When Two Winters Met (Henrietta and Yosef) novel Chapter 134

He was signaling her, telling her to endure it.

Artina knew she had no other choice. If she openly defied Henrietta now, she would be utterly destroyed, with no power to fight back. This realization only fueled her desperate ambition to climb the social ladder and become one of the untouchables.

Henrietta said, “It seems Ms. Harmon has made her decision. Winona, start making arrangements to—”

“Ms. Sargent!” Artina cried out, cutting her off. “I… I will pay… for my mistake.”

With that, she lowered her head, crawling like a dog toward Henrietta’s shoe.

Matteo let out a sharp breath of relief. But Henrietta’s face remained a blank mask.

Artina felt a profound, soul-crushing humiliation. But the deeper the shame, the more determined she became to endure it, biding her time until she could repay this debt a thousand times over.

Winona watched, feeling nothing but satisfaction. Artina had brought this entirely upon herself.

After a few agonizing licks across the surface of the shoe, Artina looked up, her eyes bloodshot. “Ms. Sargent… is it enough?”

Henrietta’s eyes were filled with disgust. She kicked off the shoe, tossing it directly into the trash can. “Winona, buy me a new pair.”

Winona pulled out her phone. “On it.”

Artina trembled with rage. That old woman was insane. She’d made her lick the shoe only to throw it away? What was that supposed to mean? That she was dirty? Artina was about to explode, but what could she do? She had already bowed, already submitted to this degradation to save her career.

Oddly, the experience intensified her desire to be just like Henrietta. She even imagined their roles reversed and felt a perverse thrill. Yes, to be like Henrietta—so high above everyone else, where money and status gave you absolute power. One day, she would make Henrietta lick her shoes, every single pair, including the soles.

After finishing her call, Winona glanced at the still-kneeling Artina.

Henrietta looked over as well. “Are you still here?”

Artina snapped back to reality. She scrambled to her feet, her legs so numb she nearly fell. Sobbing, she stumbled out of the office.

Once she was gone, Matteo turned to Henrietta, his voice filled with excitement. “Henrietta, I knew you were doing all this because you were jealous.”

“You can get out too,” Henrietta said flatly.

“I know you still love me,” he pressed on. “You’re just angry and lashing out because you’re jealous…”

Before he could finish, Winona stepped forward and pushed him toward the door. “Get out, get out! Didn’t you hear Ms. Sargent?”

With filming on hold, Matteo was free to visit her office daily, begging for reconciliation, only to be thrown out every time.

Joaquin was equally persistent, sending flowers every day and refusing to leave her office. Henrietta dealt with him by simply ignoring him.

Meanwhile, Quinton had moved out of the Sargent estate, a fact Henrietta only learned from Sabrina, who had come to visit her for dinner a few times.

Yosef was diligent about keeping in touch, sending her his schedule and checking in daily. Every night before bed, they would have a video call to see how the other was doing. Henrietta never asked when he was coming back; she knew he was incredibly busy.

Tonight, after getting ready for bed, Henrietta accepted his routine video call. She suddenly remembered something she’d been meaning to discuss and decided tonight was the night.

“Mr. Nash,” she began as soon as the call connected, “will you be busy later?”

Yosef glanced at his watch. “Not particularly. Is something on your mind?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “You’ve been so busy that I kept putting this off, and then I kept forgetting to bring it up.”

His curiosity was piqued. “What is it?”

Henrietta bit her lip, feeling a little embarrassed before she even started.