Kris was at the hospital with Gideon, but she decided to head to Gemma’s room on her own with a bouquet of flowers that she brought while he parked the car.
After learning of Gemma’s incident, Kris doubted that anyone was as happy as she was.
Gemma had always been acting high and mighty around Kris to the point of snubbing her all the time. However, knowing that Gemma came from a prolific and important family, Kris could not risk offending her. She had been ecstatic to learn of the accident and the cause behind it because it meant that there really was bad blood between the Walton Family and the Hart Family. In addition to the accident, Gemma had also sustained injuries to her face—a feature that any woman would pay most attention to—and Kris was seized with wicked glee to know this despite being clueless about the extent of the girl’s injuries. Nonetheless, she maintained a concerned front when she was with the Walton Family.
Upon entering the hospital room, she saw that Gemma was throwing a maniacal fit and hurried over to help her. However, just as she approached, Gemma looked up at her. At the sight of the girl’s gruesome face, Kris screamed and backed away.
To say that Gemma’s face was badly injured would be downplaying the real situation because she was practically disfigured. Her face was garishly lacerated and it was as though every inch of her skin had been sliced by broken glass, making her look grotesque.
“My face… Oh, my face…” Gemma repeated under her breath. She wanted to reach out to touch her face, but her hands were far too weak to do so. Gripped with paralyzing fear and panic, she screamed when she met Kris’ eyes and quickly cowered in the corner of the room.
“Gemma!” After having entered the room, Gideon took in the scene before him and his face grew grim. He pushed Kris aside and ran over to his sister.
“G-Gideon, how did I end up looking like this?” Gemma howled when she saw her brother. She burrowed into his arms, feeling like she had found her savior. She lacked the courage to lift her head and she trembled as she demanded, “You told me I could be treated! But, look at me! There is no treatment that can fix this!”
“Of course there is!” he answered assuringly. He tightened his arms around her before he shot an accusatory look at Kris.
Kris caught Gideon’s pointed gaze and hastily waved her hands. “I have nothing to do with this. I don’t know what happened—I didn’t think I would come in here and find her like this!” she insisted vehemently, afraid that she would be blamed for the chaos in the room. After all, she truly had nothing to do with any of this and had only just discovered how grievous Gemma’s facial injuries were.
Bile was rising in Kris’ throat as the image of the gruesome face she just saw flashed in her mind. She covered her mouth as she retched and hurriedly rose from her seat to rush out the door.
Meanwhile, Gemma was completely devastated and she was spiraling toward a breakdown as she sobbed, “What the hell is going on here? How did I end up looking like this?”
“Listen to me, Gemma. I know it looks bad now, but the doctor said it’s nothing that plastic surgery can’t fix and you’ll get your looks back in no time. You’ll look pretty again and we’ll make sure of it,” Gideon cajoled, looking calm as he held his sister in his arms.
“Will I really look like my old self again?” she asked feebly, her eyes watery. She looked like an abandoned kitten.
He may have been ruthless at times, but he was still kind to his own sister. After all, she was his only sibling. With a nod, he answered, “Don’t worry, I promise you’ll be treated by the best doctor in the field.”
“B-But what if I never become pretty again?” Gemma asked, her lips trembling. Then, a sudden thought seized her. She had spent the last two days avoiding the memory, but she was beginning to recall the scene of the accident and the events leading up to it. Frantically, she reached out to tug on her brother’s shirt as she demanded, “W-Where’s Tony? How is he?”
Gideon stiffened at the mention of Tony’s name and his gaze darkened considerably. “You don’t have to concern yourself with others. All you need to do now is rest.”
Upon seeing the angry look in his eyes, she panicked and a flurry of words tumbled out of her mouth as she babbled, “Gideon, you have to understand—I was so blinded with rage that I crashed my car into his. Was he hurt badly? Did I cause trouble again for the family?”
She had, in actual fact, left a huge mess for the Walton Family to clear up, but the rage in Gideon melted when he saw how vulnerable and pitiful she looked.
Conversely, the Hart Family was becoming a huge thorn on his side after this incident.
He was consumed by pent-up resentment. Back in the day, the effort he had invested to build up Hartwell Group was no less than Tony’s, but despite their partnership, the latter had only given him one-tenth of the company shares and assets. Gemma, on the other hand, had devoted herself to Tony, only to be sidelined by a woman he had only met a few months ago and now, the Hart Family was keeping the Walton Family from thriving in Bradfort City because of the same woman.
With these in mind, Gideon bit out icily, “What good is there for you to bring him up? Haven’t you already suffered enough from all the injuries?”
Gemma choked, her sobs dying down as she stammered, “What are you saying, Gideon? Was Tony badly hurt?”
He snorted. “How badly hurt could he be? He’s going to be discharged in a couple of days.”
She looked at him incredulously. “You’re lying to me! If he isn’t gravely injured, then why hasn’t he visited me? I—” She broke off as she recalled how serious her own injuries were, and at the thought of the garish scars that marked her face, she grew hysterical once more. “No, no, no! He can’t visit me at all—not while I look hideous! He’s only going to sneer at me and abandon me out of disgust!”
Seeing Gemma like this, Gideon felt his chest tightening with fury as he shouted, “Don’t you see, Gemma? Tony doesn’t like you at all! He likes Myra! The only reason why we wanted you to marry him in the first place was because it was a chance for both our families to arrive at a win-win situation, but who could have thought that he was such a tasteless b*stard?”
As far as he was concerned, Gemma was a hundred times better than Myra, but for some twisted reason, that despicable man had fallen head-over-heels for the latter instead. A seething Gideon mentioned with an air of finality, “I’ve already discussed this with Mom, Dad and Grandpa. You’ll be leaving Bradfort City to get the treatment you need and once you’ve recovered, they’ll introduce a new man to you.”
Judging from the way things had turned out, they could no longer rely on their initial plans to marry Gemma off into the Hart Family in order to establish themselves in the city. Gideon was forced to come up with another plan and fortunately, they had another way out. At that thought, a sinister gleam shone in his eyes.
“What do you mean, Gideon? Are you asking me to give up on Tony by making me leave Bradfort City for medical treatment?” She gaped at her brother in shock and when she pieced everything together, she pushed him aside and shrieked, “I won’t go! I refuse to leave! Has the best doctor flown in—I demand to be treated here in Bradfort City!”
“Be reasonable, Gemma!” Gideon ordered tersely, raising his voice.
“Tell me the truth. Why are you all making me leave Bradfort City?” At first, she had believed that her family was worried about her condition and state of mind when they made the decision to send her abroad for treatment. But, if they’re going to ask for the best doctor, why won’t they just fly him in? Why is my family sending me away instead of letting me stay with them?
“Mom will go with you so that she can take care of you. Once you leave this place, you can finally get a peace of mind and forget about Tony. That man isn’t worth your heartache,” he explained with forced patience.
“Is there something going on that I don’t know about? Has Tony married that wretched woman?” Gemma asked and her heart clenched with panic at that thought. “No! That can’t be! Gideon, you have to help me! I must marry Tony—I’m the only woman who has the right to marry him!”
“That’s enough!” Gideon snapped and in one swift move, he carried her over to the bed while she thrashed maniacally. Meanwhile, the doctors whom Kris had called upon were running over to the room. Seeing as Gemma was still struggling to escape, Gideon turned to address the doctors in exhaustion, “Give her a sedative.”
