The room went dead silent except for the faint, steady hum of the electric clippers still running in Vanessa’s right hand. Mark’s face turned pale, then flushed with a terrifying, dark rage that Elena had never seen before in all her months working for the wealthy real estate mogul.
Vanessa: Mark, honey, listen to me before you get upset! She had terrible lice! It was an emergency!
Elena: That is a complete lie! Lily does not have lice! I bathed her this morning, and her hair was perfectly healthy!
Vanessa: Shut up, you stupid girl! Mark, she’s lying to protect her own incompetence! The child’s hair was matted and disgusting!
Mark: Shut your mouth, Vanessa!
Mark took a long step into the bathroom, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. He slowly looked down at the soft hair scattered across his custom Italian tiles. His voice trembled with pure fury as he looked back up at his fiancée.
Mark: She didn't have lice. I kissed her head before I left for the office three hours ago. Her hair was clean. Her mother’s curls...
Vanessa: Her mother is dead, Mark! You need to stop obsessing over her memory! I am going to be your wife in two days, and I wanted our flower girl to look neat and elegant!
Mark: Neat? You shaved my two-year-old baby’s head bare and forced her to cry alone in a corner?
Vanessa: I did what was necessary for our family’s image! Look at her, she looks fine! Hair grows back!
Elena: She was screaming for mercy, Mr. Sterling! Miss Vanessa told her that her mother’s memory was trash!
Vanessa turned around fast, her eyes flashing with pure hatred as she stared at Elena.
Vanessa: I said shut your mouth, maid! You are nothing in this house! Pack your bags and leave right now or I will make sure you never work in Dallas again!
Mark: Elena isn't going anywhere!
Vanessa stopped in her tracks, her lips parting in utter disbelief as Mark stepped right between her and the maid. He gently reached out and touched Lily’s tiny shoulder. The small girl reached out her tiny hand, grabbing her father’s thumb, still weeping softly into Elena’s crisp uniform.
Mark: Elena saved my child from a monster today. You are the one who needs to leave.
Vanessa: What? Mark, are you insane? The wedding is in forty-eight hours! We have five hundred guests coming to the estate! The press, the board of directors, your father’s foundation...
Mark: I don’t give a damn about the guests, the press, or the wedding!
Mark reached down to his left hand, his thumb catching the side of his custom platinum wedding ring that Vanessa had given him during their engagement party. With a sharp, forceful tug, he ripped the heavy ring off his finger.
Vanessa: Mark... what are you doing? Don't do this over a stupid haircut!
Mark raised his arm and threw the expensive diamond-encrusted band forcefully across the bathroom. It slammed hard against the mirrored vanity table, shattering the corner of the heavy glass mirror before crashing into the sink with a loud, metallic clatter.
Mark: The wedding is over!
Vanessa: You can't cancel the wedding! My family spent millions on the venue! My father invested in your firm's new trust fund!
Mark: I said the wedding is over! Get out of my penthouse before I have security throw you onto the street!
Vanessa’s face turned bright red with embarrassment and rage. She snatched the clippers off the counter and took a threatening step toward Mark, her voice turning into a high-pitched scream.
Vanessa: You ungrateful bastard! I gave up everything to marry you! Your daughter is a ruined little brat just like her dead mother!
Before she could finish her sentence, Mark’s hand moved in a swift, sharp arc. A crisp, ringing slap echoed through the massive bathroom. Vanessa’s head snapped to the side, and she stumbled backward against the marble tub, gasping in complete shock as she held her bright red cheek.
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