Chapter 6
Sophia, tears streaming down her face, pointed at me, her voice choked with sobs.
“Interviewer, she… she has a very questionable personal life! She had a miscarriage during the day, and was out partying at night!”
As she spoke, she pulled out her phone.
She played the video of me in the bunny costume, publicly humiliated in front of everyone.
“Someone like this would seriously damage the company’s image. She’s completely unsuitable for this job!”
Liam chimed in from the side.
“She’s a promiscuous woman, and she even caused the death of my fiancée. How can someone like that be trusted with such an important position?”
The interviewer’s face instantly turned ashen, their appreciative gaze wavering.
“No, that’s not true!”
I tried to explain, but the interviewer no longer wished to hear it.
Finally, they just shook their head, looking regretful.
“We’re very sorry, Ms. Reed, but we’ll need to reconsider.”
I clenched my fists, blood oozing from my palms.
I knew what those words meant.
Tears I could no longer control spilled down my face as I walked out of the building.
Standing under the scorching afternoon sun, I felt utterly cold.
I refused to give up, and went to several more well-known tech companies.
But in every interview, I noticed strange looks from the interviewers, and ultimately, all my applications were politely rejected.
It wasn’t until that evening that I discovered my bunny costume video had gone viral online.
All sorts of offensive titles and malicious comments surged towards me like a tide.
“Is this woman crazy?”
“Disrespectful to her mentors, she deserves to be humiliated and abandoned.”
“Doesn’t look like a decent woman.”
My phone vibrated ceaselessly with rejection calls from various companies.
Even some companies that had previously expressed interest cancelled my interviews.
I stared at the overwhelming torrent of insults on my phone screen, listening to the harsh sounds of rejection in my ear, utterly speechless.
A rush of hot blood surged to my head, my vision went black, and I passed out completely.
When I woke again, I found myself back in the guest room bed at Liam Cross’s mansion.
“Summer, you’re awake.” Sophia pushed open the door.
Liam followed behind her, holding a bowl of dark herbal soup.
Seeing I was awake, a hint of triumph appeared on his face.
“Sophia was kind enough to see you collapse on the street, that’s why I brought you back. You should thank her properly.”
Thank her?
Thank her for pushing me back into this abyss of no return?
I just wanted to escape this hellhole quickly.
I struggled to get out of bed, but Liam pushed me back down.
“Do you really want to leave this house so badly?”
“It’s not too late to go after you’ve recovered.”
He pointed to the dark, murky soup in the bowl, saying Sophia had personally brewed it for me to help regulate my body.
Ignoring my resistance, he pinched my chin and forcibly poured it down my throat.
As the soup went down, a strange numbing sensation quickly spread through my limbs.
Sophia walked to the bedside, leaning closer.
“Sister Summer, just rest well.”
Then, in a voice only we two could hear, she whispered in my ear.
“Tomorrow, I’ve prepared another big show for you.”
An alarm blared in my heart. I wanted to escape.
But I found myself unable to move, even my eyelids felt heavy as lead.
Soon, I fell into a deep, heavy sleep.
The next morning, I was jolted awake by a violent crash as the door burst open.
Liam’s eyes were bloodshot, like an enraged lion.
He grabbed me off the bed, slammed me onto the floor, and started slapping my face relentlessly.
“You wretch! You venomous viper!”
He gripped my collar, roaring, his face twisted in a sneer.
“My mother… my mother suffocated to death last night! You were the only one home! It must have been you!”
I was disoriented from the fall, and the lingering effects of the medicine made my head throb.
Professor Sterling… dead?
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“It wasn’t me…” I weakly protested.
“You’re still acting!”
Liam slapped my face again, the hatred in his eyes practically devouring me.