A wave of nausea hit Mira so hard that she thought she might even throw up.
The man who had ruin her life was now in Lorena sanders’ ear?
"I was just thinking about you," Travis said and his tone was just... ugh.
That fake flirty charm, that one Mira rembered way too well. "I was wondering when I could finally co pick up those clothes. Or, better yet... you know, when we could... discuss a collaboration."
Mira’s grip on the phone tightened. Like, seriously tightened until her knuckles were white. Her nails dug into the leather case, so hard that she was sure she was probably leaving marks.
"A collaboration?" It ca out of her flat. So dangerously flat.
He chuckled in that self-satisfied sound she knew so well. The one that used to make her stomach turn back when she was still Mira. When she was still dumb enough to think he loved her.
What an idiot.
"Well," he went on, clearly getting into his thing, "a man in my position is always looking for investors. And a woman in your position... let’s just say the right partnership could be mutually beneficial." He paused and Mira knew it was for drama, obviously. "You’re not exactly flooded with offers these days, are you?"
That landed so much like a slap.
The insult!
He’s mocking . Mocking Lorena’s canceled status. This dimwit!
"I’ve been thinking about you since the lobby, you know?" he continued with voice that had all that false charm that probably worked on other won. Won who didn’t obviously know what he was really like.
"A woman like you... you shouldn’t be hidden away. You deserve better than being locked in that mansion like so kind of prisoner."
Mira was getting pissed and tired of whatever it was that he was saying. "What do you want, Travis?"
He laughed again, the sa easy confidence of a guy who thought he held all the cards. "Straight to the point. I like that. I always have. I want to see you. I’m guessing you’re not too busy these days."
It was another razor blade insult, just delivered with a smile.
He knew.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
"You know," he kept going, his voice dropping lower, like he was sharing so big secret, "for a small investnt, you could be the face of my new premium line. ’Lorena Sanders for Travis Cleaners.’"
He actually said it. "Has a ring to it, don’t you think? Classy and elegant. A real... redemption arc."
The sheer audacity of of this bastard!
The audacity was so much that it actually stole her breath for a second. Just a second.
He wants ... to be a brand ambassador... for a dry-cleaning service? A freaking dry-cleaning service?
This man. This man who had stolen her life savings when she was Mira. The man who had slept with her best friend. In her own bed. The parasite. The parasite who had bled her dry and left her with nothing!
Nothing at all!
And now... now he thought he could use Lorena Sanders’s fallen status just like that? And to what? To boost his pathetic little business? His dry-cleaning business that is obviously funded by her own sweat still?
She wanted to scream.
Heck, she wanted to reach right through the phone and just claw his eyes out.
But she couldn’t.
So instead, she forced herself to use Lorena’s voice. That bored voice and dismissive tone that sounded like she was talking to an insect that had just wandered into her line of sight.
"I’ll have my people look at your proposal." She got the words out. Sohow.
It was such a stupid threat.
Such a lie, after all, she had no people. No manager, no agent, no team right now . Just herself and whatever scraps of dignity she could still scrape together from the floor.
The door to her room creaked open and Callis walked in perfectly styled as always, not a hair out of place.
She raised one eyebrow, looking at her tense posture and her white-knuckled grip on the phone.
Mira who was obviously just desperate to end the call before she said sothing... anything that would blow her cover completely, simply snapped quickly. "I have to go."
"Well, okay but think about it, beautiful," Travis purred through the speaker, and god, that nickna actually made her skin crawl. "I have the best offer you’re going to like. Trust ."
She ended the call and slamd the darn phone down on the nightstand hard. So hard that the lamp even shook.
Her entire body was trembling with so much rage she couldn’t let out, so much fury that she had nowhere to put it.
Callis walked even further into the room, just studying Mira’s face with those calculating eyes that never missed a thing.
"Who was that?" she asked as she settled onto the edge of the bed like she owned it. "You look like you’ve seen a ghost."
Mira needed to vent. She needed to scream it all out. But she couldn’t. The truth was stuck in her throat and actually choking her.
"It’s no one," she muttered as she turned away so Callis couldn’t see her face. " Just a dry cleaner who wants to be the face of his... his whatever ."
Callis burst out laughing. "The audacity! A dry cleaner? Thinking he can make the Lorena Sanders his brand ambassador?"
She laughed even harder as she clutched her stomach. "The delusion! The absolute nerve of so people!"
But then her laughter soon faded. Her expression shifted from amusent to sothing else. Sothing more serious.
"Although..." She tilted her head, considering. "It’s not entirely the worst idea. I an, it’s sothing. You need to start rebuilding your brand from sowhere, anywhere, and right now... no one else is knocking on your door."
Mira just stared at her. Horrified. The idea of going into business with the man who had technically murdered her made her feel physically sick to her stomach.
"He did say he’s my best offer," Mira agreed even though the humiliation was totally eating her up.
But inside her? Her mind was racing with more than just that.
And I can bring him down through it. Get close, learn his weaknesses and ruin everything he has. The exact way that he ruined .
Callis’s expression shifted again, from that brief amusent to this genuine calculation. "Well...personally, I feel like it’s better than rotting in this stupid cage Lucas built for you."
Seizing the mont, before she lost her nerve completely, Mira changed the subject. "By the way, where you last night, Callis? You just left there. With Alex."
Callis gave an airy, unbothered wave of her hand, like the question was just ridiculous. "You looked like you were having the ti of your life! I used to ship you and Alex so hard, you know. Back when you two were together, you were the ultimate power couple. Everyone wanted to be you." She smiled, this fond smile at the mory. "I thought I was doing you a favour by giving you two space you very much needed."
"A favor?" Mira’s voice rose, she couldn’t help it despite trying to stay calm. "It caused a massive disaster! Lucas is furious! There are photos everywhere!"
"So what? Let him be furious. Who is he to tell you what to do anyways? In fact, who even is he to lock you in this house like so kind of prisoner?"
She moved closer. "You’re not his child or pet, Lorena. You’re his wife. And you need to start acting like it and standing up for yourself."
"He’s using it, you know," Callis said, her voice dropping to this conspiratorial whisper. "He’s using your public disgrace to control you. Don’t let him. A few photos with a handso ex is nothing. The real scandal... is you letting him treat you like a prisoner. Like you’re his property."
Then she straightened up, smoothing her dress down. Just like that. "Please. You need to show the Lorena I used to hear about. The one who didn’t take shit from anyone. Don’t... don’t let that man just do whatever he wants."
And then her tone just shifted. Like a switch flipped. Lighter. Playful. "Anyways, I have to go. Go to work now. You can manage, right? Now that you’re on house arrest?" She smiled this mocking smile but it felt... almost affectionate. Almost.
Mira just sighed. "What am I even supposed to do in here all day?"
Callis paused right at the door, glancing back over her shoulder. "You can just hang around? I an, the estate is huge so just explore. Just..." She gave a little look. "Try not to cause any more scandals before dinner, okay?" She winked. And then she slipped out.
Leaving Mira alone just sitting there in the silence.
"Maybe I should go to those woods again. I still don’t know if what I saw and felt that night was really a dream or not, anyways." she murmured to the empty room.
"And this ti, I should go with lots of knives, just to be safe."
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