-

'Then, will you do something to her later? I won't be happy if you'll still allow this bitch to keep her job as a psychologist and ruin the lives of so many people,' Diamond protested.

'Oh, of course not,' Vernon said. 'I don't want to let her free too. She is very toxic, and she will hurt others with her words. So I'm planning to take her down too, at least to expose her secret so she wouldn't be able to influence others with her job as a psychologist anymore.'

'And when will that be?'

'After I defeat Vincent,' Vernon said decisively. 'Once he is defeated, and I can go public about my relationship with Chloe, then I have nothing to worry about.'

Diamond finally calmed down after her boss reassured her he would take her down later. Diamond was already thinking that she'd take this matter into her own hand because she wouldn't let another Carter Fallingham run around in this world, ruining people's lives.

"I will hold onto that promise, Sir,' Diamond said.

"I promise I will take her down. So don't you dare to do something reckless that will get you jailed, Diamond,' Vernon warned. 'Chloe told me you want to be the bridesmaid for our wedding. Can you be a bridesmaid when you're in jail?'

-

"Ah, he's right," Diamond murmured as she entered her car and rested. "I don't want to miss the wedding of my best friend. My homegirl."

Diamond doubted that Chloe realized how important she was in her life. Chloe might see their relationship as regular friends.

But for Diamond, Chloe was so much more than that.

She was like a sister to Diamond. That Big gentle sister Diamond always wanted in her life. The sister could hug her and say everything was alright, and Diamond was naturally attracted to her home girl.

Maybe it was just her gentle aura, but Chloe's smile was enough to attract her brothers-- Damien and Desmond- to get attracted to her as well.

"Well, I don't mind if Chloe doesn't see me as a sister, as long as we can still hang out and chat, then I'm good."

Diamond took a while to let everything sink in before she grabbed her phone and called her boss. It didn't take long for Vernon to pick up the call;

-

"Did you do it?" Vernon asked. After all, they already knew what they'd talk about anyway.

"Yes, Sir."

...

"And you didn't kill her, right?"

"I wish," Diamond sighed. "But I let her live. She will be leaving New York in two days, and I will make sure that she actually left. I think I have broken her mind enough that she will never dare to return here."

"That's good," Vernon nodded. "I will give you a bonus as a reward. I know you've been doing a lot of work to take her down."

"I don't need any reward for this," Diamond refused. "Honestly, I did it for Chloe. I don't want her beautiful life to get ruined because of someone like Shailene, and I also... have a personal grudge against someone like her."

"I understand," Vernon obviously investigated Diamond before hiring her. He knew about that terrible incident befalling her family when she was young and believed that Diamond would never get manipulated.

Because Diamond herself hated to get manipulated and instantly recognized any manipulation when facing the one doing it, like Shailene.

So Vernon wasn't surprised when he knew that Diamond had befriended Chloe. In fact, Diamond was so eager to be close to Chloe because Chloe was the rarest type of person who had no evil intention toward people around her.

"Thank you for your help, Diamond. I will make sure to give her a happy life," Vernon said, putting Diamond's heart at ease.

"As you should, Sir," Diamond chuckled. "Well, I'm going home now. I want to take a bath as soon as possible. That bitch puked all over the floor and now my blazer smells rancid, ugh!"

Vernon laughed before hanging up.

Beep.

--

Vernon pocketed his phone and returned to the living room.

"Who did you call just now?" Chloe asked as she put a glass of hot ginger tea on the table for Vernon.

"Diamond," Vernon replied lightly. He sat on the sofa and picked the ginger tea.

"Diamond?" Chloe frowned. She sat next to Vernon and nestled closer until there was no gap between them. "Did something happen? Did she need help?"

Chloe started to worry. She checked the window and saw that it was quite windy outside. So she was worried that Diamond might be in trouble at midnight and needed urgent help.

"No, she's fine," Vernon smiled. "She just reported that she finished her work and returned home."

"Don't give her too much work," Chloe reprimanded. "She is a young woman. She needs rest, and maybe needs a date too. You might ruin her plan to go on a date because you keep pestering her to do so much work."

"It's fine, Diamond is the one who willingly takes the job," Vernon said. "Don't you see how much of a workaholic she is? That's why she is my most trusted and best employee, and also the one I paid the most."

Chloe sighed. That was true. She told Diamond several times that she needed to rest and have time. Chloe even offered to help with some of her jobs.

But Diamond refused and said she liked doing this job and preferred this rather than being a model. Because she could work normally and didn't have to worry if she got older and abandoned by the industry.

-

'Besides, gurl, do you know how much he paid me? He raised my salary a month ago, and now, my base salary is around 1.2 million dollars yearly! I might be the highest-paid secretary in New York!

-

'Well, as long as she's happy doing it,' Chloe sighed. She glanced at Vernon, who was eyeing her the whole time, and muttered, "Maybe you should give me another job after I can use my right hand."