The next day, I showed up at Samantha’s company with her. Officially, I was there to mediate their “misunderstanding.” In reality, I was there for the show.
Seeing me with a stone-faced Samantha, Olivia’s eyes immediately welled up with tears, hovering on the brink of falling, like a delicate white camellia trembling in the wind.
“Samantha… what’s wrong?”
Facing Samantha’s质问 (interrogation), she gave me a pitiful, reproachful look.
“Jojo… did you misunderstand me? I don’t blame Samantha. Evan and I talked it out. He said it was all a misunderstanding, that there’s nothing between him and Samantha. Jojo, you don’t even know the whole story, why did you go to Samantha? What if this causes trouble between me and Samantha? What will I do then? Aren’t we best friends?”
If I hadn’t recorded the call, she might have successfully pinned this on me. Thankfully, having lived through it once, I’d learned to guard against her seemingly fragile, blame-shifting tactics.
I put on a deeply hurt expression, looking at Olivia with disbelief. “Olivia, how can you say that about me?”
Samantha, who had heard the full recording, had no patience left for Olivia’s act. She raised her hand and slapped Olivia hard across the face.
“I’ve got to hand it to you, Olivia, you’re really something else with your lies! If I hadn’t heard the recording, you might have actually fooled me!”
Olivia’s eyes widened as she clutched her cheek, tears streaming down. “What recording? Samantha, you’ve got it all wrong!”
Samantha backhanded her across the other cheek.
The commotion was drawing stares from coworkers. While Olivia was generally well-liked, no one wanted to cross the boss’s daughter for her sake. They all watched silently.
The two slaps left Olivia dizzy. Instead of blaming Samantha who hit her, she shot me a venomous glare, her face a mask of betrayal, as if I were the one who had wronged her.
I pulled at Samantha’s arm, speaking softly to “dissuade” her. “Samantha, you and Olivia were roommates for years. If you don’t know her, who does? Please don’t fight. Even if Olivia mistakenly thought you were hitting on her boyfriend, that’s something you can talk out. I came today because I was worried you’d both act impulsively and ruin a good friendship.”
I continued mimicking Olivia’s playbook, using gentle words to stir the pot.
Olivia’s face swelled rapidly, but she didn’t dare explain further or even look Samantha in the eye. Samantha, of course, wasn’t a pushover like I had been in my past life. After the two slaps vented her anger, she immediately went to HR and had Olivia’s final paycheck prepared.
“This place is too small for someone as… special as you, Olivia. Pack your things and get out.”
Olivia pulled at Samantha’s arm, crying and trying to explain through her sobs, but couldn’t form a coherent sentence. She started blaming me again: “Jojo, explain it to her! That’s not what I meant!”
I shrugged innocently. “Olivia, I was really worried about the misunderstanding between you and Samantha, so I made sure to let her hear our recorded conversation. I’m sorry, Olivia, you’re not mad at me, are you? I was just trying to help.”
Olivia shook off my hand. “You did this on purpose!”
“Olivia, how could you think that of me?” I said anxiously. “Don’t you always forward chat screenshots? I learned it from you!”
Olivia was speechless, gaping for a moment before security, called by Samantha, finally “escorted” her out.
Watching her tear-streaked face as she left, I laughed coldly inside.
She was crying a lot harder now than she did when I died.
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