Shelly had assumed that compensating the other party would be sufficient to resolve the issue, but she didn’t realize that the misdeed could possibly lead to imprisonment. She nearly fainted out of fright upon realizing the gravity of the situation.
Samuel’s eyes were dark and brooding. However, he didn’t make any promises to Shelly.
By then, Gemma realized the severity of the situation and sobbed in fright. “Grandpa, I’ve learned my lesson and I know it’s my fault! Please, Grandpa! I’m scared! Dad, Gideon, I don’t want to go to jail! Tony is completely unharmed and I don’t want to go to jail!” Gemma sobbed uncontrollably and her tears soaked through the dressing on her face. Shelly, who was next to her, couldn’t control her tears either.
“Stop all that crying! I’m well and alive here!” Feeling frustrated, Edward took another look at the live stream. Without a second thought, he switched it off with a cold expression on his face.
Gideon’s current expression was thunderous. Everyone was busy yesterday and didn’t have the time to keep an eye on Gemma, and she managed to ruin everything in one single day! Initially, we still had a relationship with the Hart Family. Although we were treading on thin ice, the Hart Family would not keep an eye on us and things were easier for everyone. However, that may not be the case now.
“Grandpa, Dad, I think the best idea right now is to get Gemma to make a public apology.” Gideon had a sinister look in his eyes while saying this.
“What? You want me to apologize? No way; I don’t want to apologize! Why should I? Why do I have to apologize each time something goes wrong?” As soon as Gemma heard that she had to apologize and it had to be a public one at that, she indignantly rejected Gideon’s suggestion without even giving it any consideration.
After apologizing to Myra previously, I couldn’t hold my head up in public for quite some time—that was such a humiliating experience. If I have to apologize publicly this time, I won’t be able to appear in public anymore because I’ll definitely be the topic of speculation wherever I go!
“Since you refuse to apologize, do you have another better idea?” Evidently, Edward had also reached the same conclusion. Upon hearing what Gemma had to say, he banged his newly-bought cane on the ground angrily, and it thudded as it hit the ground. “If you apologize, you might be able to salvage this situation but if you don’t, we’ll be stuck in this rut and the situation will only worsen. If you apologize publicly right now, even if the Hart Family eventually decides to lay charges against you, they definitely won’t be too harsh on you!”
“But—”
“There are no buts; this is my final decision!” Edward announced and he thought to himself, Ever since I returned to Bradfort City, nothing seems to be going smoothly. It’s just one bad incident after another. He had an uneasy feeling and somehow sensed that something major was about to happen. He then glanced at both his son and grandson with a somber expression and noted that their faces were equally gloomy. At this point, he felt his chest tighten out of anger. If Gemma’s actions affect our other plans, then I definitely won’t give her any more chances!
Immediately after that, Edward stomped out of the hospital room without giving Gemma and Shelly a chance to say anything.
As for Samuel, he was currently hounded by Shelly but he didn’t succeed in getting Edward to change his mind. Besides, he was quite upset with Gemma as well. After instructing Shelly to keep a rein on Gemma and teach her some manners, Samuel furiously stomped out of the room.
Gideon was the last one to leave and his expression before he left the room was quite dark too. As soon as he stepped out of the room, he suddenly stopped the two bodyguards and asked, “Did Gemma behave any differently yesterday?”
Both of them looked at each other perplexedly but they didn’t recall her doing anything out of the ordinary, so they shook their heads in unison. Gideon frowned even harder and he paused before asking, “Did she meet anyone? Did she talk to anyone at all?”
One of the bodyguards immediately replied, “Your girlfriend, Miss Kris, did pop by. Miss Gemma complained that she felt bored and wanted to talk to her so we let her into the room. Nothing else happened after that. Oh—afterward, Miss Gemma and Miss Stark, from the room in front, looked at each other from afar but nothing else happened.” Truth was, both of them were clearly aware of everything that happened today and the day before but they were just employees, so all they had to do was to complete the tasks assigned to them; everything else was none of their business.
Gideon’s face darkened slightly as soon as he heard their words. After instructing them to keep a close eye on Gemma, he turned around and walked away.
Meanwhile inside the ward, Gemma was in a foul mood. First, she had gotten the bad news of her disfigurement; then she was told that Tony was going to lay charges against her. Now, everyone was condemning her online and she was described as a horrible, evil b*tch. However, Tony and everyone else seems to be unaware that they’ve been duped by Myra’s fake façade; she’s the actual b*tch, not me!
“Mom, you must help me! Grandpa, Dad, and Gideon have all given up on me. Now that I’m disfigured, I’m no longer useful to them. Mom, you’re the only one who can help me now!” Gemma couldn’t control her trembling self and she looked on helplessly at Shelly.
Shelly had just regained her senses after that scolding from her husband and right now, all she could feel was a sense of anger and grievance. She stroked Gemma’s head tenderly and said, “Don’t you worry; I’ll definitely be on your side!”
She’s my darling girl and I’ve pampered her all my life, so no one can easily bully my daughter and get away with it! Shelly pondered over the situation and after comforting Gemma for a while, she left the room.
…
At the press conference on Tony and Myra’s end, Sebastian and Lisa were present to speak up for them as well. In the end, this press conference became more like a session for the Hart Family to publicly acknowledge Myra’s identity.
As soon as the press conference ended, Myra and Tony stood up. Some eagle-eyed members of the press noticed that despite Tony’s injured arm, he carefully held onto Myra’s hand. As for Myra, she had one hand in his while the other hand was unconsciously rubbing her belly. Since the revelation of their relationship, things had always been full of controversy between the two of them. However, those who noticed their interaction had a lightbulb moment upon seeing that.
There’s no need to care about the speculations of others because we can all tell how infatuated they are with each other. Throughout the whole press conference, Director Hart had an impassive look on his face except for when he turned to look at Miss Stark. It seems that all of his emotions are reserved solely for her and her alone; one would have to be blind to not see what was going on.
At that moment, everyone was at a loss for words as they recalled Gemma’s actions. It’s quite obvious that she’s the one who started the rumors about her and Director Hart being a couple and falsely accused Miss Stark of being the third party in their relationship. Such rumors might have its intended effect on some other man but obviously, Director Hart couldn’t care less about it, which is why she hit a dead end there. This is quite evident by the way Director Hart stood up for Miss Stark and condemned Miss Walton during our press conference earlier.
However, Tony and Myra were completely oblivious to the speculations of those around them. Right now, Myra’s felt that her feet were slightly numb after sitting down for such a long time. As such, Tony held her hand and pulled her to her feet. He then instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist before steering her toward the door.
Myra felt quite self-conscious in front of the crowd, especially with everyone holding onto video cameras or cameras, but she didn’t resist his affection. However, she couldn’t control her laughter upon seeing Sebastian’s expression as he raised his brows at her. Two days ago, he quite scornfully told me that Tony’s the only one who will jump to my rescue if I’m in trouble. However, he turned up in person today to stand up for me. Besides, he also mentioned that I’m the only person he acknowledges to take the position of his youngest granddaughter-in-law.
“What’s so funny?” Tony lightly pinched her on the waist and whispered in her ear. He suddenly lowered his head and his refreshing scent, coupled with a trace of medicinal smell, washed over Myra. Her face flushed as she mumbled, “Nothing.”
Tony raised his brows and darted in so close to her ear that he could practically nibble on it as he whispered, “I just confessed my love to you in public. How are you going to respond to that?”
“What sort of response do you want?” Myra bit on her lower lip and lifted her head as she looked at him with a pair of glimmering eyes.
All of a sudden, Tony leaned over to place his lips on hers and kissed her tenderly.
