Chapter 58: Punishing Daphne

"Ah..." Daphne screamed and dropped the cup.

It struck the floor and shattered, scattering broken pieces across the room as the coffee spilled over the marble.

"Why are you so clumsy?" Theron muttered, displeasure unmistakable in his tone.

He pretended as if he had done nothing wrong, making it seem as if Daphne had simply lost her grip.

Even Daphne wasn’t sure what had exactly happened. Her hand had been shaking, and she thought she had dropped the cup accidentally.

"I-I am sorry, sir..." she apologized, trying to suppress the burning pain. "I didn’t mean to..."

"Enough..." Theron sliced the air with a hand and silenced her.

Daphne immediately swallowed the rest of the words. She lowered her head, clasping her burning hand against her body. Tears blurred her vision.

"Clean up the mess."

Daphne stared at him for a moment, disbelief crossing over her face.

It was a janitor’s job. Why was he asking her to do that?

Then she glanced at Elowen. Her fingers curled further. The realization that Elowen was watching her deepened her embarrassment.

Daphne hesitated for a moment. But she knew the consequence of angering Theron further. The last thing she wanted was to be fired.

Swallowing the embarrassment, she knelt and started picking up the broken pieces of the cup.

Inside, she was fuming. ’You must be enjoying watching me humiliated.’

Elowen didn’t make a sound. She watched Daphne, her gaze dropping to her reddened hand.

She didn’t feel sorry for her. But instead, a strange sense of satisfaction spread through her chest.

Daphne had burned her just like that. She had harassed her countless times, stolen credit for her work, and even tried to pass off Elowen’s design as her own. And just moments ago, she had pushed her.

If Elowen had fallen, she didn’t know what might have happened to her unborn child.

Her hand moved instinctively to her stomach. The thought of her baby being hurt made her heart tremble in dread.

By the time Daphne finished cleaning the mess, her injured hand had turned angry red. She slowly rose to her feet.

"I am sorry." She bowed her head. "I’ll bring you another cup of coffee."

"There is no need," Theron dismissed her sternly. "Get out of my sight."

Daphne bolted out the door. She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. Anger and embarrassment turned her face red.

"It’s all her doing."

She blamed her. She believed Elowen had pretended to be falling just to get Theron’s sympathy. And because of that, the CEO had humiliated her.

"Elowen, I’ll make you pay for this."

Inside the office...

Elowen stayed there, reeling from what happened and the unexpected words Theron had said.

"Elowen, are you okay?"

Theron’s voice drew her out of her reverie. "I am sorry you had to witness that."

"It was Daphne’s clumsiness. You don’t have to apologize." Elowen stood. "I’ll leave now. Please look over the designs."

Without waiting for his response, she left.

Theron wanted to stop her. But she was already out of the office.

He let out a loud sigh. Then his lips curled into a smirk. He had done what he had intended to do.

"Doubt has already been planted. Soon, she will start seeing Soren the way I want her to."

Elowen returned to her desk, but she couldn’t concentrate on her work. Her mind kept replaying what Theron had said.

’Soren is pulling strings.’

’He is using his money and influence to drive me away.’

She stared at the documents in front of her, her thoughts growing more tangled by the second.

"Could Soren really do that?"

"What did he do this time?" Vera asked, startling Elowen.

"Oh, God, Vera..." Elowen pressed a hand against her temple. "Stop showing up suddenly."

Vera shrugged. "I’m sitting right next to your desk. I can hear every damn thing you say. I was just curious. I didn’t mean to scare you."

She pouted innocently. "Honestly... what has your husband done this time? Has he finally come to his senses? Or is he still pretending to be a perfect husband?"

Elowen stared at her for some time.

She had indeed thought that Soren’s sudden change was nothing more than an act. But the sincerity in his eyes, his consistent efforts, and the time he had been spending with her and Seraphina had gradually chased those doubts aside.

She no longer believed he was pretending to change.

"No..." Elowen breathed out deeply. "I think he has changed for good. He comes home early and spends time with us. He even attended Sera’s dance performance."

"What?" Vera’s eyes widened. "He actually did all that?"

Elowen nodded. "He even tried to cook dinner for us."

She couldn’t help but smile as she recalled how clumsy he had been that evening. She could still picture Soren fumbling with the spatula and burning his hand.

"Wow! That sounds like a devoted husband. I never expected that cold, arrogant husband of yours would start acting all lovey-dovey."

Vera draped her forearm on Elowen’s shoulder and gave her a teasing look.

"Tell me one thing. What kind of potion did you feed him that he has changed completely?"

Elowen smiled shyly. She swatted her arm playfully. "I didn’t do anything."

Unfortunate for Theron, he had chosen that exact moment to come out of his office. He had come to return the folder which contained Elowen’s revised designs.

He froze in his tracks when he saw her smile while speaking about Soren.

His grip on the folder tightened until the edge twisted.

He had been certain that he had planted enough doubt in her mind to make her suspicious of Soren. But what he was witnessing was completely different from what he had expected.

How could she smile when she talked about Soren? Shouldn’t she be hating that man?

Theron couldn’t understand it.

Soren had ruined her innocence that night. He had made her life miserable for years and had never shown her even the slightest trace of affection.

And now, simply because Soren had started spending time with her, Elowen seemed to have forgiven him for the pain he had inflicted upon her.

How could she overlook all the suffering she had endured for seven years? How could a few small gestures erase years of neglect?

’Soren Vale,’ he muttered in his mind, his expression turning venomous. ’You made her suffer for years. And you think you can win her over with a few pathetic gestures?’

Resentment twisted inside him.

’You can’t win me. I destroyed you in the previous life. I can do it again.’

He stormed back into his office.