Chapter 7 The World Is So Small

Elodie suddenly sneezed hard, her body growing weaker by the minute.

She forced herself to open her laptop, and the moment she saw the email reply, her dim eyes finally brightened a little.

The preliminary litigation plan she'd stayed up all night working on had been approved by the client, who was now asking to meet her in person at their workplace.

Elodie put on light makeup and was about to head out when a sharp, twisting pain suddenly tore through her stomach!

She jerked her head up. In the mirror, her forehead was covered in cold sweat, her face deathly pale.

She curled up on the floor in agony, trembling as she swallowed two painkillers. It took her a long while before she could barely stand up.

She had no choice—she had to work. Only with money could she see a doctor, only then could she survive.

For this commission, Elodie dragged her sick body to the upscale club they'd agreed to meet at.

As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, familiar voices pierced through the hallway and into her ears.

What a small world.

The door to the luxury private room at the end of the hallway was half-open. Through the gap, she could see the room bathed in colorful lights, packed with people.

The man sitting in the main seat with his back to the door—even just from his silhouette, Elodie recognized him instantly as Adrian.

Right now, he was sitting close to Chloe. They looked so perfect together it made Elodie's heart ache.

The room full of rich kids was talking about something, egging them on like crazy.

"You two finally made it official! From now on, we'll just call Chloe Mrs. Stewart! Come on, Mrs. Stewart, let us toast to you both!"

Everyone stood up in unison, raising their glasses.

Chloe's face flushed with embarrassment. She looked up at Adrian with a sweet smile and said playfully, "Adrian, look at them."

Outside the door, Elodie's heart was instantly seized by an invisible hand, squeezing so tight she couldn't breathe.

She stared at the man's profile. Time seemed to freeze in that moment.

The next second, she watched as Adrian didn't object, but instead indulgently raised his glass and drank it all in one go.

The room erupted in unprecedented cheers.

And outside the door, Elodie's heart felt like it was about to split open. She swallowed the metallic taste in her throat and turned to escape this suffocating place.

But the moment she turned around, she ran straight into Aiden, who was coming back from the restroom.

"Well, if it isn't the runaway! What are you doing here?" Aiden was as arrogant as ever, his tone dripping with contempt. "Don't tell me you secretly followed my brother here? Elodie, could you be any more shameless?"

He didn't give Elodie a chance to respond. He strode over and shoved the private room door wide open.

"Adrian, look!" Aiden shouted. "This woman's playing hard to get again! She runs away, blocks everyone, and then shamelessly follows you here anyway!"

His voice was loud enough to instantly silence the room.

Everyone's eyes turned to stare at Elodie at the door.

Contempt, mockery, disgust, ridicule... their gazes were like poisoned knives, cutting her to pieces.

Elodie took a deep breath, forcing down the stabbing pain in her stomach. Without looking at anyone in the room, she stared straight at Aiden: "Listen carefully. I'm here on business."

"Yeah right. At a time like this, you're still lying. What business could you possibly have? Your biggest business in life is clinging to my brother!"

Thinking of his stomach problems last night, Aiden's face darkened. In front of everyone, he ordered her like he was training a dog: "Cut the crap! If you want to stay peacefully in the Stewart family, behave yourself! Now get back home right now and cook for me! From today on, you'll personally prepare all three of my meals. I'm not going abroad for a while."

His bossy, entitled tone wasn't how you'd talk to your sister-in-law—it was how you'd order around a lowly servant.

The room burst into laughter.

"Aiden's got it made—a trophy wife cooking for you every day. So jealous!"

"Right? These past few years, Aiden's stomach problems have all been cured. Having such a 'good sister-in-law' is really your lucky break!"

He emphasized the word "lucky," full of condescending mockery.

In the eyes of these elite people, Elodie wasn't Mrs. Stewart at all—she was just a free high-end housekeeper, an absolute disgrace to wealthy families.

Elodie clenched her fists, nails digging deep into her palms. She didn't want to deal with these lunatics anymore, so she turned to leave.

"Mrs. Stewart, don't go! You haven't been to work these past few days—what business could you possibly have?"

Chloe walked over gracefully, holding a glass of red wine, reaching out to take Elodie's arm. "Everyone was just joking. Come inside and have a drink to calm down..."

As she approached, an overpowering, pungent perfume smell hit Elodie's face.

Already seriously ill, Elodie's stomach instantly churned with nausea. She instinctively raised her hand to wave away the smell.

But her hand hadn't even touched Chloe's clothes.

Chloe suddenly screamed, as if shoved hard by some great force, and fell to the ground in an extremely exaggerated manner!

At the same time, the glass of red wine in her hand spilled completely onto Elodie, not a drop left!

The ice-cold, dark red liquid ran down Elodie's white shirt, as glaring as blood, instantly ruining her carefully applied makeup and dignity.

Elodie's chest heaved violently with anger as she looked down coldly at the woman on the floor. The same trick every time—such terrible acting.

Meeting those cold eyes that saw right through everything, Chloe seemed terrified. She immediately scrambled up and hid behind Adrian, who was striding over.

"Adrian, please don't blame Mrs. Stewart, she didn't mean it... It's all my fault for being too weak and not standing steady..."

"That's enough, Chloe, stop defending this vicious woman! She actually dared to push you in public!" Seeing that Elodie hadn't agreed to go back and cook, Aiden fanned the flames. "Adrian, you can't just let this go!"

Adrian shielded the trembling Chloe behind him, his deep cold eyes sweeping over Elodie's disheveled white shirt with disgust, his voice cold as ice:

"Apologize!"

Elodie slowly raised her head, carefully studying this man she'd loved for five years.

As she looked at him, she suddenly smiled. Her pale lips curved up, but tears silently rolled down from the corners of her eyes.

"What are you smiling at? I told you to apologize."

A flash of irritation crossed Adrian's eyes, his tone growing even colder.

Seeing that Elodie not only refused to admit fault but leaned against the cold wall with a sarcastic smile, he completely lost patience. He stepped forward and grabbed Elodie's wrist in a death grip, with enough force to almost crush her bones.

"Elodie, apologize." He leaned close to her ear, enunciating each word with threatening pressure.

Elodie struggled desperately to break free, but the disparity in strength between men and women was too great. The sharp pain in her wrist made her gasp. She turned her head, staring at him with reddened eyes: "And what if I don't apologize?"

Adrian's thin lips curved into a cruel arc, his eyes dark and unreadable: "What exactly are you making a fuss about? Haven't you caused enough trouble? Know when to stop, or you won't be able to handle the consequences."

He was so high and mighty, condemning her without even investigating the truth.

Elodie opened her mouth, about to curse back, but the next second, her face turned deathly pale.

That familiar burning sensation in her stomach came crashing over her like a tsunami! Her organs felt like they were being ground to pieces in an instant, the pain making her whole body convulse violently.

She forced herself to use her last bit of strength to look straight at Adrian, her lips trembling as she tried to speak, only to find that even the strength to stand had been completely drained from her.

Her vision suddenly went black, and she collapsed limply toward the cold tile floor.

It's over... she still had to meet the client...

This was Elodie's last thought before losing consciousness.

The pain she'd expected didn't come.

"What's wrong?!"

Adrian reacted quickly, instinctively reaching out to catch the woman as she fell straight down.

Adrian instinctively caught her in his arms, but the moment he held her, his expression changed dramatically.

How could she be this light?

She was skin and bones, so light that a gust of wind could blow her away.

Under the harsh hallway lights, Elodie's face was deathly pale, her forehead covered in beads of cold sweat, her lips bitten bloody by her own teeth.

He instinctively placed his hand on her forehead. No fever, but what was with all this cold sweat and her ice-cold body temperature?!

"Elodie? Say something! What's wrong with you?!"

When he spoke again, even Adrian himself didn't notice that his usually cold voice was, for the first time ever, tinged with a panic and tremor he hadn't even detected himself.