Evie’s eyes darted between the cup in his hand and the disposable one Fernanda had just filled for her. She blinked, suddenly realizing her blunder.

With a slight flush to her cheeks, she mumbled, “Sorry, I grabbed the wrong one.”

Without warning, Clement strode to the trash can and tossed his cup in with a sharp clatter.

At that moment, one of Clement’s friends emerged from the back room and raised an eyebrow. “Hey, Clement, why’d you toss your cup?”

“It’s dirty,” Clement replied casually.

Evie shot up from her seat, her finger jabbing toward him in indignation. “Excuse me? What do you mean by that?”

Clement didn’t even glance at her.

Evie’s temper flared. She found his words too harsh, too dismissive to let slide.

She knew she’d made a mistake by grabbing his cup, but she had apologized. If that wasn’t enough, she could have easily bought him a replacement. Did he really need to be so obnoxious about it?

She stormed up to him, planting herself firmly in his path, her eyes defiantly narrowing. “Exactly what are you calling dirty?”

Blocked by her sudden approach, Clement’s patience began to wear thin.

“What did I say to get you all worked up?” he shot back, clearly irritated. “Now that someone else touches my cup, I consider it dirty. That’s my preference. What’s so hard to understand?”

Evie bit down on her lip, feeling the heat rise in her chest.

Clement, growing increasingly exasperated with Evie blocking his path, shoved her aside without a second thought.

The floor was slippery, and Evie’s shoes lost traction. She slid, unable to catch herself.

Her back slammed into the sharp edge of the table, the impact so hard that it echoed in the room. Even Clement froze, startled by the noise.

Pain flared in Evie’s lower back as she crashed to the floor, and her eyes blurred with tears as she struggled to stay conscious. The sound of rushing footsteps came from the back room, and Fernanda, along with a few others, quickly appeared, alarmed by the commotion. They had been in the middle of a training session.

Fernanda had been working closely with the team, not expecting this kind of disruption.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Fernanda asked, helping Evie up, her voice laced with concern.

Evie winced, tears streaming freely now. The pain in her lower back was excruciating, and she couldn’t even straighten her torso without a sharp jolt of agony.

Clement stood frozen, his expression stricken. He hadn’t intended for things to go this far. He hadn’t expected such a brutal fall from just a shove.

“Fernanda, I’m sorry, I pushed her,” Clement muttered quietly, looking at Fernanda with regret.

Fernanda blinked in surprise, unable to grasp the situation fully. “No, it’s not his fault, Fernanda. I got in his way, and he shoved me. I just lost my balance.”

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