Chapter 235 Revenge Is A Dish
“Stephanie, you’re insane,” Amelia shouted. “Your brother and I love each other. How could you subject Tony to live in a broken family that is lacking love at such a young age?” Amelia asked Stephanie resentfully.
Stephanie shrugged. “Amelia, you think too highly of yourself. Whether or not Oscar loves you, I can’t tell. What I do know is that you are still clinging to him. Sure, Tony’s cute. I love my little nephew too, but it is such a pity for him to have a shameless wh*re for a mother. It’s for Oscar and his sake that I’m kicking you out of the Clinton family.”
Amelia felt certain that she would never be able to come to a compromise with Stephanie.
“Stephanie, you will pay for the things that you have done one of these days. I don’t think the Clintons would be able to protect you your entire life. It would be prudent for you to do a little soul searching and beg for forgiveness while you still can,” Amelia advised sincerely.
Stephanie scoffed. “Amelia, you’d better start thinking of how’re going to explain yourself to my brother,” she jeered. “I’ve already sent the photos of you and Carter embracing to Oscar. What do you think his reaction will be when he sees them?”
Amelia felt her heart stop for several seconds at Stephanie’s threat. The hatred for her sister-in-law had never felt as intense as it did at that moment. Things were only beginning to look slightly better for her and Oscar when Stephanie had stepped in to ensure its demise.
What heinous crime have I committed to cause everybody to sabotage my marriage?
“Stephanie, I hate you. And I never say this lightly.” Amelia glared at her through gritted teeth. Without another word, she turned around and descended the stairs.
Amelia extracted her phone and proceeded to call Oscar. Due to anxiety, she had repeatedly dialed the wrong number and was on the verge of tears at each wrong attempt.
At last, she had dialed it correctly. It rang for a long time before she was being directed to leave a voicemail.
Panicking, Amelia hung up and tried again to no avail.
She did not try anymore. Instead, she opted to drive out of the Clinton residence, away from the source of her shame and ridicule.
She drove recklessly as if to leave all of her problems behind. Oscar had returned her call when she was almost in the city.
“Oz, why didn’t you pick up earlier?” Amelia demanded. “Are you angry? I’m telling you, the photographs are not what it looks like! I can explain. There’s nothing going on between me and Carter.”
“Honey, calm down,” Oscar said gently. “What photographs? What happened with Carter? Is he clinging on to you again?” Amelia heard the menacing noise of Oscar’s teeth gritting against one another.
Amelia was stunned. This was not a reaction that she had been expecting.
“Honey, are you still there?” came Oscar’s voice again.
Amelia regained her senses. “You didn’t see the photos?” she asked anxiously.
“Did you do something you shouldn’t have?” Oscar teased, as he let out a chuckle.
“No,” Amelia lied at once. “Definitely not. I’m heading to the office now. Let’s have lunch together at noon? Wait for me.”
“I have a very important meeting at noon,” said Oscar apologetically. “I called you back because I saw that you called me earlier repeatedly. After we hang up, I have to attend the meeting. I’ll book a table for us to have a candlelight dinner tonight. How does that sound?”
“That sounds great,” Amelia said with forced enthusiasm after a long while.
“See you tonight, then. I’m going to the meeting room now. Don’t overexert yourself if you aren’t fully recovered. I want you to think of me all day today and not look at other men, or I’d be very jealous. And you mustn’t say the names of other men when you’re with me, you know how petty I get. Do you understand?” Oscar instructed. Amelia could not tell if he was joking or not.
Amelia was still stunned. Even after hanging up, she remained in a daze.
If it were not for the angry sound of horns behind her, she would have remained all day before the traffic light which had turned green.
She drove on, her mind still occupied with the problem of the photographs. Though it seemed like there was nothing going on at Oscar’s end, Amelia still felt suspicious. She was certain that he would have seen the photos, though why he pretended otherwise was beyond her guess.
She would much rather Oscar drop all pretenses and have a proper discussion with her as opposed to pretending that the problem did not exist. Communication should be transparent as they were husband and wife after all. If things were to remain suppressed for long, it would be a much bigger problem down the line when it eventually spills forth in a rage.
Amelia was aware that she would have to trust Oscar and their marriage which was strong enough to withstand the seeds of doubt caused by the photographs.
Amelia treasured their marriage deeply. After her encounter with death, she had a newfound appreciation for life. As a result, she treasured her marriage with Oscar very much. Every second in his company was a blessing. Due to the accident, she had understood the fragility of human life which was so easily extinguishable in the blink of an eye. She did not want there to be any doubt or suspicions between them, as it was the worst problem a married couple could face.
Tapping restlessly on the steering wheel, Amelia was unable to locate an anchor point in the turbulent storm of her emotions. Without realizing it, she had been driving around in circles on autopilot as she succumbed to her thoughts. Finally regaining her senses, she found herself parked across from Clinton Corporations.
At the sight of the intimidating height of the building which housed her husband’s company, she felt at that moment too timid to even enter its entrance.
Amelia attributed the dread of seeing Oscar’s disappointed gaze upon her as the primary reason for her reluctance.
It was with that thought that she was confined in her car, paralyzed by her insecurity as she stared across the road at Clinton Corporations.
At the moment, at the top floor of the skyscraper, Oscar was feeling far from the cheerful demeanor he had put on while on the phone with his wife earlier. With a stony countenance, his thumb brushed across the screen to ascertain that the characters within the photographs were indeed Carter and Amelia.
Oscar knew perfectly well what the sight of his own wife being embraced so tightly by another man meant. He was convinced of her innocence as he had been extraordinarily tolerant of her since the day of the accident. He would have been able to endure whatever lines she crossed as long as she did not wind up on the operating table again like that time. Only people who had to wrestle with the possibility of one’s loved one departing from this world could truly understand how little importance everything else would be in comparison.
Oscar’s mood was foul that day regardless of how he tolerated Amelia. Though he did not blame her for being embraced by another man, he felt resentful as to why she was not prepared when she knew perfectly that she was about to face a man with known intentions toward her. Even worse, she had been embraced at the Clinton residence, of all places. He shuddered to imagine the rumors it would bring if the servants had seen it.
It was Stephanie who had sent him the photos. His sister’s distaste for his wife was known to him, he had no doubt that Stephanie would not rest until she had gotten rid of Amelia.
Oscar’s eyes shifted as he gazed at the couple in the photo. They were the type of calm that preceded a violent storm. He felt that he had been overly indulgent of Stephanie for her to provoke his patience in this manner.
He deleted the photo from his phone and dialed a number. When the call went through, he spoke immediately. “Stephanie, it’s me. Let’s meet in Room 209 at the Star Hotel in a bit. I have something to say to you.”
At that, he promptly hung up.
A knock came. “Come in,” Oscar ordered, rearranging his features back to his usual sternness.
Jerry, the secretary, strode in. “Mr. Clinton, Ms. Yard is here,” he announced respectfully.
“Tell her I’m not in,” Oscar said without batting an eye.
“Yes,” Before Jerry could depart to deliver the message, the door swung open and Cassie strode in uninvited.
“Oz,” she purred in the nauseating familiar voice.
Oscar frowned instinctively as displeasure bubbled in his heart. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Jerry.
Oscar stood up and strode toward the door before finding his way blocked by Cassie. “Oz, we’ve been fighting for so long. Did you really not miss me?”
“I have matters to attend to.” Oscar regarded her with a cold glare. “I must go.”
Cassie threw herself onto him and held on for dear life. “Oz, we’ve fought enough,” she whined regretfully. “I know what I did was wrong. Please don’t act so cold toward me. I haven’t been eating or sleeping well these few days as you were always on my mind. I am unable to go on living without you.”
Oscar forcefully threw her hands off of him. “Ms. Yard, please behave yourself. I believe that our relationship had ended a long time ago. You’re only humiliating yourself if you continue to act under that delusion.”
Before Cassie could respond, the secretary’s voice came from beyond the door. “Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Clinton is in a meeting. Would you like me to bring you a cup of tea while you wait out here?”
Oscar regained his senses at the news of Amelia’s arrival. Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Cassie pressed her lips against his as she clung to his frame like a frantic octopus. Before Oscar could disentangle himself from the mass of limbs, the door to his office swung open, searing into Amelia’s memory the image of the passionate kiss Cassie and him shared.
With a faint tinkling heard only by her, Amelia’s heart was crushed by utter disappointment. She swayed on the spot and turned around only after some time.
Amelia had flung the door shut with a slam in her panic. Oscar threw Cassie off of him in a shock to give chase to his wife. Instead, he found her standing on the other side of the door with a stupefied gaze on her face.
Oscar dragged Amelia into his office. With a furious glare at Cassie who appeared smug with her plan coming to fruition, he ordered, “Get out!”
Cassie did not leave. With a pitiful voice, she said, “Oz, didn’t you say that Amelia is not worthy to be your wife for having been involved with Carter? Didn’t you tell me that I am the most important person to you? Why did you push me aside when she walked in?”
Amelia failed to suppress a shudder throughout her entire body at Cassie’s words.
Oscar’s features hardened in a cold fury. “Another word out of your mouth and I will bankrupt Yard Group.”
Cassie bit her lip as she was about to open them again. Being well aware of the extent of Clinton Corporation’s influence, she did not dare take him up on his challenge. Her family’s future was a gamble too large for her to toy with. Cassie left, looking extremely reluctant as she did so. In order to sabotage Amelia, she was willing to go to drastic lengths, though not to the extent of putting Yard Group in jeopardy.
At the sight of Amelia’s intense suffering, Cassie was more than pleased.
