I Walked Away And He Lost His Mind (Zephyra) novel Chapter 171

A knot of dread tightened in my stomach. I immediately thought of what Antonia had said this morning—that Steven had been furious last night and wouldn’t let me off the hook.

Hah. Antonia must have laid it on thick, and that idiot Steven probably believed every word, maybe even embellished the story in his own mind. A “business collaboration” was likely just a pretense to corner me and settle the score.

“I’m not going.”

Myron looked panicked. “You have to, Zephyra! This is a company project. Steven was looking for Somania, but you refused to admit it was you, so I gave him a fake number. He said he couldn't get through, and the collaboration in Europe fell through. But his project still needs to move forward, so you have to be the one to work on it.”

I sneered. “So, I’m the only designer in your entire company?”

Myron looked like he was about to burst into tears. “Zephyra, I’ll be honest with you. Even if I had a hundred other designers, Steven would still choose you. He just gave me an ultimatum: if you don’t go, he’ll make me fire Jacob.”

I slammed my coffee cup down on the desk. A cold glint flashed in my eyes, but my voice was deceptively calm.

“He’s using Jacob to threaten me? That’s hilarious. Does he think I’m Verna?”

But in the end, I went. Not for any other reason than what Myron said next.

“He also said that if Zephyra doesn’t go, he’ll have Zephyra fired too. And then he’ll have her blacklisted from the industry.”

“Honestly, Zephyra, he’s not kidding. He’s made his demand, and he won’t back down until he sees you. The Lancaster family could crush ‘Kardia’ without breaking a sweat. Dealing with ‘Somania’ might be a little tougher, but it’s not impossible. You might be a big name, but you haven’t officially returned as ‘Somania.’ The public isn’t paying attention to you right now. Without the support of fans and the public, you stand no chance against him. Unless, of course, you have a powerful backer of your own—someone with the same kind of resources as the Lancaster family.”

Damn it. Every word was a reminder that I was just a poor girl who didn't have the right to refuse the demands of a powerful man.

He went back on his word, sabotaged my attempts to find a lawyer, and now he was threatening my livelihood. Steven was taking things too far!

“What are you doing here? I’m in a meeting. Get out.”

Gordon stood right behind me. “I’m sorry, Mr. Lancaster. I couldn’t stop her.”

He gently took my arm, not daring to use force. “Mrs. Lancaster, please come outside.”

I shook him off. I looked at Steven, at his innate air of nobility and his flawless, handsome face. He looked so calm and composed, as if he weren’t the one who had just threatened me.

A fire raged inside me. I strode over to him, picked up the cup of iced coffee from the table, and threw it right in his face.

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