CHAPTER 158: CHAPTER 158 THE TRUTH BEHIND THE RUMOR

Serena’s POV

I watched as Georgina came stumbling back into the break room, her face going completely stiff when she heard Ryan’s ice-cold declaration that she should withdraw from the competition.

Ryan glanced at Ethan, his tone clearly displeased. "Since Mr. Quinn has already uncovered the truth, I believe he knows exactly how this should be handled."

Georgina dragged her assistant into the room behind her, desperately trying to defend herself. "Mr. Quinn, this was all her doing! It had nothing to do with me!" She turned sharply to her assistant. "Tell them! Why did you do this?"

The assistant trembled visibly, the color draining from her face as everyone in the break room stared her down. The pressure in the room was suffocating.

"It... it was me," she finally stammered.

I exchanged a knowing glance with Ryan. Neither of us believed this for a second. Why would an assistant have any personal vendetta against me? It made zero sense.

Georgina visibly relaxed when her assistant took the blame. "Mr. Quinn, I’m so sorry for hiring someone so untrustworthy. I’ll dismiss her immediately."

She was clearly desperate to move past this, hoping we’d stop suspecting her. She must have been terrified of what Ethan might do if his anger escalated further.

"Wait." Ethan wasn’t falling for it either. "You claim she did this on her own? A complete stranger with no connection to Serena just decided to launch a smear campaign? What’s her motive?"

Georgina’s eyes flickered nervously as she bit her lip.

I could practically see her brain scrambling for an excuse. She shot her assistant a pointed look, clearly hoping the woman would improvise something convincing.

But her assistant was already shaking so badly she could barely stand.

"Mr. Quinn, I... this is all just a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" Ethan’s voice dropped dangerously low. "If you don’t explain yourself clearly right now, I’ll make sure you can’t find work anywhere in San Francisco. Now talk!"

His sudden bark made the assistant’s knees visibly wobble.

"Mr. Quinn, it wasn’t me, it was—" She couldn’t finish the sentence, but her eyes darted to Georgina.

That glance was all it took for Georgina to panic and incriminate herself. "Why are you looking at me? After all I’ve done for you, you’re going to blame me? You worthless little bitch, don’t you dare lie!"

In her panic, Georgina shoved her assistant hard, sending the woman sprawling to the floor. She was about to continue her tirade when Ethan cut her off.

"Enough! Georgina, you won’t be participating in this afternoon’s finals. Go pack up your belongings—you’re no longer employed at LUXE Jewelry."

I watched the scene unfold with cold detachment, satisfied with how Ethan was handling things. I was genuinely curious, though—what beef did this woman have with me? We barely knew each other.

"Ms. Georgina, do we know each other?" I asked, genuinely puzzled.

Georgina stood frozen, her face ashen. She didn’t answer me—instead, she kept turning toward Ethan, still desperately clinging to the last thread of hope.

"Mr. Quinn, you can’t do this to me! I’ve worked for the company for years! Doesn’t that count for something?"

Her voice cracked, her eyes already reddening, clearly unable to comprehend her sudden downfall.

Ethan didn’t even spare her a glance, and that seemed to crush her even more.

Only then did she finally respond to my question—but when she did, her words dripped with venom.

"Know you?" Her laugh was cold and cruel. "Why would I waste my time on some knocked-up tramp who can’t stop chasing men?"

Ryan’s eyes flashed dangerously. "What did you just say?"

Georgina visibly shrank back, clearly regretting her outburst.

Fury surged through me. Before I could stop myself, my hand flew across her face with a sharp crack.

Georgina gasped, one hand flying to her cheek.

“Watch your mouth,” I snapped. “If you’re going to spit filth, do it somewhere else.”

Stunned, she turned to Ethan, as if expecting him to defend her.

Ethan scoffed. "Get out of here. You’re embarrassing yourself."

Still unwilling to accept defeat, Georgina grabbed her assistant’s arm again. "Mr. Quinn, it really was her! This has nothing to do with me! Why won’t you believe me?" She twisted the assistant’s arm until it was bright red. "Tell them the truth, you lying bitch!"

The assistant, who had clearly endured this treatment before, suddenly seemed to reach her breaking point.

"Let go of me!" She jerked her arm free. "Georgina, how much more do you expect me to take? Every dirty trick you’ve pulled—wasn’t I always the one forced to do your dirty work?"

She turned to us, her eyes glistening with angry tears. "You want to know why she did this? It’s simple—pure jealousy.

She’s done this before to other designers at the company. She’s sabotaged them, spread rumors, stolen designs, all while forcing me to be her accomplice because she knew I needed the money and wouldn’t dare speak up."

Georgina lunged forward, hand raised to slap her. "You lying little—"

Ethan caught her wrist mid-air. "What do you think you’re doing? If you’re innocent, let her finish."

The assistant wiped her nose and continued. "Mr. Quinn, the designers who entered the company at the same time as Georgina—their designs were stolen, they were falsely accused of plagiarism—all of it was on Georgina’s orders."

She turned to me, her head lowered. "I’m not a good person either. I did those things because I needed the money she paid me. But this time... I hesitated for so long before following her instructions. Ms. Serena, I’m truly sorry."

She removed her employee badge and placed it on the table near Ethan.

"Mr. Quinn, someone like me doesn’t deserve to work for this company. I’m resigning voluntarily. I deeply apologize for everything."

Georgina could only watch helplessly as her assistant laid everything bare. These were facts, and her assistant undoubtedly had evidence to back them up. Her fate was sealed.

Ethan looked at Georgina with cold disgust. "Well, you’re certainly something, Georgina."

I’d been watching this drama play out long enough. Now that justice had been served, I was ready to move on. This was an internal LUXE Jewelry matter, and I had no interest in getting further involved.

"Ryan, let’s go," I said quietly.

He nodded, equally eager to leave this mess behind.

---

Author’s POV

As the two of them left the lounge and the door shut behind them with a soft click, Ethan’s expression darkened further.

“Whatever mess you’ve made,” he said coldly, his voice dangerously low, “say it all now. I don’t want to be blindsided again.”

He had been in charge of LUXE Jewelry for quite some time now, and yet someone like this had been stirring up trouble right under his nose. The thought made his blood boil.

Georgina flinched at the disgust in his eyes. It pierced straight through her pride, cutting her deeper than she expected. She let out a bitter laugh, anger flashing in her eyes.

“Ethan, do you really not know how I feel about you?” she said, voice trembling. “Everything I did—it was all for you.”

Ethan’s patience snapped. His jaw tightened as he turned away.

“I don’t have time for this,” he said flatly. “And I don’t care to hear about your so-called feelings.”

He stood, clearly ready to leave, no longer interested in wasting another second in that room.

Georgina, unwilling to let him go just like that, rushed forward to block his path.

“You’re really going to treat me like this?” she demanded, her voice breaking.

Ethan didn’t hesitate. He shoved her aside with a force that made it clear he was done playing nice.

“Get out of my sight,” he snapped, voice sharp as ice. “If I see you again, you’ll deal with the consequences.”

With that, he strode toward the door and slammed it shut behind him.

The heavy thud echoed through the room like a final verdict.

Georgina stood frozen in place, pale and shaking, her hands clenched at her sides. The rejection stung—but the obsession in her eyes hadn’t faded in the slightest.

Serena. That bitch would pay for this.