After Elyse pushed the door to the receptionist area open, she didnât hesitate to make herself comfortable. She leaned over and placed Amelieâs phone on the table before she gave Amelie a provocative look.
âMiss Dillon, you can ignore me. But Leo will never see you without my consent,â Elyse said as she sat cross- legged, totally portraying the attitude of being the Alstonsâ head of the house. She didnât even gesture for Amelie to take a seat either.
Amelie lowered her head slightly before she said, âMiss Clayton, I never knew you were so capable to the point that you could control Leoâs life even before marriage.â
These words that escaped Amelieâs lips sounded like a compliment. Yet, to Elyseâs ears, they sounded extraordinarily harsh and even carried a hint of ridicule.
Elyse had to force herself to uncurl her fingers, which she hid on the other side several times in a row to maintain her graceful demeanor. âMiss Dillon, why donât you talk about why youâre here looking for Leo?â
âThis matter is between Leo and me. It would be better for us to solve it ourselves.â Amelie looked at Elyse and slightly leaned forward. Although she didnât bother excessively expressing herself, she succeeded in exuding a condescending aura.
Elyse instantly felt inferior.
As soon as she said those words to Elyse, she grabbed her phone and intended to leave.
âAmelie!â Once again, Elyse stopped her. Bang! She even rushed ahead of Amelie and shut the door tightly in front of Amelie.
Elyse became highly anxious and crisis-stricken after she learned that Amelie couldnât be emotionally involved with the boss of Starlight Media.
Then, as though she wanted to comfort herself somehow, she pressed her back against the door for stability. Still, she felt that doing so wasnât enough, for she later pressed both hands on the door At last, an angry look was visible on Amelieâs face. She frowned and sharply questioned, âElyse, what are you trying to do?!â
Elyse hastily wracked her mind of the possible reasons for Amelie looking for Leo instead of answering her straightaway. âYouâre here today because of Briaâs custody, arenât you? Leo has told me he will undoubtedly file a lawsuit seeking court intervention. However, heâs very busy, so he has long entrusted this matter to Mrs. Alston and me, asking us to handle it ourselves. Therefore, itâs pointless for you to go to him, for he is too busy to see you,â Elyse said, thinking it would anger Amelie.
Amelie stood still and stared Elyse down, making the latter feel unsure and couldnât help sizing her up in secret.
Sheâs not saying anything, and her poker face is so good that I canât tell what sheâs thinking. So, itâs impossible for me to know whether she believes my words.
Nonetheless, Elyse tried her best to remain confident. âLeo has already given me the video of you losing The word âvideoâ punched Amelie hard in the chest. Her blood instantly froze in her veins.
Thatâs right! Leo secretly captured evidence against me when I made a bet with him. How can I still expect any form of kindness from him?
âSo?â she intoned coldly. âMiss Clayton, do you plan on becoming a stepmother?â
Elyse pursed her lips, smiled, and revealed her bow-shaped lips tinged with dark red lipstick, which made her look enchanting and dazzling. âI love Leo. What does it matter if I sacrifice a little when he is willing to shower me with all his love?â
Even though she tried her best to show off, a trace of melancholy silently rippled in her heart when she talked about how Leo was âpamperingâ her. In fact, she felt so guilty that she didnât even dare to look into Amelieâs eyes.
Fortunately for Elyse, Amelie wasnât looking at her face when she said those words. Otherwise, Amelie would be able to notice something odd about her expression.
âPlus, I donât want to get pregnant this early in my career. Briaâs presence can relieve Mrs. Alstonâs worries about wanting a grandchild, and it wonât put pressure on me, either, Leo has also considered this factor. Thatâs why he is adamant about taking Bria back.â Perhaps, too many lies had even managed to convince Elyse herself to think that it was the truth, for superiority and happiness were written all over her face when she tried to bar Amelie from meeting Leo.
She looked at Amelie with a triumphant smirk, which grew even more profound after she noticed Amelie silently balling her fists in anger.
Amelie has trampled me under her feet so many times! This time! This time, I can finally take it out on her!
Then, she tried her best to maintain a neutral look on her face as she brushed off some imaginary lint on her clothes. âThis is beneficial to you too, Miss Dillon, for you donât have to worry about my child stealing Briaâs favor.â
Amelie smiled, but her smile was as cold as ice. âIâm sorry. My daughter is not something or someone that you two can use as a buffer. Miss Clayton, your pregnancy is none of my business. But my daughter will only be mine and no one elseâs!â
âIf that is the case, then we really have to solve this through the legal route. It will be pretty bad for you if that happens, then,â Elyse said in a deliberately provocative tone.
âThat doesnât concern you. So, thereâs no need for you to say anything else.â Since Amelie no longer had the intention to continue this conversation, she gestured her chin in the direction of the door and asked, âCan you open the door now?â
Elyse frankly stepped aside when she saw that she had achieved her goal. âMiss Dillon, I still want to give you one piece of advice-a wise person submits to fate. Donât let Bria become a victim for the sake of your resentment.â
Amelie stopped slightly in her tracks. Nevertheless, she said nothing and walked away with her head held high.
Behind her, Elyse, who had tried her best to remain elegant, abruptly bit down hard on the bottom of her lips.
Go ahead and fight! It will be best if you two can fight to the bitter end.I will have a chance to win over Leo again as long as you two keep fighting.
Two minutes later, Elyse gracefully walked out of the room. Her entire demeanor screamed grace, her face was as immaculate as ever, and her eyes were as calm as a lake.
When Elyse saw the receptionist, she even greeted her warmly. âThank you for your hard work.â
âN-No, not at all.â The lady was so flattered that she started stammering when she saw Elyse being so friendly.
Naturally, Elyse noticed this. So, she pursed her lips before she said, âI suddenly have some business to attend to, so I wonât be going upstairs. Please donât inform Leo or anyone that Iâve been here.â
âSure. Sure. I understand, Miss Clayton. If Mr. Alston knows that you came and left, he will definitely feel sorry for you. Miss Clayton, Mr. Alston really cares about you.â The employee looked at Elyse enviously. At this moment, she wished so badly that she was born slightly prettier and her status was slightly higher so she could take Elyseâs place.
Elyse nodded in satisfaction, for this was precisely the outcome she wanted.
By the time she had left, her assistant immediately came up to her. However, she couldnât help but cast a glance in the direction where Amelie had gone. âThat woman⦠Isnât she the woman in the video that you asked me to film yesterday? She-â
Before the assistant could finish her sentence, Elyse turned and glared at her sharply-her gaze was full of warning.
Her assistant quickly covered her mouth and silenced herself.
Meanwhile, Leo wasnât looking too hot in his office.
Laura was standing right before him.
She was suspended for some time due to her presumptuous actions. Alas, she was rehired during this time for professional activity.
After all, Laura was still fairly remarkable in terms of competency, which was why Leo decided to hire her again.
Still, Laura didnât dare to freely make her own decisions after that incident. At this moment, she looked at Leo rather reverently as she stood in front of him.
She immediately informed Leo after she learned that Melissa had gone to Amelie with a lawyer earlier.
âWhat should we do?â Laura inquired.
Leo furrowed his well-defined brows so tightly to the point that wrinkles started to form. Finally, he dismissed her with a wave of his hand and said, âI will handle this matter myself. You may go ahead and attend to your work.â
When Laura heard Leoâs reply, she simply nodded and left without asking any further questions.
At this moment, Leo, who was initially reviewing the document, rested his fingers on the keyboard and remained motionless for a long while. His eyes, however, turned to look at his phone placed at the corner of the table.
In his mind, he thought, Should I call her and explain that it wasnât my idea?I donât know whatâs going on with me. But after seeing how she showed a responsible approach toward Bria, I can no longer fight with her for Briaâs custody.
As he thought of that, he stretched out his slender fingers and grabbed his phone. Yet, it rang when he was about to dial Amelieâs number.
This was a call from Toby.
âThere is a possibility that Elaine really isnât the girl youâre looking for. Iâve learned some updates regarding that matter.â
Leoâs already frowning face deepened upon hearing Tobyâs report. His heart pounded wildly, and his facial expression turned solemn.
He stayed silent for five seconds before finally gritting his teeth and answering, âIâll be right over!â