The women who were closest to the scuffle began to shriek in alarm and the whole room descended into chaos.
Myra and Estelle were about to make their way over when Tony and Shawn held them back. While there was no harm for Estelle to scope out the melee, Myra was in a far more precarious situation. After all, she was pregnant and it wasn’t ideal for her to risk getting bumped into by someone else.
At the thought that she was now a pregnant woman, Myra sighed in frustration and stood in place obediently.
Meanwhile, Elliot, Philip and the others had sauntered over to the scene of the ruckus. They appeared to be mitigating the fight but from what Myra heard, they sounded as though they were spurring them on backhandedly.
“Come on; aren’t we all friends here? You might even end up as business partners in the future. I’m sure you could talk things out. Besides, Mr. Fuller might just be a good friend of Miss Stark’s and he was probably acting out of instinct when he caught her as she fainted. Don’t read too much into it, Director Walton,” Lucas said, smiling pleasantly as he looked at Hayden and Gideon. He spoke mildly and there was no telling whether he had deliberately emphasized ‘a good friend’ when he spoke up on Hayden’s behalf.
“Exactly! Miss Stark has grown up in Bradfort City, so it’s no surprise that she has a lot of friends in the business circle. I’m sure no one is crossing any lines here, Director Walton,” Elliot chimed in earnestly as he nodded in agreement.
“A good friend of hers?” Gideon repeated this incredulously, his fists clenching tightly at his sides as he glowered at the man who was currently being held back. “Well, then. I’m afraid I’ll have to ask her ‘good friend’ to leave the party. The Walton Family does not welcome you.”
The vein in Hayden’s forehead pulsated and after he heard the conversation between Gideon and the other man, the rage he had been repressing finally exploded. He was the younger son of the Fuller Family and on paper, that meant he could live the rest of his life carefree. However, he knew deep down that he could never have any authority over Fuller Corporation because he was not Madam Fuller’s biological son and instead belonged to his father’s secret lover. The latter had only given birth to him so she could dethrone Madam Fuller but having failed to do so, she ended up losing Hayden as well and eventually her depression rendered her into a shell of a person. He gritted his teeth as he thought bitterly, I can give up Fuller Corporation but why should I have to hide my relationship with Kris like it’s some dirty secret?
Hatred burned in his eyes when he heard that he was being described as ‘a good friend of Kris’ while Gideon could call himself her fiancé. Suddenly, Hayden tore away from the two men who held him back and hurled his fist at Gideon, cracking his knuckles against the latter’s face.
“I’m not just a friend of hers! I’m her boyfriend and her fiancée!” he roared and the guests around them caught every word.
A hush descended upon the crowd as his words lingered in the air, but it wasn’t long before frenzied whispering began among the guests.
“So Hayden has been Kris’ boyfriend all along! Isn’t he the younger son of the Fuller Family? Oh, my! I thought she’s engaged to Director Walton. I even heard her say that she was the reason why the Walton Family are willing to make up the losses for the Green Palms Project! My goodness; this is—”
“There’s nothing surprising about this. She’s been with Hayden since before Director Walton showed up. It wasn’t that long ago when I saw them together, so who knows if they ever truly broke up?”
“But what about the Walton Family? How could Kris do something like this?”
Everyone around them might be muttering under their breaths, but Gideon heard them despite having just been punched. Shelly, too, had heard the whispers as she ran toward the scene of the scuffle.
As soon as she heard what the others were saying, a loud ringing sounded in her ears and she felt as if her mind had imploded.
She stared in disbelief at the scene before her.
Her son’s lip had been split where he was punched and instead of lying on the floor, Kris was currently in the arms of another man whom Shelly did not know.
She was starting to piece everything together—as it turned out, Kris was having an affair with another man while dating Gideon. And that man punched my son in front of everybody at our banquet! How dare he humiliate us like this?
“I’d like to see just what tricks this wretched girl has up her sleeve!” Shelly’s rage was at its peak as she disregarded all decorum and bent down to wrap her hand around the unconscious girl’s neck.
As she did so, she slapped Kris across the face. Soon, two red handprints marked the latter’s cheeks.
Hayden’s face twisted angrily and he lunged forward to kick Shelly away.
The guests in the hall burst into an uproar at the violent display before them.
Meanwhile, when Gideon saw that his mother had been kicked, his face grew thunderous at Hayden’s audacity. Infuriated, he barreled into the man and began to wrestle with him, landing several kicks and punches in the process. This left Hayden with no choice but to lay Kris on the ground once more so that he could fight back.
Having been kicked away, Shelly saw that her son was fighting the other man. She staggered over to where Kris was and started to beat the girl up.
The chaotic sounds in the room swelled into a crescendo and while some guests were crying out in alarm, others were shouting to dissuade the parties from going on with the fight.
Suddenly, a clear and high-pitched female voice rang out from somewhere in the crowd and it cut above the rest of the noise, “Look—there’s b-blood on Kris’ dress! S-She’s bleeding!”
Everyone’s gaze fell on the woman who lay motionless on the floor like a discarded doll. Blood had indeed stained the long evening dress she wore and it ominously blossomed over the fabric like a bright, red flower.
“Oh, my God! Kris has suffered a miscarriage!” a woman with experience cried out in shock.
Upon hearing that, Gideon and Hayden stopped fighting. Even Shelly had stopped attacking the girl as the air in the hall grew thick with panic.
Presently, all the color had drained out of Kris’ face and she looked lifeless as she lay on the floor.
Frowning, Philip stepped out from among the crowd that had gathered around. He then squatted down to check on Kris. Needless to say, he knew about the woman’s condition and her pregnancy. In fact, he had known about it not long after she had found out. However, he put up a serious front and examined her, then glanced at Shelly—who was astounded—as he informed plainly, “Miss Stark is pregnant. Someone has to get her to the hospital immediately. There hasn’t been a miscarriage, but there will be if we keep dawdling.”
He did not miss the way Kris’ hand had trembled slightly as he said all this. Narrowing his eyes, he straightened up and walked away from the woman, looking as though he wanted nothing to do with her.
Gideon and Hayden did not continue their brawl now that they knew Kris was pregnant and had nearly suffered a miscarriage. The former watched as the other man carefully carried Kris in his arms before running out of the hall. A cold smirk tugged on Gideon’s lips as he thought, I see what’s going on here…
As he stood there gritting his teeth, Philip approached him and said awkwardly, “Director Walton, Miss Stark appears to be two months pregnant. She’s still in her first trimester, so she needs to be extra careful. Thankfully, she hasn’t miscarried the baby despite the blood loss, and the child should be fine. It’s your first child, isn’t it? Just make sure to take good care of Miss Stark during these three crucial months and once she has passed the first trimester, you’ll find that the risk of a miscarriage is far lower.”
He saw the way Gideon’s gaze had darkened when he mentioned ‘it’s your first child, isn’t it?’.
According to their sources, while Kris had known Gideon for some time now, both of them had been together for less than two months. As such, Gideon knew immediately that the child she was carrying could not be his.
He was outraged at the thought of this. She cheated on me and I was humiliated in front of everyone! I’ve been ripped off!
However, he knew there was no way he could say this aloud, so he was left with no choice but to swallow the bitter pill.
Shelly, on the other hand, was not one to bear the brunt in silence. After hearing what Philip had said, she shrieked, “What? Did you just say she’s two months pregnant?”
Feigning innocence, Philip nodded and answered, “Yes, Mrs. Walton. I can tell that she’s just slightly over two months pregnant.” As if! I’ve only taken a brief look and I didn’t even ask her any questions, so how in the world would I know that she’s two months pregnant at first sight? In reality, the only reason why Philip knew how far along she was in her pregnancy was because he had found out about it in advance. Sure enough, the doctor at the hospital came to the same conclusion after carrying out a thorough examination of Kris.
