Diana nodded to the organizers and stepped outside to take the call.
"Haven't you already gotten what you came for?" Her voice was cool and unhurried.
Kneeling at the Hutton residence's gate had been a performance for Leon's benefit, nothing more. And Leon had believed every second of it.
"Diana," Helen began, her tone carefully measured. "I didn't have any ulterior motive. I just can't afford to lose my position at the Kingston Group. I know you're not a petty person. If you said a word to Leon's grandfather on my behalf, I could keep my job..."
The voice was pitched perfectly to sound wronged and reasonable, which made it easy to overlook how unreasonable the request actually was. It was Helen's usual tactic, and it never failed with Leon.
Unfortunately, Diana wasn't Leon.
"Is it the job you can't afford to lose, or is it Leon?" she asked, cutting straight through the act, "Helen, if you had even a shred of sense, you would have stopped coming to me after the first time."
She paused. "If you want leverage, there are better options. Give him a child. Make a scene at the Kingston residence. Either would work better than whatever this is."
Diana understood perfectly well that Helen wasn't what had destroyed the marriage. As long as Helen had stopped provoking her, Diana would have had no reason to make her life difficult.
"Leon and I will be divorced soon. Stop contacting me."
She moved to end the call.
"Diana."
Something in Helen's voice changed. She was no longer trying to sound careful.
"Honestly, I couldn't care less whether you and Leon divorce or not. I've already said it. I just want to keep my job. And if you two are divorcing anyway, then who he keeps as his secretary has nothing to do with you, does it? You're the Huttons' eldest daughter. Why would someone like you bother targeting a nobody like me?"
The argument sounded smooth and reasonable, and the final line neatly turned the blame back on her.


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