Shortly after that, inside a private room on the second floor of the Elysian House, Odell was seated next to Tara while Sylvia and her two colleagues sat with them at the table.
Perhaps due to Odell’s intimidating aura, both of Sylvia’s colleagues kept their heads low and did not dare to utter a word or make any sort of movement.
From the moment he sat down, he had been staring fixedly at Sylvia without any attempts to conceal his gaze.
Sylvia shifted uncomfortably as he watched her like his prey in this manner.
She felt she had to say something. “Master Carter, it’s quite inappropriate for you to keep staring at me like this with your wife sitting right by your side.”
Odell chuckled softly. “After three years, it doesn’t seem like you’ve changed all that much apart from the attitude you’ve developed.”
Sylvia returned his snark response, “Well, I’ll have to thank the sixty slaps you gave me for that.”
Odell’s lips twitched as his face darkened.
It was as if he could not find a rebuttal to this statement.
Tara, who was seated next to him, silently ground her teeth. She then turned to Sylvia to say, “Sylvia, let’s not spoil the mood by saying these things, especially considering that you’re finally back after so long.”
Then, she turned to Odell and said in a gentle tone, “Odell, it’s already been three years, and I've forgotten the entire incident about Sylvia causing my miscarriage. Let’s not get hung up on all that.”
It was rather queer that she brought the miscarriage up now of all times.
Sylvia could not help but chuckle, "Tara, Odell wouldn’t even have been upset if you hadn’t mentioned that in the first place.”
Tara was flabbergasted by how blunt Sylvia was.
Before she could figure out what to make of the situation, Sylvia added, "Look, his face is as black as a block of charcoal after what you just said.”
Tara felt a lump appear in her throat.
Odell's complexion took on an even darker shade than it was before.
It seemed as if a gust of blizzard had just blown into the room, causing the temperature to plummet.
Sylvia shivered as well. Anyone with a good sense of judgment would know that it was best to tread lightly around Odell at this point.
Nonetheless, she feigned agitation and asked, “Master Carter, was it something I said? Why do you look so upset?”
Odell cast a brutal glare at the woman who was constantly trying to get on his nerves.
Sylvia continued to patronize him, "Uh, I do apologize if I said something wrong. I’m sure someone as magnanimous as you are will find it in yourself to forgive my foolishness.”
After saying this, she blinked repeatedly in an innocent manner.
Odell chuckled. “Heh…”
He conveyed his irritation with a suppressed scoff. A powerful gust of freezing air burst from within his body, and it seemed as if the sheer force of it was going to uproot the very foundation of the room.
In a heartbeat, the air was sucked out of the room.
The two colleagues who came with Sylvia shrunk, too afraid to say anything.
Tara remained silent as well and stared at Sylvia without a word.
Although things had changed and Sylvia was no longer the same person she was three years ago, she was still frightened by Odell's overpowering aura.
The expression on her face changed as she put a hand on her stomach and stated, "Uh, my stomach is acting up a little. Please excuse me. You guys go ahead and eat first."
With that, she got up and winked subtly at her colleagues, hinting for them to follow her.
She had barely taken two steps when Odell’s deep, threatening voice came.
“Don’t make a move.”
Sylvia halted instinctively before she turned to him and said, “Master Carter, my stomach isn't feeling so good, and I think I need the toilet.”
The agitation was visible in her eyes.
Odell smirked cunningly. “Hold it in.”
Sylvia chuckled drily.
Without any indication, she took off and ran.
Odell grimaced and got up abruptly.
Before he could take another step, Sylvia had bolted out like a rabbit emerging from its burrow and vanished without a trace.
Thump!
Odell slammed his fist on the table.
Tara shuddered all over with fright whereas Sylvia's two colleagues shrunk back into their chairs as well.
…
Sylvia bolted out of the Elysian House in a single breath and continued running until she arrived at the elementary school she worked at.
After standing outside for a moment and noticing that her colleagues had not caught up with her yet, she dug out her phone and called one of them.
It rang a few times before someone picked up.
Sylvia immediately asked, “Jenny, are you guys coming back?"
There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone before the deep voice of a man responded, "Sylvia, I'll give you ten minutes to come back and apologize to me. Otherwise, you will bear the consequences.”
It was Odell!
Sylvia hung up the phone with trembling hands.
Then, she entered the school and darted to her office where she packed up her belongings and wrote a resignation letter in the form of a text message to the principal. With that, she left the school premises.
She was not going to allow herself to be lectured by this man.
Needless to say, she was not going to apologize!
…
Shortly after leaving the school, Sylvia went to a nearby woodcarving studio.
She enjoyed the practice of carving wood in her spare time, and she had considered applying for a position here in the past.
After showcasing her technique to the boss, she was hired on the spot.
The working hours were very flexible, so long as the tasks could be completed on time.
After she became familiar with the working place, Sylvia got to work and stayed busy until it was time to pick up Isabel from school.
She was about to finish up and head to pick her daughter up from the kindergarten when she received a call from the little girl.
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