Hardy was stunned for a moment and asked, “What are you talking about?”
“It’s about you and Talitha having dinner together and… doing things in the car,” Bevan awkwardly answered him.
“What?” Hardy was about to go bonkers and raised his voice, “Hurry up and get it under control!”
“I’ve arranged things accordingly, but the news has spread too quickly. The public was utterly shocked as you have always been free from scandal,” Bevan explained.
“I…” Hardy wanted to curse but choked on his words. He was aware of the things that he had done in the car with Talitha just now. He raised his voice upon thinking about the pictures having spread madly on the internet, “Do everything within your capacity and have it settled!”
Paisley was shocked upon seeing him losing his temper and asked, “Hardy, is anything wrong?”
Hardy ignored her and swiftly locked himself in his room upstairs. He switched on his phone and found that his scandal had indeed made into the headlines of all major news websites.
The photos and footage were captured in high definition and their faces were as clear as day.
He never expected to make a fool out of himself. He was extremely upset upon reading the comments as they were as vicious as a sharp knife piercing through his heart.
The public had mocked him that he could only last for five minutes and nicknamed him Mr. Five Minutes.
“Damn it!” Hardy cursed while fuming with anger as he was deeply humiliated. He knew that his image has been greatly ruined.
He almost broke down seeing there were also strangers on the internet criticizing him besides his enemies.
He then picked up his phone and called Bevan, “Find out who started it! That f*king son of a b*tch! How dare he do this to me!”
Bevan replied stiffly, “Mr. Anthony, we have no idea about it as the scandal emerged within the same time across all websites. Someone must be messing with you!”
“Who is it then? Perhaps William is the one behind it?” Hardy raised his voice and continued, “Didn’t he just return home but had lost his memory? How is it possible for him to make a move against me in such a short period of time?”
“Although he is suffering from amnesia, it does not mean that his men had also forgotten about the past. It might have been done by the Wolf Group with the name of Marcus. Richard could be a suspect as well.” Bevan suggested.
“F*ck!” Hardy swore and continued, “It’s all because of Talitha, that b*tch! My reputation has been greatly shattered by her.”
The scandal had spread as quick as lightning and both William and Valeria were enjoying the show.
He burst into laughter upon reading the comments of ugly names being given to Hardy.
“His scandal would be known by the entire world that’s for sure!”
Bobby nodded with a smile and said, “You’re right, his first impression would always be Mr. Five Minutes from now onwards. Sir William, you are indeed brilliant. This scandal would not have exploded on the internet if you did not instruct our men to follow them.”
William laughed merrily and said, “Hardy wanted to get rid of me but I only made him famous as my payback. I do think that I have a big heart!”
“Honey, you would have to give Talitha some credit too. It would not have been this juicy if it weren’t for her,” Valeria grinned and chipped in.
“You’re right, as Talitha is not as innocent as we think she is. I did not expect her to plot against him.”
“Why would she do this then?” Bobby asked with a surprised look on his face.
“She wants the spotlight. Hardy is not interested in her, right? I reckon that she learned this trick from the movies to become his girlfriend,” William shook his head and explained. She wanted to use this opportunity to push Hardy into a corner and he would be forced to accept her due to public pressure.
“She did a despicable move. Hardy would have accepted her if the Saunders family did not turn their backs against her entire family. Hence, it is a failed plan as he is well aware that Devon and Raelyn aren’t as powerful and influential as before due to the lack of support from the Saunders Family.”
“Are you saying that it is game over for Talitha as well?”
“Well, it all now depends on Hardy. Judging by his ruthless personality of attempting to get rid of me, he must have some ulterior motive to be with a woman that he is not in love with. I reckon that he will take advantage of this situation and go with the flow. Let’s see whether the Anderson Family are smart enough to gauge his moves.”
Bobby questioned with a shocking look on his face, “What would he want from Talitha?”
“Of course it would be getting ahold of my information.” William sneered and continued, “I have to obtain the antidote as soon as possible. Otherwise, I would be in deep trouble if he decides to use my weakness against me.”
Bobby was feeling worried upon hearing about it. Although he was never met with the situation before, Silas had told him that William would suffer from a severe headache upon hearing Valeria’s name. He needed to rush his men at Kenoland to expedite things.
Valeria was also feeling anxious upon hearing the conversation between Bobby and William. She knew that Hardy would not let such a perfect opportunity go to dust judging by his ruthless and vicious personality. She needed to come up with a way to prevent it from happening.
Valeria frowned and began to come up with all possible ideas. William would be fine as long as her name was not being heard.
Her eyes suddenly lit up as she has thought of a way.
William can wear earplugs whenever going out and about especially when dealing with Hardy. He is then unable to hear my name and would not suffer from a headache, right? Valeria thought to herself.
William was talking with Marcus through a phone call. Valeria signaled Bobby to head outside of the ward and suggested, “You shall arrange your men to buy earplugs for William. He can wear it whenever he goes out for business. We can then avoid tragedy from happening should Hardy’s men deliberately call out my name.”
“Ms. Valeria, you are indeed brilliant. I will have it settled at this instance.” Bobby was genuinely amazed by her proposed idea.
Valeria sighed and said, “This is the best idea that I could think of for now. We still need to get ahold of the antidote as soon as we can!”
“Don’t worry, Valeria. We will obtain it eventually.” Bobby comforted her.
William was instructing Marcus about the plans he had in store for Hardy, “Do continue to hype up the scandal and spread the uncensored version of the footage. We did capture quite a few numbers of pictures, right? Get it printed and distribute them around the area. It would be better if you can cover the entire area of Acma Corporation’s hotel with the pictures from the scandal.”
Marcus immediately agreed, “I’m sure that Hardy would be utterly shocked by tomorrow morning.”
William sneered and said, “This is just the starting point. In addition to that, do arrange for their picture to be printed on the front area of the T-shirt. The back of it shall be printed with the phrase “consume the sacred medication and say goodbye to Mr. Five Minutes”. The finished product shall then be distributed at the construction site, wet market, as well as the marathon venue. I’m sure that Hardy would be as famous as a celebrity soon due to the excessive advertising.”
Marcus laughed so hard until his stomach hurts and said, “Mr. Howard, you are indeed amazing! I’ll have it done right now!”