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 want me gone, 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 to me as 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 some thought. 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?"

sharp memory when she recalled a cup of hot drink from

spoke. "The manager was wearing a brown coat and a navy-blue dress

that's nothing special. I remember that

was a pearl brooch on the left side. The sleeves were three-quarter length. She had medium- length, slightly

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

nodded enthusiastically. "I'm willing! Thank you, Miss Montgomery, for giving me this opportunity. I've watched your perfume launches online before, and I've always admired you. I can't believe I have the chance to join

Aurora said, confident she had

her lip in frustration. To be so easily replaced by someone

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

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

room, Gemma watched Willow Shore bombard

on," Heather said to Willow. "If you need help, feel free to

them. The other employees were still in the dark about what

Gemma and instead led Willow away to

they were gone, the remaining employees gathered around

going on? Why are you packing?

the company,"

leave now, especially when we're on an upward