Forced Love Would Never be Sweet

Alina's POV

“What, did I say something wrong?” Lucy gave a mocking little smile.

“But don’t misunderstand, Mr. Porter. I’m not trying to insult you,” she said, her tone syrupy sweet. “Someone like you, standing at the top, has the ability to give any woman in the world a home.”

Then she glanced at me before continuing, “I just think this kind of woman isn’t worthy of you. Good thing, our deputy general manager already planned to get rid of her early. Who knows what kind of trouble she would’ve caused otherwise?”

Her face was all fake flattery as she turned toward Mr. Porter.

Fed up, I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly saw the ceiling. “Could you not recycle century-old clichés? If you’ve got no social skills, just shut your mouth. No one’s forcing you to explain yourself.”

Lucy’s smile froze. Her teeth clenched so hard I could practically hear it.

“Alina, I’m warning you. Leave now while I’m still being polite!” she snapped.

Then she kicked my makeup bag across the floor like she was taking out all her frustration on it.

Seeing that, my expression darkened.

At the door, Mr. Porter suddenly slammed his hand on the table. His face was darker than mine.

“Look at what you’ve done! Can’t you see how angry you’ve made Mr. Porter?” Lucy said, pointing at me with undisguised resentment.

I raised a hand to cut her off. “That’s enough. Drop the innocent act. It’s not doing you any favors.”

Her eyes widened. “What did you just say? Are you implying I'm fake? You—”

But before she could finish, I’d had enough of her screeching. I grabbed the wine decanter from the table and poured it over her head.

She let out a sharp scream, and that was when Yorick finally lost his composure.

“Have you lost your mind, Alina? Do you even know what you’ve just done?”

He then hurried over to pull her away, fumbling to wipe the red wine off her clothes.

I crossed my arms, watching them with a cold smile.

For a brief second, I caught the flash of malice in Lucy’s eyes before she quickly rearranged her face into that pitiful, wide-eyed look.

“It’s fine, Yorick,” she sniffled. “But all of the company’s important documents, including the details for this billion-yuan investment project, were stored on my phone.”

She held up the device, completely soaked in wine.

“Now my phone’s ruined, and I don't know how much data I can still retrieve.”

That got Yorick trembling with rage.

Lucy’s lips twitched upward before she dabbed at her tears again.

“I mean, I could try to recreate the company files if I work overtime. But this proposal was meant for Mr. Porter. If he doesn’t get to see my work, what if he refuses to cooperate with us?”

She even changed her voice to make it sound more delicate, like she might cry again.

Watching her act, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“What’s so funny?” Yorick snapped, pointing at me.

“If her phone actually had any important documents, I’ll eat it right here,” I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm.

The truth was, this woman spent all her time trying to charm Yorick. She’d never handled real work in her life. Everything in this company ran smoothly because I’d been pulling the strings behind the scenes.

If we were being honest, the only reason the two of them could sit here and accuse me so comfortably was because I’d been giving them far too much face.

“Shut up!” Yorick barked. “Whether or not there were files, you destroyed her phone and embarrassed us in front of Mr. Porter! You knew how important today’s meeting was, and you still came here to cause trouble. You’re sabotaging me on purpose, aren't you?”

I turned to glance at Mr. Porter, still seated near the door.

“He’s not the least bit bothered about seeing your embarrassment,” I said coolly. “So, why don’t you focus on telling me how you plan to fix this?”