“I found it!” Jimmy waved his phone as he walked to the kitchen door. All of the sudden, he furrowed his brow. “Why do you look so pale?”
“Probably lack of sleep lately,” I turned away, “You know, you should get going to your job. Don’t be late.”
After I heard the door close, tears began to fall.
***
The next day, I went to resign my job at the bar. My boss asked me to work one last shift. However, the moment I opened the door to a VIP room, my steps froze.
Gina was sitting right in the center of the sofa, wearing the latest Chanel outfit. She was back. A group of people surrounded her, including the blond man I had seen in the hospital room that day.
“My god, isn’t this my scholarship thief?” Gina didn’t expect to see me and her eyes immediately sparkled with excitement. “What's the matter? Did you get so poor you had to come serve drinks now?”
Just then, the door to an inner VIP room opened. Jimmy stepped out. His face changed instantly as soon as he saw me. He quickly lied in his panic, “I’m here to sell credit cards…”
The entire room erupted in stifled laughter. Clearly, they were quite amused. How did I never see through such a poor act before?
I walked forward, holding the tray, when suddenly someone kicked my foot out from under me. The bottle shattered and wine splashed onto Gina’s dress.
“My dress!” Gina screamed, leaping up. Her delicate features twisted in anger. “This is a limited edition!”
The blond man standing nearby looked over at me and grinned with a mischievous smirk. “You’ve ruined Ms. Higgins’s dress. Apologize to her right now.”
I bit down hard on my lip. “I’m sorry, Ms. Higgins.”
“That’s it?” Gina suddenly pulled a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills from her Hermès wallet and tossed it into the air. Green bills soon fluttered to the ground like confetti.
“Kneel down and pick them up, one by one,” she sneered. “Bark a few times like a dog while you’re at it and, maybe, I’ll forgive you.”
My nails dug deep into my palm.
Jimmy leaned in, his voice low. “Nessie, maybe just apologize. We can’t afford to go against these people.”
He was still acting… Still pretending… It was all fake. I suddenly looked up at him, as if a knife had been driven straight through my chest.
The blond man lost patience and yanked my hair. “The hell’s wrong with you? Apologize already!”
I snapped, shoving him off like a madwoman. “Get away from me! Don’t you dare touch me!”
“Bitch!” The blond man went on full rage, grabbed the Château bottle from the table and smashed it against my head.
The bottle shattered. Glass sprayed everywhere. Warm liquid streamed down my forehead. I couldn't tell if it was wine or blood.
I staggered backward, my vision swimming. Through the blur, I thought I saw Jimmy standing frozen, unmoving.
Just before I lost consciousness, I heard someone sneer, “Acting all high and mighty? We’ve all seen your little video!”
In the pungent smell of disinfectant water, I heard a deliberately lowered conversation.
“Jimmy! Why are you freaking out? She’s just an orphan no one’s even going to claim her body if she dies. What are you so worried about?”
“Didn’t we all agree? We were going to destroy her.”
I suddenly clenched the blanket tightly in my fists.
Bang!
A loud crash rang out—Jimmy had slammed the table hard, making the water glass on my nightstand tremble.
“Damn, Jimmy, don’t tell me you actually caught feelings for her?” one guy scoffed. “She’s just some broke chick. She’s fun to mess with, but catching feelings? That ruins the whole game.”
The room fell deathly silent, so quiet that even the sound of dripping liquid could be heard with startling clarity.
Jimmy’s voice came out cold as ice. “I just don’t want a dead body in our hands.” He paused, then added darkly, “If we’re doing this, we do it big.”
Someone clapped him on the shoulder. “Alright, alright. Everything’s in place. Let’s make sure she learns her lesson.”
