Dumping Him for His Uncle (Natasha and Zachary)

Someone outside the lab had seen the entire interaction between Natasha and Xavier, their expressions dark and unreadable.

The following day, Natasha had just stepped into the lab when something came flying straight at her.

Luckily, the throw was a little off. The bag missed her by mere inches, brushing past her shoulder and hitting the doorframe behind her.

"Natasha, are you trying to mess with me on purpose?"

She turned to see Nicole storming toward her, face twisted with anger. Natasha blinked, feeling utterly confused.

"Aren't you just jealous of me? Why resort to such lowly tactics to make me leave the lab?" Nicole questioned furiously, grabbing Natasha by the collar.

"Do you think everyone's like you? Always scheming behind people's backs?" Natasha said coldly, knocking Nicole's hand away and frowning deeply.

No one else dared to speak. Just moments ago, Nancy had entered in a fit of fury and yelled at the whole lab. Everyone was still too stunned to react.

"If you'd actually focused on your work instead of playing games, you wouldn't be in this situation," Natasha said.

Across the room, Sidney shrank back nervously under her gaze.

"If you're so sure you did nothing wrong, tell me were you the last one to leave the lab yesterday?"

Nicole had already asked around and knew the answer, but Natasha didn't even flinch.

"So what if I was the last one to leave?" Natasha challenged, folding her arms and facing Nicole squarely, not backing down an inch.

"If you've got real evidence, by all means, show everyone."

Natasha knew full well that when it came to taking sides, she didn't have many allies here. In fact, Xavier was likely the only one. But unless Nicole had hard proof, nothing she said would stick.

"What's all this noise?" Nancy's sharp voice cut through the tension as she walked in from the hallway.

"This isn't the place for your petty fights. Nicole, you're no longer part of this project. Unauthorized personnel aren't allowed in the lab."

Her words were firm and final. The rest of the lab watched in stunned silence. Everyone had seen Nicole's behavior lately. She was both arrogant and careless.

And while her background was impressive, hearing those words from Nancy herself made it clear that no one was going to step in to defend her.

"You don't get to decide if I leave!" Nicole protested, though her voice wavered.

"I do, actually," Nancy said coolly. "I'm the project manager, and I say we don't need dead weight here."

She shifted to the side, leaving a clear path to the door.

If Nicole wanted to keep her dignity, she could leave quietly. But clearly, she wasn't ready to back down just yet.

"What do you mean by unauthorized personnel? You can't just kick someone out without reason!"

A strong voice rang out from the hallway at this moment. It was none other than Molly.

Nicole's face lit up as if she'd just seen a lifeline, and she rushed over.

"How are you feeling? I was really worried about you at the hospital yesterday," Nicole said.

Molly patted her hand, reassuring her.

"I know for a fact that Nicole graduated from a pretty decent university. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. As the project manager, you should give people a second chance."

Molly's words sounded reasonable enough, but considering Nicole's intelligence and the fact that they graduated from the same university, Natasha knew that money was what got her ahead in life.

Natasha couldn't help but let out a sneer. The tense atmosphere immediately shifted, and all attention turned to her.

"Nat, it's one thing if others look down on me, but why are you laughing at me too?"

Nicole looked genuinely hurt. Because she'd been constantly speaking against Natasha to Molly, it was no surprise that Molly didn't think much of Natasha.noveldrama