Still You Still Me Still Falling novel Chapter 23

But she was still pissed!

"She said she'd never lower herself to be with Edmond!" Pippa interpreted the interaction entirely in her own way.

After all, the look on Sheila's face and the tone of her voice conveyed exactly that message.

"So why did Edmond invest in her project? Now she's just making a complete joke out of him!"

Thurston shot a nervous glance at Edmond, terrified this would set him off.

But the man showed absolutely no reaction.

Thurston spoke into the phone. "I'll tell you about the investment later. If she looks down on him, he looks down on her even more!"

Hearing that made Pippa feel immensely better.

When she returned to the conference hall, she saw Sheila surrounded by several people.

She scoffed, unable to hold back. As soon as Sheila sat down, Pippa sneered, "I just got off the phone with Edmond. He told me he doesn't care for you at all!"

Looking at her, Sheila knew exactly what Pippa was—a spoiled little rich girl used to getting everything she wanted.

She was bratty and arrogant. Sheila knew she shouldn't take a word the girl said to heart.

But three years later, just the sound of Edmond's name was still a weapon that could strike with pinpoint accuracy, hitting a scar that had scabbed over but never fully healed.

Of course he didn't care for her.

He was the high-and-mighty, unreachably arrogant heir of the Halley family.

He had never shown her even a basic ounce of respect.

If he had, he wouldn't have disregarded her feelings entirely, forcing her into such a helpless, humiliating position.

She thought she had long since moved on—from the relationship, and from him.

But hearing Pippa's words made it violently clear that the wound had never closed.

Sheila breathed a sigh of relief.

York added, "At my age, I know winning and losing is just part of the game. Even if I lose, it's not the end of the world."

Just as Sheila opened her mouth to speak, York let out a scoff.

"But Lester is an opportunist and a kiss-ass who brings shame to all of us in research! Not only do I have to beat him, my student has to beat him, too. Understand?"

Sheila fought a smile. "Understood."

"That's more like it," York said. "Pride aside, we still can't afford to lose to him. Plus, if our project succeeds, it's going to benefit the entire country! So, there can't be any issues with the funding."

Sheila's thoughts immediately snapped back to Edmond.

The funding couldn't have issues, yet Edmond's investment was a wildly unstable ticking time bomb.

She had to get to the bottom of this.