie ducked just in time, and the comb struck the wall before falling to the floor.
She spun around, horror written across her face, just as the lights flicked on.
"What the hell, Lily?!" Ellie snapped, her heart pounding.
Lily, sitting on the couch with a lap full of chips in various flavors, looked up at her, wide-eyed. Her dark curls were piled messily atop her head, a few unruly strands framing her heart-shaped face. Dressed in an oversized hoodie and shorts, she exuded the effortless charm of someone who cared more about comfort than fashion.
Lily glanced at her, a hand on her chest, still recovering from her own scare. "What the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night? I thought you were a thief!" she growled, a hand clutching her chest.
"And you were going to tackle a thief with a comb, sitting on the couch, surrounded by chips?" Ellie raised an eyebrow.
“…Yes?”
"Shut up!" Ellie groaned, dragging the suitcase to the wall. She slammed the door behind her and walked over to Lily, holding out the food package. "When did you get back from the hospital?" Ellie slumped down next to Lily on the couch.
"I have a night shift today. Gotta be at the hospital by two." Lily glanced at the clock. "So, like two hours from now."
"Great," Ellie grumbled, staring at the Blackpink’s ‘Ddu-Du Ddu-Du’ music video playing on the TV. Then she turned to Lily. "Wanna eat Machoman’s food?"
Ten minutes later, the food was spread out on the table in front of the couch. Both girls sat cross-legged on the floor, stuffing their faces as Ellie filled Lily in on everything that had happened with Sawyer that day.
"That bastard," Lily muttered, tearing into a piece of garlic bread, her face twisted with anger. "Seriously. Men have no shame, no self-respect! He just ditched you the moment his lover came back? No hesitation? Not even a little 'I'll see you at home'?"
"Not even that," Ellie agreed, nodding. "He was just like, 'You’re done here. Get lost now, shoo.'"
"Bastard!" Lily growled, shaking her head. She swallowed her bite and then paused, her gaze narrowing. “By the way, aren’t you even a little upset that he dumped you aside so easily as soon as this high and mighty Olivia came back?”
Ellie froze for a moment, the food nearly getting stuck in her throat. She quickly swallowed it, then reached for her water, swallowing another gulp. Shrugging nonchalantly, she grabbed a piece of chicken and stuffed her mouth.
"Of course not," Ellie muttered, her voice flat. "Why would it bother me? I signed an agreement. He had told me that the moment his love comes back, I’m out. So, why should I care? Why should I be upset that that damn bastard threw me out like I’m some fly he’s swatting away?" She ground the last words out, but then swallowed the chicken, sitting back and glancing up at Lily. "In fact, I’m actually kinda happy he did. Otherwise, how else would I get to enjoy this grand, expensive buffet with you?"
Lily chuckled, shaking her head at Ellie’s dramatic tone.
"By the way," Ellie mumbled through a mouthful, digging into her purse. She pulled out the check Jenelia had given her and handed it over to Lily. "Use this to pay for Uncle Tony’s ventilator and medicine for the next couple of weeks."
She fished out another card with a ten-thousand-dollar balance and handed it to Lily. "There’s some money in there, too. Use it for meds or whatever else. It'll come in handy."
Lily took the check but eyed Ellie with concern. "What about you? Do you have any money on your hands?"
"Don’t worry about me," Ellie said with a toothy grin, then dipped a spoonful of sauce onto her plate. "I’m not gonna starve."
Ellie swallowed and then paused, her expression becoming more serious. "Also, I was gonna ask you something. When Uncle saved me after I got burned, did he find any pictures of what my face looked like before?"
Lily hesitated, looking down for a moment, before shaking her head. "No. When you came in, you were badly burnt. We couldn’t even tell what you looked like before. The doc did the best he could to reconstruct your face."
Ellie’s face fell slightly. She nodded. "Alright."
But then something strange happened. Ellie felt her throat constrict, as if a weight was pressing down on her chest. She looked up at Lily, and her eyes began to tear up.