The Storm Came Before You

Yara paused when she heard that.

A moment later, she steadied herself.

Marcus had blood brought in from all over the city because he did not want her to die.

But between her and Quiana, if one of them had to die, she knew it would be her.

She stopped holding on to any fantasies about him.

During her last few days in Jadewood, she stayed in the hospital to recover.

When the nurses came in for their rounds, they would often talk about the VIP ward upstairs.

“I heard that the CEO of Quinn Corp reserved the entire floor. He even invited several retired professors from Jadewood to look after his girlfriend.”

“I’ve seen Mr. Quinn a few times. He brings her water and food, buys her expensive jewelry to make her happy, and stays by her bedside all night. He really dotes on her.”

Yara listened quietly and placed a hand over her chest.

There was no pain. Her heartbeat was just a little slow.

The wound in her heart had almost healed.

On the day she was discharged, Yelena planned to pick her up but got held up by family matters.

Yara reassured her and left the hospital alone. She went straight back to the company.

It was her last day there. She went through the paperwork as required.

While carrying a box, she was about to leave when she ran into Quiana near the elevators.

Quiana was holding a cup of coffee. She deliberately bumped into Yara. “Are you blind? You spilled coffee all over my dress. This keeps happening. Are you doing this on purpose?”

She staged the whole scene herself, then called the bodyguards over and ordered them to force Yara to kneel at the entrance of the headquarters as an apology.

Yara refused to bow her head. Quiana became even more vicious and threw the remaining half cup of coffee in her face.

“What are you looking at? Are you unhappy? Let me tell you something. Marcus only cares about me. No matter what I do, he’ll take my side. Punishing a secretary like you is nothing to him.”

After saying that, she walked away with a proud look on her face.

The bodyguards dragged Yara downstairs and forced her to kneel on the ground.

She kept struggling, but she could not break free. She could only try to reason with them.

“I’ve already resigned. I’m not Marcus’ secretary anymore. What right do you have to make me kneel?”

The bodyguard did not react at all. His voice was cold. “Mr. Quinn has given orders. Ms. Xanthe’s words are his words. Whatever she asks for, we do it. Ms. Summers, you can bring it up to Mr. Quinn.”

Those few sentences shut her up completely.

She knew they would not listen, so she stopped struggling.

Coworkers and passersby looked at her and whispered to each other. Some even took photos.

In the bitter winter cold, she knelt outside for seven full hours. The skin on her knees was worn raw.

Her face turned pale from the cold, and she kept shivering. She held on with sheer willpower.

As it got close to the end of the workday, her mind began to blur. At that moment, she heard someone calling her name.

She forced herself to lift her head and saw Yelena running toward her.

“Yara, you just got out of the hospital. Why are you kneeling here? Who is tormenting you on purpose?”

Yara’s throat felt dry. She answered without thinking.

“It was Quiana…”