Never Again Yours (Isadora and Magnus)

As soon as Andrina stepped out, Sally and Leda slipped into the room behind her.

Olivia shot them a withering look, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, look who finally decided to show up. How generous of you."

Sally and Leda exchanged a guilty glance, then hurried over to Olivia's side, each taking a position on either side to fuss over her, trying to win back her favor. Sally started massaging her shoulders. "Honestly, there wasn't much we could do out

there anyway."

Leda chimed in quickly, "Exactly! So we figured we'd keep our heads down and find another way to defend your honor."

Olivia scoffed. "You make it sound so noble. Fine, I'll give you a chance to redeem yourselves. How exactly do you plan on standing up for me?"

Sally and Leda laughed awkwardly. Truth be told, all this talk of "defending Olivia" was just to placate her. Even Olivia couldn't stand up to Isadora-what hope did two nobodies like them have?

Olivia, clearly unimpressed, brushed off their hands with an annoyed huff. "You two are such cowards."

"Don't be mad, Olivia," Sally pleaded. "Just tell us what you want. Whatever it is, we'll help you."

Leda nodded quickly. "Yeah, just say the word. We're in."

Olivia was still fuming, desperate for a way to turn the tables. Suddenly, an idea struck her. "Actually, there is something you can do for me. Come here."

Sally and Leda leaned in as Olivia whispered her plan. The more they listened, the grimmer their faces became.

Leda, always the timid one, hesitated. "I don't know about this..."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "What's the problem?"

Leda bit her lip. "You just insulted her, and Victor jumped to her defense. If anything happens to her baby, Victor's not going to let us off the hook."

Olivia snorted. "No one has to know it was us. If things go south, we'll just pin it on someone else."

Sally thought it over, then nodded slowly. "You've got a point. Victor only agreed to marry her because she's pregnant. If she loses the baby, maybe he won't care about her anymore."noveldrama

Leda glanced nervously between them, her voice barely above a whisper. "So... are we really doing this?"

Olivia smacked the back of Leda's head. "If you don't, then don't bother calling yourself my friend anymore."

Rubbing her sore head, Leda managed a reluctant nod. "Okay, fine."

*

Meanwhile, on her way to find Wendy, Isadora gave her a call.

The phone rang several times before Wendy finally answered.

"Wendy, where are you?" Isadora asked.

"I'm out by the storage building behind the house."

"But you're supposed to be serving at the party. Why'd they send you out there?"

There was a pause on Wendy's end,

and her voice faltered. Isadora picked up on it immediately-the staff in the Walsh household must have been trying to curry favor with Olivia, deliberately making things hard for Wendy.

hard

"Forget this," Isadora said firmly. "Come with me. Let's just go home."

Wendy looked around the cavernous warehouse, shelves stacked to the ceiling with boxes and random clutter.

"The housekeeper said I can't clock out until I finish cleaning up in here," she said, her tone weary.

Isadora's voice was steady. "You signed up to help at the party, not to be their maid. They're breaking the terms of your job. Ignore them."

Wendy hesitated, but she knew Isadora was right. She'd put up with enough tonight for that thousand dollars; even a workhorse has its limits.

She started down the rickety ladder, one careful step at a time. Suddenly, the screws must have come loose—the whole thing wobbled. Her foot slipped, and she plunged to the ground with a heavy thud, followed by a sharp cry.

Isadora heard the commotion through the phone and her grip tightened. "Wendy? What happened?"

Wendy had fallen nearly six feet and

couldn't even stand up, her body trembling from the pain. She forced out a shaky reply. "I-I'm okay, Isadora. I don't know what

happened. The ladder just gave way and I slipped."