Boss, Your Wife Signed the Divorce Agreement Before the Wedding novel Chapter 389

A sharp, merciless smirk curved Raelynn's lips. "If Sebastian wasn't holding your hand through every step, you wouldn't even be in the building. Do you want a trophy for riding a man's coattails? I can have a banner printed for you if you'd like." Seraphina's face hardened instantly, the barb hitting dead center. "There's no need to take your failures out on me, Raelynn. It just makes you look like a sore loser." As she spoke, she let out a long, helpless sigh and deliberately wrapped her hands around Sebastian's arm, clinging to him like a lifeline. Raelynn wasn't going to waste her breath arguing with a parasite. Gracefield had made their bed. Screaming about it wouldn't change the outcome. She wasn't entirely sure if Director Lowell had benched her for an hour just to kiss up to Seraphina, but the disrespect was glaringly obvious. She spun on her heel to leave. Right on cue, her phone buzzed. She answered it, and her marketing manager's panicked voice flooded the line. "Raelynn, every single advertising slot we booked for the launch today just fell through..." Raelynn froze, her head snapping back to look directly at Sebastian. The man merely looked back at her, his dark eyes utterly devoid of emotion. They just stared at each other in the heavy silence. Leo, who was clearly in on the sabotage, saw the look on Raelynn's face and barked a laugh. He crossed his arms over his chest, thoroughly enjoying the show. "Lost your ad space? What a tragedy. Sera's Intelli-Cure launch requires massive market saturation right now. Sebastian wanted to make sure she had maximum exposure, so he bought them out. Looks like you got in the way." Leo offered a sickeningly sweet smile. "Why don't you have a nice little chat with Sera? If you beg hard enough, she might toss you a slot or two. Just enough so you don't get fired from NexusMind." After all, Raelynn wasn't like Seraphina. She was just a glorified lab tech. She had no real power or future. Seraphina shot Leo a fake, scolding look before lifting her chin, her eyes dancing with triumphant malice as she waited for Raelynn's response. She was waiting for the begging. The groveling. Raelynn saw right through it. They were trying to grind her dignity into the dirt for their own amusement. It was entirely malicious. And Sebastian... Sebastian just stood there. His striking features were carved from ice, showing absolutely no intention of calling his lapdogs off. A dark, cynical laugh escaped Raelynn's throat. "I don't waste my breath on rabid animals. They tend not to understand human speech." Without another glance, she turned and walked away. Beg? She would burn her project to the ground before she ever begged them for a damn thing. Leo's face flushed with fury. Raelynn and her toxic mouth refused to take a single loss gracefully. What the hell was wrong with that woman? Seraphina scoffed, deciding to brush off the insult. It didn't matter. She was about to be the most celebrated name in the industry. It was only natural that Raelynn was lashing out like a wounded animal. She looked up at Sebastian, her smile returning. "Thank you so much for today, Sebastian. Let me take you to dinner to celebrate?" Leo clicked his tongue teasingly. "A romantic evening for two?" Sebastian turned toward the elevators. "Sure."

***

By the time Raelynn walked back into the NexusMind offices, Preston had already heard the news. His expression was grim. "Did you cross Sebastian Croix somehow? Losing our absolute top-tier prospect is way too targeted to be a coincidence." Raelynn dropped her bag onto her desk. "Probably. I let it slip that Seraphina was his 'sister-in-law' a while back. The rumors definitely got back to him. He's probably been waiting for the perfect moment to make me pay for it." If Sebastian openly declared war on her while she was at NexusMind, the company would eventually notice the fallout. And if she became a massive liability, NexusMind might just cut her loose to save themselves. What Sebastian didn't know was that she wasn't just some replaceable tech. She was Faye. She was the heart of the operation. Preston noticed the sleek business card that had tumbled out of Raelynn's bag. "This clinic... It's foreign-backed. They've been in the country for less than two years. They have zero name recognition, though I hear they throw insane amounts of money at new tech." Raelynn glanced at the card. "Sebastian forced it on me." Preston's brow furrowed in disgust. "A slap in the face followed by a pathetic piece of candy? He hands Seraphina the absolute crown jewel of the market, and tosses you a no-name clinic as an afterthought?"