William put away his phone and turned around with a smile on his face after ending the call with Marcus. Valeria could tell from his expression that he had once again made a move on his enemy.
“You have planned something fishy, am I right?”
“No, not at all! Does your husband look like that?” William held her in his arms and asked further, “What sneaky plan have you come up with Bobby just now?”
“Nothing much.”
William pinched her face and said, “Are you keeping a secret from me? Tell me the truth before I unleash my ultimate weapon!”
“I told him to buy some earplugs from you. You shall put them on whenever you head out to meet with unfamiliar people. We have to take precautionary measures accordingly!”
“Wow, my wife is relatively smart, isn’t she?” William instantly knew the rationale behind it.
“Of course. I need to be on the same page with you as your beloved wife, right?” Valeria asked back confidently.
“You’re not being humble at all! Didn’t Abbie commented on your foolishness just a few moments ago?” William mocked her.
Valeria glared at him and said, “How dare you! Do you think you ought to be punished by me?”
“No, not at all! I would not dare to challenge my wife!” William held her in his arms and continued, “Sweetheart, it’s getting late. You shall call it a day!”
He placed her on the bed and knelt down to take off her hoes. He then tucked her into bed before squeezing into the blanket and hugged her in his arms.
Valeria nestled in his arms and contentedly closed her eyes. He then lowered his head and gave her a kiss. “Good night, my love! Sweet dreams!”
Raelyn and Devon were still at the hospital and were feeling furious upon seeing the scandal of Talitha and Hardy.
They were extremely displeased and humiliated by this piece of news. Devon lost his temper on Raelyn for the very first time and roared, “How did you manage to raise your daughter into this way? I am feeling ashamed!”
Raelyn was also feeling upset and gave Talitha a call, “You messed up again this time!”
“Mother, I know I’m at fault! I’m sorry!” Talitha had only intended to extract some footage and pictures to prove her relationship with Hardy as a couple. She did not expect the internet to be exploded with the uncensored version footage of them.
It was beyond her control and she then decided to act like the victim. She sobbed and threw Hardy under the bus, “He invited me for dinner and confessed his feelings to me. I then…”
“Shut up! How could it be possible for him to be interested in you?” Raelyn retorted as she knew that it would be a joke had Hardy caught feelings for her.
How could he have attempted to get rid of Natasya if he really adores Talitha? How could I still be well respected if this scandal were to be well known by others? Raelyn thought to herself and was feeling upset by Talitha’s rash behavior.
“You little jerk, your father and I are extremely humiliated by this scandal of yours. Have you put yourself in our shoes and thought things through?”
Talitha was not bothered by it and replied, “It’s fine, I can always tell him to be accountable for what he has done to me…”
“Have you gone mad? How is it possible for him to accept you when this scandal had just burst out? It would be a miracle if he decides to be on the same team with you.”
“Do you have any better ideas then? We do look like we are in the same boat. I can’t let things slide just that easily…” Talitha pretended to cry as she clearly knew what mess has she gotten herself into.
“Mom, the only solution is to marry him as things have turned out this way. You shall pay him a visit and persuade him!”
“What? Are you telling me that he will accept you as his girlfriend and wants me to pull some strings for you? Don’t you think that you are being unreasonable?”
“No, I am determined to marry him! Mom, you must come up with something before I lost the will to live any longer!” Talitha decided to throw a tantrum.
“How… how did I raise such a daughter like you…” Raelyn puffed in anger.
“Ahem!” Natasya, who had been in a coma for nearly twenty hours had finally made a sound.
Devon quickly jogged to the bedside and said, “Natasya! Natasya!”
Her eyes gradually opened and Raelyn immediately hung up the phone to check on her. “Natasya, are you awake? You have scared the life out of me!”
Her face was as pale as a ghost. She replied in a fragile voice, “Mom!”
“I’m here for you, darling! Are you feeling uncomfortable? How about I call a doctor to check things out for you?” Raelyn swiftly offered.
“My… my whole body… is aching… It hurts so bad…” Natasya had a painful look on her face. Devon pressed the bell and a doctor rushed over immediately.
The doctor examined her and said, “This is a normal reaction as the anesthesia medication has worn out.”
“Is there any way to relieve her pain?” Raelyn was heartbroken upon seeing her daughter in a suffered state.
“We can inject her with some painkillers but it’s not good if one consumes too much of it,” The doctor reminded them.
“Let’s give her a shot for now!” Raelyn made the decision as she wanted to make Natasya feel better. The doctor obeyed her instruction and gave her the first jab. Natasya then lost consciousness and gradually fell asleep once again.
Both Raelyn and Devon let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Natasya waking up after a long wait. They had, however, forgotten about Talitha’s scandal as they were too occupied with Natasya’s condition.
“Honey, Natasya has finally woken up, which means that she has survived through the critical period. What are you planning to do next?”
Devon thought for a moment and replied, “We need to come up with a plan to visit William.”
“It will be a difficult task as the Howard family would definitely not give us the green light,” Raelyn signed.
“Don’t worry. If there is a will, there is a way.” Devon said while glanced at Natasya, who was soundly asleep.
“By the way, honey, didn’t you say that you have come up with something just now? What is it then?”
Devon paced towards the door of the ward and peeped out. It was late at night and he confirmed that there was no one outside to eavesdrop on them. He lowered his voice and said, “I plan to instruct Natasya in rearing the vermin to keep William under control!”
“What?” Raelyn was stunned upon hearing about it.
“Yes, you heard me. My family with the name of Waber has passed down to generations of rearing vermins. It is generally used by women to control their partners. We did not get William under full control as we did some mistakes during the drugging process. We are now left with no choice but to rear vermin in hopes to win him over.”
“But… will it work?” Raelyn was not convinced by this idea.
“Let’s try our best! We will reap the rewards should the plan succeed. In contrast, we would not suffer any losses if the plan turns out to be unworkable.”
Hardy was feeling anxious throughout the night ever since the scandal broke out. He had been keeping an eye on the news charts for the latest updates. He had also called Bevan a few times and instructed him to keep the scandal under control.
Their efforts gradually began to show a positive result due to the hard work of the public relations department of Acma Corporation. It had also cost them a fortune to ease things out further.
Hardy finally let out a sigh of relief and crumbled on the bed.
He knew that he needed to deal with the aftermath tomorrow. Hence, he decided to call it a day as he was feeling exhausted after a long night.
He was shortly disturbed by a phone call after resting for a mere ten minutes. It was a call from Bevan, “Mr. Anthony, I have bad news for you once again. Our company and the entrance of our hotel have been covered with discreet pictures from the scandal.”
“What?” Hardy immediately sat up upon hearing about it.
“Besides, the whole area is also full of it. What should we do now?”
Hardy gritted his teeth and questioned, “Who is behind this?”