Doomsday Revenge: Payback Time (Josie) novel Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Aubrey quickened her pace, her mood sinking deeper with every step.

It was stifling, so oppressive!

Claim 50 Coins By Check in

She felt an invisible weight pressing down on her chest, stealing her breath, and her eyes inexplicably welled up, a burning ring of moisture.

The sadness was fleeting, though, replaced swiftly by a practiced calm.

She couldn’t grasp what she had truly done to incur such an insurmountable debt to her family.

Emotional debts, financial debts, the weight of responsibility, the gratitude for her upbringing–even her role as an older sister felt like something she’d been born owing her brother.

The entire sky seemed shrouded in gloom; she couldn’t see a single ray of sunshine. Even the air she inhaled felt like a biting chill in her lungs.

Stepping into the subway, she was met with a constant flow of people.

Yet she felt a glass wall between herself and the world.

Inside the glass, there was only her.

Outside the glass, the world was a cacophony of life, loud and vibrant.

Even the endless demands of her work couldn’t dissipate the heavy melancholy weighing on her.

She didn’t know when it started, but the mere thought of seeing her mother and brother now filled her with a profound dread. Even the sound of their voices triggered a visceral wave of irritation and disgust.

Every encounter with them plunged her into a suffocating depression that lasted an entire day, sometimes even several.

She’d been in court that afternoon, and she’d lost.

The moment she stepped out of the courthouse doors, her client ambushed her with a torrent of abuse.

“Didn’t you say we had a strong case?!” the client shrieked, her voice echoing in the marble hall. “You look all prim and proper, like some educated lady, but you’re dumber than a sack of bricks when it comes to actual work! All looks and no brains–that’s what you are! You can’t even win a lawsuit, and you still have the nerve to call yourself a lawyer? Go find a man and get married, stop embarrassing yourself here!”

Her already shattered mood plummeted further, the vicious words striking her like physical blows. Her chest ached with a raw, burning fury.

But she couldn’t retaliate, couldn’t stoop to the level of such a crude, ill–mannered person and unleash her own venom. It would obliterate her professional image and reputation.

Her face was a mask of cold fury, her voice razor–sharp as she laid out the facts for him. “I’m a public interest lawyer; I didn’t charge you a penny. I’ve handled hundreds of cases like this, and I almost always win. But not one of my clients has ever concealed the truth from their lawyer like you. You weren’t injured during a delivery. You were out soliciting prostitutes during work hours, got hit by a car on your way out, and that’s why your company fired you. If you had been honest with me from the beginning, I never would have taken your case. You’ve smeared my professional reputation. You have moral issues, and instead of reflecting on them, you blame me?”

“What’s wrong with me sneaking off for a hooker during work hours?” he shot back.“That was still company time, so it’s a work injury! You’re just incompetent, don’t try

I have moral issues. What man out there doesn’t go looking for prostitutes? Which one-”

to say

Aubrey’s anger flared, and she cut him off sharply. “Not every man is as rotten as you are! You’re filthy yourself, so you see the whole world as filthy, Say one more word, and I’ll make you the defendant in this case.”

With that, she strode away.

But the man was utterly vulgar. Even after she’d walked away, he continued to yell, his words a stream of vile profanities.

She was utterly drained, the weariness washing over her once more. She just wanted to tune him out, refusing to deal with such people any longer, desperate to leave.

Nightfall had blanketed the city, and its neon lights blazed, a dazzling spectacle.

Aubrey left the law firm and took the subway home..

Sierra sent a message on the Grid:“Bree, are you off work? Want to go shopping?”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify