"Oh, sis. Are all gold diggers this calculating?"
"I drove past that road just today. There's no internet café there. You're pulling a sympathy stunt to guilt Mr. Sanchez into caving first, aren't you?"
"Mr. Sanchez, if you actually go, you're just rewarding her little tantrum. Next time she'll threaten you with divorce every time she doesn't get her way. How embarrassing would that be?"
Before I could get a single word out, Neil's voice exploded through the phone.
"Kathryn, you have absolutely no shame! You'd stoop to a lie like this?"
"Don't think I'm going to keep indulging you. You want to come back? Fine. Be kneeling outside my office by morning and admit you were wrong!"
"Without me, that pathetic salary of yours couldn't even cover rent on a decent apartment. You'd try selling yourself on the street and men would turn you down for the lousy accommodations. Think about that!"
The line went dead.
A second later, the screen went black. Zero percent.
Something inside me went cold and still, like ash after a fire burns out.
Click.
The bathroom lock gave way.
The owner burst through the door, grabbed a fistful of my hair, and yanked. That same revolting grin split his face.
"Where do you think you're going, you little tramp? This is my place. You think I don't have a key?"
"Trying to call your boyfriend for help? I heard every word. He's busy with some other woman and can't even be bothered with you."
"Relax, sweetheart. Just be a good girl and take care of me. Don't worry—I'm not a complicated guy. Never bother with protection, hahaha..."
In the depths of my despair, a deafening crash erupted from outside.
The metal shutter was forced open, and people stormed in.
"Let her go!"
It was the police from the nearby station.
The café owner had kicked out all his customers so he could assault me in peace. But someone had seen him slip something into my drink and called the cops the moment they left.
They rushed me to the hospital to have my stomach pumped, took my statement, and left me with a thick coat.
I borrowed a charger from the front desk. The next morning, I called the calligraphy studio and resigned.
After that, I went to the mall next door, grabbed a cheap set of casual clothes, and headed for the airport to fly home.
But the second I stepped out of the mall, several of Neil's bodyguards blocked my path.