Devil's Prisoner of Love by Prefer

The entire room froze at Aurora's sudden declaration.

"What? Miss Montgomery, what did you just say?" Willow Shore was stunned. She had only exchanged a few angry words, and now Miss Montgomery was saying she should stay and work here? She must have misheard. Or maybe she was still dreaming.

"I said, from now on, you'll take her place," Aurora replied, her voice crisp and to the point.

"Aurora, if you want to humiliate me, there's no need for such theatrics. If you wantgone, I'll leave," Gemma said, her face clouded with resentment. She had just spent ages begging for the position, only for Aurora to ignore her. Now, inexplicably, the spot was being handed to a juice-bar waitress. How could she accept this? "You're mistaken," Aurora said, her expression unchanged. "I never do anything pointless, and I certainly wouldn't change decisions because of you. You're not as important toas you imagine." Aurora truly had no reason to humiliate Gemma-it wasn't worth her time. If she wanted to embarrass her, there were plenty of simpler and more effective ways. But Aurora didn't care enough. For her, there were far more pressing matters to attend to. Gemma barely registered in her thoughts. If not for this incident, she might have forgotten Gemma altogether.

"Miss Montgomery, I haven't done anything. Why would you hire me? I don't know how to do anything..." Willow Shore stammered, completely confused.

Only Heather seemed to understand Aurora's nature. She was not someone to act without reason. If Aurora said something, there was always a purpose behind it.

"Miss Montgomery must think you have a strong memory and sees potential in you. She likely wants to cultivate that talent," Heather offered after sthought. Gemma sneered. "A good memory? Who knows if she just happened to glance at the desk and counted the items out of boredom. This is pure luck! A person who didn't even go to college-how low are the company's hiring standards that you'd bring her in?" Aurora's eyes narrowed slightly. "Luck, you say? Very well. Willow, tell me-what distinctive features did the manager you just saw have?" Aurora had noticed Willow's sharp memory when she recalled a cup of hot drink from four days ago. This wasn't just luck.

Willow closed her eyes, as if recalling the scene, and then spoke. "The manager was wearing a brown coat and a navy-blue dress underneath." "Hah, that's nothing special. I remember that too," Gemma scoffed.

Willow ignored her and continued. "The coat had square buttons, and there was a pearl brooch on the left side. The sleeves were three-quarter length. She had medium-length, slightly wavy chestnut hair. There's a small mole on her chin and another near her right ear. Oh, and she has pierced ears but wasn't wearing earrings." Remembering someone's outfit was one thing, but to recall the precise placement of moles on their face? That required extraordinary memory and observation. Gemma was speechless. She had seen Mona more often than Willow had, yet she had never noticed the tiny mole on her face until Willow mentioned it. The girl's memory was indeed remarkable. Gemma felt bitter, but there was no denying the truth. "Excellent," Aurora said with a faint smile. "Follow Heather later to complete your onboarding paperwork-if you're willing to stay, that is." Willow was momentarily stunned but quickly nodded enthusiastically. "I'm willing! Thank you, Miss Montgomery, for givingthis opportunity. I've watched your perflaunches online before, and I've always admired you. I can't believe I have the chance to join your company!" "Welcaboard," Aurora said, confident she had made the right choice.

Gemma bit her lip in frustration. To be so easily replaced by someone else-it was unbearable.

"Alright, you can go handle the paperwork too," Aurora said, casting a dispassionate glance at Gemma. Her eyes held no anger or reproach. The matter was resolved, and Aurora had suffered no loss. That was enough for her. She saw no need to kick someone when they were down.

Gemma met Aurora's calm gaze and felt a mix of emotions-frustration, bitterness, and helplessness. Aurora's lack of scolding only made the finality of her dismissal more cutting. This was her reality now.

Following Heather out of the room, Gemma watched Willow Shore bombard Heather with curious questions. "You'll sit here from now on," Heather said to Willow. "If you need help, feel free to askor another colleague. Once your paperwork is done, I'll introduce you to the team." "Move," Gemma said coldly, walking past them. The other employees were still in the dark about what had happened. Why was Gemma packing her things? Why was her seat being given to a stranger? Heather didn't bother engaging with Gemma and instead led Willow away to complete the onboarding process. Once they were gone, the remaining employees gathered around Gemma.

"Gemma, what's going on? Why are you packing? Are you being transferred to another department?" "No, I'm leaving the company," Gemma replied flatly.

"But the company is doing so well! Why would you leave now, especially when we're on an upward trajectory? It seems like such a waste." "Yeah, we'll miss you!"

Whether their sentiments were genuine or not, Gemma still felt a pang of sorrow. After months of e working together, it was hard to leave abruptly. But she had no other choice. She had created this situation herself and could blno one else.

"Gemma, did the manager misunderstand something? Lettalk to her," Leonard offered, noticing her reddened eyes. His protective instincts flared up.

Gemma's voice trembled with resentment. "Someone couldn't standbeing here. It's fine. I'll leave." Her vague words, laced with accuser left the onlookers speculating.

Heather's involvement, the new hire replacing Gemma-it all started to make sense to the crowd. They suspected Heather had orchestrated the entire situation. lan, who had been silent until now, frowned at Gemma's behavior. This woman couldn't leave quietly.

Leonard, however, was indignant. "I'll go talk to the manager!" "Stop," lan said coldly, finally speaking up.

"What is it, lan?" Leonard asked, confused.

lan sighed and glanced at the clueless crowd. "Do you even know what happened? And yet you want to storm into the manager's office?" mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLliIofifl0&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1