She rushed to the fireplace to try to save it, but the scorching flames pushed her back. But Rosanne did not care about the burning pain and waited until the ruthless flames burned her fingertips, but in the end, she only saved half of the manuscript.
Rosanne held the torn paper in her hands, shaking with anger. She could no longer suppress her anger and slapped Maribel's teary face.
“Ah!”
Maribel let out a sharp scream instantly and the sound quickly spread to the side, causing the people who were meeting next door to immediately end the meeting.
The door of the editor-in-chief's office was kicked open, Addie rushed in and Maribel immediately ran into his arms.
“Addie, I wanted to ask Mrs. Marquez for translation skills today, but she actually... hit me," Maribel cried bitterly and even bit Rosanne in order to gain trust.
Rosanne turned around abruptly and as she listened to Maribel's lies, she immediately forgot the pain of the burn. She tried to control her breathing, her heartbeat became more rapid and she cursed at her.
“Maribel, don't put the cart before the horse. It's obviously…."
“That's enough, Rosanne!”
The man's roar ended the quarrel and also completely extinguished Rosanne's heart.
This was the first time that Addie lost his temper with him because of an outsider.
His face visibly darkened and there was suppressed anger in his voice.
Addie ignored her anger and hugged the woman tighter. On the other hand, Maribel looked like a smug villain and challenged Rosanne with her eyes without any fear.
“Rosanne, I don't understand why you are so malicious towards Maribel.
“You've had a problem with Maribel since she first came to the Diplomatic Office, always finding fault with her at work. Although Maribel's experience is not as rich as yours, as a senior, you should respect the juniors instead of suppressing them blindly!”
Maribel wiped away her tears, pinched her voice, pretended to cry and gently comforted Addie, “Addie, I have always admired Mrs. Marquez. But if Mrs. Marquez doesn't like me, I will leave."
‘Leave? Oh, she meant I should leave them. Okay, then.’
Rosanne could no longer bear it, so she clenched the unfinished manuscript in her hand, turned around and left, slamming the door.
Her heart was in so much pain.
This was not the first time that Addie had defended Maribel in this way.
She had previously pointed out Maribel's translation errors in the document, but Addie accused her of nitpicking and targeting the newcomer.
Rosanne knew very well that if the document from Addie was only roughly translated by Maribel, it would not be presentable at all.
For the sake of Addie's face and also to take into account Addie's career, she revised the manuscripts handled by Maribel again and again behind the scenes.
The burns on her hands were frighteningly red and still irritated Rosanne's fragile nerves from time to time.
She still remembers that when they were newly married, Addie would run all over the capital of Country C in the middle of the night to find the best family doctor and buy the most expensive special medicine for her minor gastroenteritis.
He said that he would protect her all his life, no matter how old his age, in sickness or death, he would never leave me.
But that time, the shocking burns on her hands were nothing compared to Maribel's crocodile tears.
It was already ten o'clock in the evening when they returned to the family quarters of the diplomatic office.
England thoughtfully allocated single-family houses to its diplomatic officials stationed in Country C. Rosanne had been living there since she married Addie.
After entering the room, Rosanne ignored Addie who was sitting on the sofa and walked straight into the room.
After a while, there was a knock on the door.
Rosanne completely saw the true face of the person beside her.
Her husband, with whom she had been married for three years, had been using her from the beginning to the end.
Under the fig leaf, Addie had been a selfish person from beginning to end.
“So, whether I'm injured or not, you will take Maribel with you, right?”
Her words were evasive and Rosanne thought that she had already got the answer.
She wanted to see how far his career could go without her talent and help.
Rosanne looked at the calendar on the wall and counted down the days until she would return home.
The last twenty-one days.
The cooperation dinner between the two countries was held as scheduled in the auditorium of the largest hotel in the capital of Country C.
parked outside the hotel and most of the guests attending the dinner were well-known figures.
The Institute of Diplomacy sent a special car to pick up Addie and Maribel and the two walked hand in hand into the magnificent hall.
Maribel was wearing a high-end custom-made red dress. She naturally put her left arm around Addie and enthusiastically greeted the guests around her.
At the same time, rumors were spreading from every corner.
“The one accompanying Mr. Marquez today is Maribel, the daughter of General Manager Hudson, right?”
“This is too strange. Isn't Mr. Marquez's wife Rosanne? Why didn't she come?”
By the time the rumor spread, everyone had begun to have considerable suspicion about the relationship status of the two.
The trade exchange between the two countries was an important event held every two years. The main theme of this year was to discuss the newly opened trade port of Country C.
Once the deal was concluded, this move would play an irreplaceable role in the economies of both countries.
Maribel spoke broken Spanish and served as a mere decoration between Addie and the representatives of Country C.
As for Addie, his Spanish level was far from enough for accurate expression and he often failed to express himself clearly when talking with the representatives of Country C.
After several rounds, the originally promising cooperation came to a standstill.
Later, a group of English youths tried to toast Maribel, but were blocked by Addie.
“Since Maribel can't drink, I'll take these cups for her.”
Addie ignored the suspicious looks of the people around him and drank the red wine in one gulp.
“I didn't expect Mr. Marquez to be so nice to Miss Hudson.”
“I heard that Miss Hudson has become Mr. Marquez's designated translator. She achieved this position right after graduation. Her ability should not be underestimated.”
Maribel was very satisfied with everyone's flattery, so she showed off the pink diamond ring on her ring finger without any concealment.
Everyone had never seen such a luxurious diamond ring before and they were immediately filled with exclamations of amazement.
“This is the famous Paris jewelry custom edition, right, Miss Hudson?”
“Addie really cares about me, but we are just very good friends. I was able to enter the diplomatic office thanks to Addie's care.”
Everyone smiled at each other and looked at the two of them with envy.
On the second floor of the banquet hall, Rosanne had a panoramic view of everything that happened.
Anger swept over her and she pressed the pink diamond tightly in her palm.
The diamond ring that was exactly the same as Maribel's was the unique promise that Addie had made to her at that time.
The teardrop-shaped diamond ring penetrated deeper and deeper into her flesh, oozing out a creepy bright red.
It turned out that Addie's love had long been split into two.
She then stopped a young girl from Country C who was in charge of cleaning and stuffed the pink diamond into the girl's hand.
“For me?”
The girl took one look at Rosanne's attire and concluded that the lady was also one of the guests present tonight.
She really could not believe that such incredible wealth had suddenly befallen her.
“Miss, I would like to ask you for a favor,” Rosanne spoke fluent Spanish.
The girl from Country C was afraid that Rosanne would take back the huge pink diamond ring in her hand, so she nodded frequently and agreed without any ambiguity.
Rosanne pointed her slender finger at Maribel on the dance floor and spoke to the girl, “Tonight at the dinner, follow her wherever she goes. I'll wait for you at the back door after dinner.”
Then she handed a recorder to the girl and the girl quickly understood what she meant.
“Honey, I swear to God, I'll get it done.”
A Latin American band played on the stage, the golden saxophone played exotic melodies, the luxurious crystal lamps illuminated the huge auditorium and the sound of conversations in English and Spanish could be heard in every corner.
Rosanne came to the venue at the invitation of the English organizer.
Apart from Addie, she was still one of the most outstanding people in this field.
During the dinner, many people came forward to toast Rosanne and Rosanne would not refuse and responded enthusiastically to the guests.
Many handsome men from Country C were also deeply attracted to such a beautiful and capable woman, but without exception, they were rejected by Rosanne in fluent Spanish.
This was also the last face he left for Addie before leaving.
As the party ended, Rosanne went to the bathroom to change out of her cumbersome dress.
Unexpectedly, a familiar voice came from outside the door.
A sharp, mean female voice.
“I didn't expect Addie to care about me so much and actually bring me to the dinner party.
“I asked Addie to buy me a diamond ring before. I said I liked the one he customized and he actually got me an identical one.”
Maribel raised her voice and excitedly told the person on the other end of the phone what happened tonight.
“When I went abroad, he knelt at the airport and begged me not to leave. Later, I don't know where he found a fake one and they got married.
“Addie admitted to me personally that the tactics he used to pursue that bitch were all prepared for me.
“He doesn't seem to love her that much.”
Rosanne never thought that Addie would trust Maribel so much, to the point of revealing all the most precious past between her and him to an outsider.
In the end, when it came out of Maribel's mouth, it all became a worthless joke.
The feeling of powerlessness spread like anesthesia, slowly devouring Rosanne's thin body.
She could not stand Maribel’s sarcasm about her lawlessness, so she pushed the door open.
When Maribel heard the sound of the door opening behind her, she turned around suddenly and met Rosanne's cold eyes.
“So... it's Miss Huffman. I didn't expect to see you here. But I remember that Addie only brought me to dinner.”
This time Maribel stopped pretending. She acted condescendingly and did not take Rosanne seriously at all.
She even did not call her by Mrs. Marquez anymore.
“Oh, I see. You must have sneaked in when the security guard wasn't paying attention.”
Rosanne chuckled, slowly took out the guest invitation from her bag and slammed it hard on the sink.
“Look carefully, I am a distinguished guest invited by the organizer. Also, as your boss's legal spouse, you should still address me as 'Mrs. Marquez' when you are outside.”
