A Love Forgotten Novel by Webfic

Elijah scoffed. “You’ve always been jealous of her, spreading lies and making threats. You’ve done plenty of terrible things in the past. Today, you’re just pulling the same old tricks.”

I had grown numb to his accusations. I turned to the staff. “Pull up the security footage. The cameras will show what really happened.”

As soon as I said that, Elijah’s expression faltered, and Jocelyn looked visibly uneasy. She quickly clung to Elijah, her voice soft as she said, “Elijah, let it go. It’s not a big deal. I’m not seriously hurt. Maybe Ms. York didn’t mean it, maybe she just slipped and accidentally cut me.”

She looked over at me, her eyes pleading. “Isn’t that right, Ms. York?”

However, I remained expressionless. “Whether that’s true or not isn’t for me to decide. After all, Mr. Linden didn’t even see the truth before assuming I was at fault.”

Jocelyn hurriedly tried to smooth things over, turning back to Elijah.

“Elijah, there are so many important people here tonight. This is really nothing. Honestly, I probably just hurt myself. It’s not Ms. York’s fault.”

Elijah hesitated, clearly unsure of what to do, but I waved my hand dismissively. “Enough. Let’s pull up the footage. If I really hurt Ms. Cornell, I’ll apologize. But if I didn’t?”

I stared directly at Elijah, my gaze challenging. His face twisted with discomfort. “If you didn’t, then we’ll just drop it.”

I let out a cold laugh. “Just drop it? Mr. Linden, you can’t keep living by double standards. Why should I bear the blame for something I didn’t do?”

Elijah was momentarily at a loss for words. He frowned. “Ariana, what kind of game are you trying to play?

He paused, his expression changing as if something had clicked in his mind. Then, with a bitter laugh, he said, “I get it now. You just want to humiliate me, don’t you?”

I didn’t bother responding. There was no point in arguing with him anymore. I touched my chest, relieved. At least, that familiar dull ache wasn’t there this time.

“Mr. Linden, if it turns out that Ms. Cornell injured herself, don’t you think you owe Ari an apology?” Logan’s voice came from behind as he approached with Mr. Maynard and Mr. Pearson.

Under Logan’s steady gaze, Elijah visibly flinched. After a long pause, Elijah finally said, “Fine. If it turns out I was wrong-”

He abruptly turned to Logan, his voice sharp. “But if this woman did hurt Jo, what are you going to do to make it right, Mr. Wood?”

Logan raised an eyebrow, amused. “So, you’re raising the stakes now?”

Elijah said nothing, but the meaning was clear. A wave of disgust washed over me. How could someone be so shameless?

Logan walked over and stood beside me, giving me a calm look before turning back to Elijah.

“If Ari accidentally hurt Ms. Cornell, I’ll hand over the Westside hotel project to you,” Logan said smoothly.

The moment those words left his mouth, Elijah’s face lit up. “Deal! It’s a promise!”

I frowned, tugging on Logan’s sleeve. “Why give that to him?”

Logan smiled reassuringly at me before addressing Elijah again. “Mr. Linden, what happens if you’re wrong?”

Elijah gritted his teeth, thinking for a long moment before replying reluctantly, “Then I’ll pay Ms. York one million in damages.”

Mr. Maynard and Mr. Pearson exchanged disapproving looks, clearly understanding just how unwilling Elijah was to lose. Logan chuckled and nodded.

“Alright. That’s fair.”

Soon after, the security footage was retrieved and played for everyone to see. The truth was clear–I was arranging flowers, and Jocelyn had come over to talk.

Then, she reached for the scissors, which I hadn’t even noticed. She had aimed them at my face, but just as I lowered the flower, the scissors slipped, grazing her arm in the process.

The entire room went silent as everyone watched the footage unfold. All eyes turned toward Jocelyn. Her face had gone pale.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she stammered, “I–I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to help Ms. York trim the flowers. I didn’t expect…”

But no matter how pitiful she looked, it was useless. The security foot captured everything with perfect clarity. Everyone could see exactly what had happened.

Elijah’s face was a mix of anger and shame. He violently shook off Jocelyn’s hand, glaring at her with fury. “I can’t believe you would do something like this…” he snarled.

Jocelyn reached for his sleeve, her voice trembling. “Elijah, please, let me explain. It wasn’t on purpose, I swear.”

Logan, standing calmly to the side, finally spoke up. “Mr. Linden, I believe an apology is in order.”

Elijah glared at me for what felt like an eternity before muttering through gritted teeth, “Ms. York… I’m sorry. I’ll have the one million sent to you later.”

With that, his face darkened further as he grabbed Jocelyn and stormed out of the room.