Martha remained silent as Arnold continued.
"I bet those two have so special connection with her. Otherwise, why would they get a position so easily? You had to fight so hard for this."
Finally, Martha nodded slightly. Her voice was calm, though tinged with resignation. "Yes. Ivy gave them the position because they’re her best friends."
Arnold’s face slowly flushed, a dark, irritated red creeping up his neck.
His jaw tightened before he finally spoke, his voice edged with restrained annoyance.
"This is clearly planned. Ivy is making sure you know your place."
Hearing that, Martha turned toward him, confusion flickering across her eyes as her fingers unconsciously tightened against the rough fabric of her sleeve.
Arnold didn’t pause, his words flowing as if he had been holding them in for far too long.
"If Ivy truly cared about you, she would have discussed this with you first. Instead, she acted like the absolute authority and directly assigned people without even asking for your opinion."
Martha fell silent for a mont. Then she lifted her head, her expression firm, her voice calm but resolute.
"Ivy is the boss. It’s completely within her right to hire people."
Arnold’s gaze lingered on Ivy for a brief second before snapping back to Martha. His eyes narrowed, sharp and calculating, then slowly softened as he exhaled.
"Sotis, I honestly feel that without , you’d be left with nothing."
Those words landed heavily. Martha stared at him, genuine confusion clouding her features as her heartbeat quickened.
’Why would he say sothing like that?’
Before she could respond, Arnold continued, his tone lowering as if sharing a secret ant only for her ears.
"On the surface, everything looks fine because Ivy is your boss. But beyond that, has she ever truly acknowledged you as her closest confidant? If she really valued you, shouldn’t she have consulted you before making such important decisions in this base?"
Martha’s eyes narrowed slightly, unease creeping in.
Arnold noticed the hesitation, the faint crack forming in her certainty, and a subtle smile tugged at the corner of his lips before he quickly masked it.
His voice turned grave, almost ominous.
"In this apocalypse, people change. Their conditions change, their hearts change. At first, they see soone as their savior and treat them well. But as ti passes, they start thinking they’re giving too much. Greed takes over. And then... they discard their own savior."
He leaned closer, his words pressing down like an invisible weight.
"All your efforts here, everything you’ve done for this base... Ivy could easily take all the credit and give it to her two best friends instead of you. She might even make it look like you’re incompetent, just to clear a spot for them."
Martha’s lips parted slightly as she shook her head, her voice hesitant yet defensive.
"That might not happen. Ivy isn’t like that."
Arnold looked at her then, pity filling his eyes as he let out a soft, almost disappointed sigh.
"I really don’t understand why my crush... my lover... has such terrible judgnt when it cos to trusting people. Ivy is easy to read. She let you reunite with her elder brother even though she knew the truth. That alone shows she was wrong. She hid things from you."
Martha remained silent, the words echoing in her mind as a faint chill crawled up her spine.
Arnold continued, his tone sharpening again.
"She claid you were close to her, yet when it ca to positions of power, she didn’t even consider you first. Instead, she handed the opportunity to her best friends, people who haven’t even proven themselves."
Martha finally spoke, her voice low and conflicted.
"Then what am I supposed to do? On what grounds can I even ask Ivy not to let them in?"
Arnold shook his head slowly, feigning regret.
"That won’t work. Ivy has too much influence here, almost like a proxy for the base leader. Unless you reach out to the base leader directly, justice will never co."
Martha looked at him, frustration evident as she spoke.
"I’ve never even seen the base leader. How am I supposed to complain about Ivy?"
Arnold paused, his eyes flickering as if a thought had just struck him. His posture straightened slightly.
"Then how about causing trouble for her two best friends? As long as they’re responsible for an error, any mistake will eventually reach the base leader."
Martha shook her head imdiately.
"That won’t happen. From what I know, Ivy has never once ntioned the base leader."
Arnold’s gaze sharpened dangerously.
"What if Ivy is the base leader all along?"
Martha’s expression faltered, unease clearly written on her face.
"If that’s true, then she has every right to put them under ."
Arnold visibly panicked for a brief mont before quickly waving it off.
"I’m just speculating. And even if that were true, Ivy wouldn’t forget everything you’ve done for the base."
Martha turned to him with a serious, probing gaze.
"What exactly have I done for the base?"
The question hit Arnold like a slap. He froze, his mind scrambling as he searched for an answer. After a mont, he forced himself to speak.
"You’ve been working overti. Supervising nearly everything. You’re practically half a base leader already. Without you, this base wouldn’t survive."
Martha turned her head away, her voice steady and detached.
"That’s not true. I’m paid to do this work. As long as I leave, soone else can easily replace ."
Hearing that, Arnold felt a knot tighten in his chest. For the first ti, a troubling realization dawned on him... Martha was far more difficult to manipulate than he had thought.
Until now, subtle nudges had been enough. But now, even with his intentions laid bare, she wasn’t breaking.
He forced a smile, though tension lingered behind his eyes.
"Sure, there might be people who can outperform you. But they’ll demand higher pay, more authority. They won’t dedicate themselves the way you do, giving everything to the base without expecting anything in return."
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