Chapter 132 A Meeting
Oscar held Amelia’s waist as they left the staircase. As they exited, they ran into an oncoming Elizabeth.
When she noticed their intimate posture, Elizabeth did a double-take before taking a few breaths and walking up to them.
“Oscar, didn’t you tell Cassie that you had something on at work? I didn’t expect to see you here having such a public display of affection in the hospital,” said Elizabeth sarcastically.
Oscar kept on a straight face as he replied, “Mrs. Yard, Amelia’s here for a checkup. As her husband, I can’t leave her alone. I told Cassie that I had work because I didn’t want her to overthink anything. Cassie has you to care for her and when I’m done here I actually have to get back to the company anyway. I’m really busy with work. I think you should understand that, right?”
Elizabeth nodded. “If you’re busy with work, I understand and support you. If a man only knows how to flirt with women all day, I’ll really look down on him.”
She paused, then changed the topic. “But Oscar, since you’ve rekindled your relationship with Cassie, I want you to treat her sincerely. I don’t want you lying to both parties. Right now she’s only known as a mistress. You used to be a couple and even grew up together. You shouldn’t lie to her no matter what.”
Oscar’s expression darkened.
Amelia glanced at Oscar then replied, “Mrs. Yard, Oscar and I are legally married. Is there anything wrong with my husband accompanying me to my checkup? They were indeed a couple in the past, but don’t forget that it was Cassie who gave him up first. I’m his wife now. You’re criticizing him as if he’s some heartless traitor, but I’m sure Oscar doesn’t actually have to take responsibility for Ms. Yard. To put it bluntly, we don’t even know who’s the father of Ms. Yard’s child, right?”
Elizabeth’s expression changed, although she was now less agitated.
“Ms. Winters, both you and your friend are indeed from poor backgrounds. You both speak so ignorantly, making me wonder if you’re even educated. Are you suggesting that Cassie cheated on Oscar by saying that her child is not his?”
Amelia was taken aback. She really did not properly think through whatever she had just said.
Oscar gently squeezed her waist before Amelia snapped out of it and composed herself.
Amelia said, “I didn’t mean it that way, Mrs. Yard. But if you think that your daughter has been having an affair with another man, then I’ve nothing else to say.”
Elizabeth laughed coldly.
Oscar tightened his hold on Amelia’s waist. “Mrs. Yard, our baby is getting hungry. I’ll take Amelia to get some food first. Please take care of Cassie. I’ll come back to the hospital tonight.”
Elizabeth stopped him in his tracks. “Oscar, tell me the truth. Are you going to marry Cassie?”
Oscar furrowed his brows.
Amelia replied, “Mrs. Yard, even if you did watch Oscar grow up, do you really think it’s appropriate to say such a thing in front of his wife? If Ms. Yard is willing to be a mistress, I’ll just bear with it. But you’re really taking it a bit too far by urging him to divorce me.”
However, Elizabeth only kept her eyes on Oscar. “Oscar, I’m waiting for your answer.”
“Mrs. Yard, my wife is about to give birth. I can’t divorce her for both legal and moral reasons.”
Simply put, Oscar was not going to divorce Amelia anytime soon. Cassie could only bear with it for the time being. On top of that, nothing was certain in the future.
His answer was very ambiguous.
Elizabeth became increasingly upset.
“Oscar, Cassie aborted the child because of you. But it looks like you won’t lose anything since you have both a wife and a child soon. Is Cassie just one of your little playthings?” asked Elizabeth with a sneer.
Oscar frowned.
“Mrs. Yard, Oscar’s not an ungrateful person. He’s always been trying to find a balance in this love triangle. Ms. Yard gave up previously then decided to interfere in our relationship again, so she inevitably became a mistress. I’m the one who has been hurt the most all this time. When it comes to giving criticisms, I think I should be the one to do it.”
Although Amelia had spoken calmly and had kept on a straight face, you could hear the seriousness in her words.
Elizabeth was stunned. Indeed, her daughter was the one in the wrong. Not considering when she jilted Oscar four or five years ago, she was still a mistress this time, imposing on their marriage.
“Ms. Yard has always presented herself as the victim, but I’m the person who actually has been hurt the most in the whole fiesta. I have no idea why you think you can simply criticize Oscar like that and order me to get a divorce. I just want the best for my child and me. Am I doing anything wrong?”
Amelia’s words were starting to become aggressive.
The facial expressions on Mrs. Yard had changed by now.
Oscar hugged Amelia possessively and said, “I’ll take Amelia to get some food first. I’ll be back at night.”
Although Elizabeth still looked unhappy, she still nodded.
As she watched them leave, Elizabeth glowered. She gritted her teeth and retrieved her phone to make a call. When the call connected, she said, “Mr. Hisson, have you decided whether or not to terminate the contract with Tiffany?”
After the person on the other end replied, she continued, “She’s just a best-selling author. Your company is big. I’m sure there are many more authors like her under your management. As long as you agree to terminate the contract, Yard Group will invest in your project. All you have to do is to lose an author and win the support of Yard Group. You’re a smart man. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you if it’s worth it.”
After the other party responded, Elizabeth became upset. “Are you looking down on Yard Group? Although we’re not the best, we’re not weak either. I hope you’ll consider this carefully. Don’t lose out just because of an insignificant author.”
Another response later, Elizabeth remained unhappy. “You seem to be asking for a lot, don’t you think?”
Another pause later, she replied, “I’ve always thought you were a smart man. I didn’t expect that you would give up on your own interests just for an author. Are you sure your company’s not actually a charitable organization?”
The person spoke again before Elizabeth said, “I advise you not to be so impulsive. If you offend the Yards, your company won’t go away unscathed. Is it really worth doing this?”
The person on the line spoke for a long time. Then, Elizabeth’s expression brightened up. She smiled and replied, “You’re a smart man indeed. As long as you give up on Tiffany, providing you with investment is not an issue. Although there’ll be less profit if we invest in publishing, our company has been testing the waters in this market for the past two years. So in response to what you just said, I agree on behalf of my company.”
The other party replied before Elizabeth spoke again. “I believe we’ve struck a deal on this. I hope you will give me a satisfactory answer. After all, only a fool would be willing to offend the Yard family over a small author.”
After she hung up, Elizabeth smirked. “Tiffany, weren’t you good at picking fights? Since you humiliated me yesterday, I won’t let you live peacefully. There’s more to the Yard family than just a name.”
At the same time, Tiffany, who had rushed through the night to finish her manuscript, was sleeping soundly in bed. Her phone rang loudly, sounding as if it were coming after her life, forcing Tiffany to drag herself out of bed.
She felt around for her phone, and without looking at the screen, she answered the call. Her voice was small and sounded like a baby. “I don’t care who you are, you’d better have something urgent to tell me. If not, I won’t let you die a peaceful death since you’ve interrupted my sleep!”
Although she sounded like a child, her words carried no hint of innocence at all.
“Oh my god, why are you still asleep at this time? Hurry up and come over to the company. The boss says he wants to terminate your contract,” replied her editor anxiously. Tiffany was the best-selling author who she managed. Without Tiffany, her editor could be out of work. Moreover, they had been working together quite well all these years. Although Tiffany sometimes submitted her manuscripts late, she was still a very competent author compared to the others and was considered highly productive.
Tiffany suddenly became alert. Her hands shook, not in fear, but anger and confusion.
Tiffany had been working with her current company for two to three years. She started off being criticized for every little thing. Slowly, she gained more recognition for her writing and her books started to sell quite well. She eventually managed to get her books on the best-selling novels list. Basically, her company and editor were the ones who watched her grow from a small novelist to the best-selling author that she currently was. However, they wanted to terminate her contract out of a sudden. This was a big blow to her.
“Why? Give me a reason.” Tiffany thought of a thousand things to say but only managed to get that one sentence out.
Her editor was restless. “Stop asking questions. Just hurry and wash up then come over to the company. I’ve no time to explain so much to you now.”
When the call ended, Tiffany felt very uneasy but still washed up as quickly as she could, changed into some clean clothes, then headed out the door.
After almost an hour, she arrived at the company.
Her editor had been waiting for her at the entrance.
“You’re finally here. Hurry, let’s go up. Don’t become too agitated when you see Mr. Hisson later. You know he’d always been taking good care of you. Just talk things out properly and try your best to keep your contract with the company. You’re a best-selling author, so it’s a huge loss to the company if they stop working with you. There should be some misunderstanding here,” her editor rattled on and on.
Tiffany replied with a straight face, “I want to know what’s going on too. I’ve always been working well with the company so I want to hear an explanation from Mr. Hisson. Otherwise, it’s not simply about terminating a contract anymore. Although I don’t have any riches or connections, I got to where I am today all because of my hard work. I won’t allow the company to treat me like a toy, forcing me to terminate the contract for no reason.”
Her editor was getting increasingly concerned. “You’d better keep calm when you meet him and hold your temper. If you really get into an argument then it would be hard to mend the relationship.”
Tiffany took in a deep breath and replied, “Shannon, I know that. I’ll control my temper. But if the company insists on terminating the contract, I don’t know if I can continue to keep it in. After all, no one likes being someone else’s toy and having to accept whatever that was thrown at them.”
The editor kept silent after that.
The pair then took the elevator up. Outside the office, the editor knocked on the door. A pleasant male voice came from inside the room.
The editor glanced at Tiffany and whispered, “Remember to speak calmly and don’t get too agitated, okay?”
Tiffany took a breath and composed herself. When she was ready, she gave her editor an OK gesture.
