When Mrs. Lynch heard that, she flushed before turning pale. She glared at Zoey when she thought no one could see her, but unfortunately, her eyes met Leo's after she had glared at Zoey. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the knowing look in Leo's eyes.
Zoey commented causally, "Look, Leo, she isn't sincere about apologizing at all."
Leo stroked Zoey's face, "Hm... it's okay. It doesn't matter to us anyway." In the next second, he changed the topic, "Are you off work already? I want to bring you and our kids for a sumptuous meal. I couldn't find time previously, because of work."
Zoey turned to look at Dr. Ziegler for the answer.
Dr. Ziegler was happy to finally have the opportunity to talk to Leo. He was about to speak when Mrs. Lynch started barking like a dog in the corridor.
The atmosphere from the crowd was subdued as they watched Mrs. Lynch bark like a dog. It was only a moment before that that Mrs. Lynch was behaving so arrogantly and acting in a high-handed manner. Now, she was on all fours and barking like a dog. She had no dignity or pride as a human being at all.
Xavier felt completely humiliated as he watched his mother-in -law crawling about on the floor, barking. Yet, there was nothing he could do about it because of Leo. His eyes quickly did a sweep around the area, fearful that there might be reporters around. His reputation would be in tatters if there was a reporter on scene that had taken photographs. By then, he would become the talk of the town - a man who coldly watched on the sideline as his mother-in-law barked like a dog on all fours. They would probably also gossip about the possibility of a sour relationship between him and his wife, which would have led to his indifference about his mother-in -law's barking episode. This would be a completely opposite reality compared to the loving and doting husband image that he had painstakingly built.
"Mr. Yancey, is this enough? My mother is advanced in years, and it wouldn't do her any good to be on her knees for a long period of time. If her kneecaps are hurt from the floor's chilliness, she may develop rheumatism and will have to suffer more." Xavier finally spoke up when he saw the crowd had gotten more excited as Mrs.
Lynch's barking got louder.
Leo turned towards Zoey, "Are you still angry?"
"Not anymore." Zoey answered.
With Zoey's reply, Xavier hurriedly helped Mrs. Lynch to her feet and asked, "Mom, are you alright?" Because of the crowd surrounding them, he had to keep up with his image of a perfect son-in-law, even if he felt like slapping Mrs. Lynch for the scene she had caused.
Mrs. Lynch was touched when she saw the concern in Xavier's eyes. She choked up with emotions as she held his hand tightly, "Xavier, you must..."
Xavier interrupted Mrs. Lynch gently, "That's enough, Mom. I believe Mr. Yancey is a generous man. He won't pursue this any further. You have to stop being so rash as well. It's alright if my reputation is damaged, but you shouldn't involve Miss Fuller
and dragged her reputation down."
Mrs. Lynch was still feeling resentful towards Zoey, but knew that she could not do anything for the time being, as Zoey had Leo to back her up. And so, she reluctantly said, "Alright, I know what to do."
"Mom, have you dealt with her?" A feeble and mean female voice rang out. The crowd turned their heads towards the source of the voice and saw Stella walking slowly out of her hospital room with a hand holding her wound. When she saw the people crowding around the area, Stella believed that Zoey must have been humiliated by her mother publicly. This made her very happy. She would be even happier if she could witness how Zoey looked now. With this, she was about to ask the crowd to make a path for her to go through when the crowd parted on their own even before she could even ask.
The smile on her face vanished when she saw Leo standing next to Zoey.
...
Stella was shocked to see Leo in the hospital. Not only was Leo here, he was standing next to Zoey and even had his arm wrapped around her waist. Stella was perplexed by what she saw.
"Mom, Xavier... you're here." Stella turned pale when she saw Xavier standing next to Mrs. Lynch. The presence of Xavier confused her further, as she wondered if Xavier was called here by Zoey or Leo. Her pace slowed as she tried to clear her mind.
Mrs. Lynch really cared for Stella and so, even though she had just been humiliated a while ago, she hurried over to Stella in a bid to stop her from saying things that could aggravate the situation, "Let me help you back to your room, Stella."
Stella went along with Mrs. Lynch, as she was still confused about what she was seeing. Since Leo was around, she thought she should ask her mother when they were alone.
But Zoey spoke up at this moment, "Hold on, Mrs. Lewis."
Stella stopped in her tracks and anger flashed on her face. She was about to turn around and lash out at Zoey when her mother squeezed her arm tightly. Mrs. Lynch whispered, "Stella, keep your cool. Mr. Leo is still standing next to her."
Leo was way above their league and was not someone they could afford to offend in the slightest. Stella stiffened and swallowed the lashing she was about to deliver to Zoey. She would never have the courage to offend Leo.
Stella forced herself to calm down as she politely asked, "Miss Fuller, what can I do for you?"
Zoey lifted her chin in Xavier's direction as she replied to Stella, "Didn't you claim that I'm having an affair with Mr. Lewis? Now that your husband is here, you can ask him yourself."
As Zoey spoke, Stella could sense two pairs of frosty stares on her. One belonged to Xavier and the other... She raised her head carefully and unintentionally met the dark, unfathomable eyes of Leo. Stella shivered uncontrollably as her legs turned to jelly. Leo was a notorious, ruthless fiend who showed no mercy to those who angered him. The people who did anger him had all ended up losing everything that they had. In addition, they were also either seriously injured or dead.
Stella forced a smile, "Miss Fuller, you must be joking. Why would I say something like that? Your relationship with my husband ended six years ago. You're not a person to take someone back after ending a relationship and so, there's no way this old love can be revived again, isn't it?"
There was a smirk on Zoey's face as she pointed to the surveillance cameras around, "That's not what you had said earlier. There are surveillance cameras around here, and I have the footage as evidence. I believe the director will not mind retrieving the footage for me."
Stella heaved a sigh of relief. There were only surveillance cameras along the corridors, not in her room. Zoey couldn't do anything to her, even if she retrieved
the footage.
As though she knew what Stella's thoughts were, Zoey took out her phone and tapped lightly on the screen. Soon, an audio file recording was playing and Stella's voice resounded through the area. It was a recording of what Stella had said to Zoey in her hospital room.
"You recorded our conversation?" Stella shrieked, clearly forgotten that Leo was still around. She was horrified that Zoey had secretly recorded their conversation.
"Of course I did. Otherwise, what else can I use as evidence?" Zoey said smugly as she waved her phone in Stella's face.
Stella was about to lurch for Zoey's phone when the latter purposely turned and leaned into Leo's arms. Pretending to be afraid, she whimpered, "Leo, I'm afraid of her!"
Leo took the chance to hug Zoey tightly. He swept his icy gaze towards Stella as he assured Zoey tenderly, "I'm here. There's nothing to be afraid of."
Stella froze when Leo looked at her. Her blood ran cold in her veins. Her lips started to quiver, and her mind went blank.