He Called Me Fragile, Then I Ripped the Doorframe Apart Barehanded Chapter 02

He Called Me Fragile, Then I Ripped the Doorframe Apart Barehanded Chapter 02

At exactly six the next morning, someone pounded on my door.

“Mr. Mercer has breakfast in the breakfast room at seven. You need to be finished and out by six-thirty.”

Pale and exhausted after barely sleeping, I took a seat at the dining table.

Breakfast consisted of plain oatmeal and dry toast. That was it.

At exactly six-thirty, while more than half the oatmeal was still left in my bowl, a housekeeper came over to clear my place.

“Time’s up.”

I glanced at the bowl but said nothing. I set down my spoon and left.

At ten that morning, Victoria summoned me to the living room.

Adrian sat on the couch scrolling through his phone without even looking up. Victoria slapped a printed sheet of paper onto the coffee table.

“These are the house rules. I’m only going to explain them once.”

“You will get up at six every morning. You will not sleep in. Do not leave medicine bottles in the common areas because they are an eyesore. Stay out of Adrian’s office, the gym, and the entire third floor.”

She paused.

“And Adrian doesn’t like being bothered. Unless you have a reason, don’t hover around him.”

I almost laughed.

I was not his fan. Why would I want to chase after him?

Still, there was no reason to start an argument over something so petty.

“I understand.”

Victoria seemed pleased by how easily I complied.

I turned toward Adrian, wanting to make sure the rules really came from him.

“Mr. Mercer, do you agree with all of this?”

He finally lifted his eyes.

“What she said is exactly what I mean.”

That settled it.

There was nothing else to discuss.

That afternoon, I was reading in the sun in a secluded side courtyard when Victoria appeared at the gate carrying a focus mitt.

“Natalie, I heard you’ve been weak and sickly your whole life.”

I nodded.

Without warning, she hurled the mitt at me.

It came straight at my face, fast and hard.

My hands moved on instinct, ready to catch it. At the last second, I deliberately twisted my body aside, staggered two steps, and fell to the ground instead.

I clutched my chest and started coughing.

“Why would you suddenly throw something at me?”

My voice came out small and wounded.

Victoria frowned and stared at me for several seconds.

“You’re pathetic. You can’t even dodge a focus mitt.”

She picked it up and walked away.

Still sitting on the ground, I slowly relaxed my tightly clenched fist.

That had been close.

I had almost caught it.

Before dinner, I was walking down the hall with a bowl of chicken broth Claire had made to soothe my cough when Victoria came out of the gym and spotted it immediately.

“Who gave you permission to use the main kitchen?”

“Claire only used ingredients I brought with me—”

“The ingredients may be yours, but you’re still using our gas, aren’t you?” she cut in. “Dump it.”

This time, I did not immediately obey.

I looked at her. My voice remained soft, but I did not back down.

“Coach Hale, this chicken broth is for the cough caused by my bronchitis. It is not some gourmet feast.”

“I don’t want to bother Mr. Mercer over something this petty, so please don’t make this difficult for me either.”

Victoria froze for a second, apparently surprised that I had challenged her.

She tilted her head toward the gym.

“Would you like Adrian to tell you himself?”

Adrian was leaning against a heavy bag with a towel draped over his shoulder. His indifferent gaze slid in my direction.

Once again, he said nothing.

His silence was answer enough.

I stood there holding the broth Claire had spent two hours making. I reminded myself that three thousand families, the port project, and the six-month contract were all riding on my restraint.

I closed my eyes for a moment, then turned and walked to the end of the hall.

I poured the broth into a potted plant.

Victoria laughed behind me.

I did not turn around.

A hairline crack had silently appeared along the rim of the ceramic bowl under the pressure of my fingers.

Then she called out to me again.

“Wait.”