Victoria cried until both her eyes swelled. She lifted a hand to cover her face as she watched Ethan disappear, leaving behind an empty staircase. Some time had passed before she turned to leave in a daze.
However, just as she stepped out of Ethan's villa, her red eyes suddenly flashed with a coldness. Her face was gloomy as the sky before a storm and she whipped her phone out to swiftly made a call.
...
On the other end, Ethan had booked Victoria a flight ticket at 9 a.m. the next day to San Francisco. When Secretary delivered the San Francisco villa keys to West Park, he saw a huge group of reporters outside, so he entered from the back door.
Secretary handed the keys to Victoria as he said in a heavy tone,
"Miss Victoria, these are the keys to the villa in San Francisco that CEO Ethan is handing to you. We've already prepared everything over there. CEO Ethan would like you to stay there for a period of time until things subside here before you return. He has called Miss Evelyn, and she'll accompany you to go over tomorrow. Just treat it as a relaxing vacation! CEO Ethan will send someone to fetch you tomorrow. He also told me to pass you a message that he hopes that you can think about him... If you can't let go of Johns Media, he will help you out one last time for the sake of friendship, Miss Victoria, but..."
Victoria felt herself stiffen. Gaping stunned at the keys that Secretary handed her, her face was exceptionally pale with mixed emotions. She did not reach out to take the keys for a long while.
When Secretary saw her reaction, he breathed in and then put the keys onto the table beside Victoria.
"Miss Victoria, actually, CEO Ethan has been completely worn out mentally and physically over your issues recently. I really hope that you can consider it for his sake. It's not easy to have reached this stage. CEO Ethan says he's very tired..."
"I'll go back now and I'll leave the keys here. I hope that I'll see you at the airport tomorrow morning at half-past 8 in the evening. Miss Evelyn and I will be waiting for you there!" Secretary confirmed before turning to leave the room.
Bam!
When she heard the door close, Victoria snapped back to her senses. She stared at the keys before her and her eyes instantly shifted as she clenched her hands into fists. Her face struggled with indecision.
Ethan was forcing her to choose!
Him or Johns Media?
In such a period of turmoil, Grandmother had already decided to let her take over Johns Media. If she could pull Smiths Corporation and the Martinez Corporation in, then all those shareholders would have to give in to her. Arya could forget about taking advantage of this loophole in Johns Media. Furthermore, she might even beat Arya. However, if she just left Johns Media behind, how would she know if those shareholders would rebel? When that happened, they might even need to choose a new CEO under pressure...
How can she just give up at such a time?
Victoria hesitated.
...
It seemed as if this was within Ethan's expectations. When she received Secretary's call after 9 p.m., he could not hold back the bitter smile on his face.
"CEO Ethan, Miss Evelyn and I kept waiting for Miss Victoria here. Sadly, she didn't come and the flight has taken off..." Secretary's tone was heavy on the other end as he revealed disappointment that could not be disguised.
He hesitated for a moment before suggesting,
"CEO Ethan, how about we book the next flight out? Miss Evelyn and I can personally pick her up."
Sitting before his desk, Ethan sighed. Then, he chuckled a little pained and disappointedly before he said indifferently,
"No need. I know what her answer will be. How about you two come back first? Right, please tell Evelyn to come to me."
"Miss Evelyn is right beside me, CEO Ethan. I'll let her answer the phone," Secretary answered from the other end.
"Cousin?"
Evelyn's voice sounded down. "I'm sorry. I didn't think that Victoria, she... I've always treated her like my best friend, my own sister. I don't want to argue for the sake of what friendship we had, but unexpectedly..."
"It's okay. Come over first. I have some things to say to you," Ethan said, then he hung up and shut his eyes, feeling exhausted.
...
The storm did not pass as easily as they thought. When Arya received Mia's foul-mouthed call, she realized that Victoria had still disclosed everything. In fact, the news had spread so fast that she could not stop them in time.
Her slender fingers slid across the tablet screen. Under Glory World Corporation's official network, there were already a bunch of mean discussions and they were all about her!
'The inside story of Glory World's female director Arya?'
'The truth about Arya getting expelled from the military academy?'
'Arya stealing...'
All of the unbearable headlines were incredibly eye-grabbing and harsh. She flipped open her Weibo and saw that there was already a war of words underneath. There were even questioning words...
Her beautiful face darkened a little as a sharp coldness flashed in her eyes. She could already guess who had disclosed all of these and had even hired a huge group of trolls to curse and attack her online with words.
Victoria was really pushed to the edge this time. She knew that she had something to do with this incident, yet she had still recklessly made this information public. Was she so sure that she would not be able to get hold of evidence?
She breathed in. Even though there was a melancholic sorrow that she could not suppress in her chest, she did not suffer as she had back then. Now, she could only patiently wait for the news from Detective Henry.
She massaged the space between her brows. All of a sudden, the tablet in her hand was taken away by a slender hand. She subconsciously looked up and noticed that the man had suddenly appeared by her side.
He looked down at the news on the tablet and his handsome face darkened. His eyes flashed with a shadow that could not be disguised. He turned to her, his tone calm as usual, yet it held a hint of coldness.
"Her again?"
Arya frowned. She hesitated before saying,
"Who would've so much hatred for me?"
Then, she suddenly stood up from the sofa slowly. She walked to the table to pour herself some water and drank a few gulps before continuing,
"She won't let go of me so easily, but that's good too. The hole that she dug herself would naturally be to bury herself too."
"Have you thought of a plan already?" Xavier asked softly, setting the tablet aside.
Arya inhaled and did not answer. She just drank another gulp of water and poured him a glass as well. She sat down leaning beside him and said,
"Previously, I've been getting someone to investigate it. It's been so long and it's hard to get hold of any evidence. In fact, you know what I'm worried about..."
"Worried about your father, aren't you?" He easily knew the answer.
Arya nodded. "You know, once this matter is exposed, Father will be implicated too. Back then, it was him who erased the criminal records for me. I never would've thought that Victoria would..."
She did not continue, but Xavier naturally understood what she meant.
Then, Arya said determinedly,
"So, we must investigate this matter properly. No matter how hard it is, I can't let go." She could not just keep bearing this accusation. Now, she was afraid that back at the company it would be abuzz with this.
He did not answer, but his gaze dimmed. After a while, he drank his water and his long fingers caressed the glass.
"How about you stay at home tomorrow?" He suddenly looked up and asked.
Arya fell silent for a while, then she shook her head. Her expression was calm as she answered,
"If I don't go, wouldn't it mean that I've confirmed the accusations? In fact, I can't keep hiding. I believe that one day, the truth will come to light."
As Xavier listened, he looked thoughtfully at her for a long while, then he inhaled, nodding gently. He said a little gladly,
"Missus, why have I suddenly realized that you seem to have matured quite a bit in the past few days?"
She immediately rolled her eyes at him, pursing her pink, rosebud-like lips.
"Don't keep pretending to be the adult. You're not my older brother or my father, so why do you keep lecturing me? You're just a few years older than me. How annoying!"
He did not defend himself. Instead, he chuckled and teased,
"Yesterday, you said I was good. How have I become annoying today? Are all you women so fickle?"
"I am me. I can't represent all the women of the world, so you can't just generalize." Arya glared at him, and before he could finish, she had already refuted him. Her eyes shifted as she suddenly thought about Johns Media's matter.
"Father says that Victoria might be taking over Johns Media. She unexpectedly didn't leave to seek refuge which is pretty bold."
"You should say that she has huge ambitions. You don't have to care about matters over there. Leave it to VP Liam. Now, you just have to perfect your South River project proposal. In the middle of next month, we'll wait for the government's decision. The bidding process will probably be in the last week of the next month. We'll know the exact date in another few days, so all the work needs to be done ahead of time. I'll be going to survey with them in the next few days. Come along and see if there are any other problems. Then, we'll have to hand in the papers along with the proposal you have," he said calmly, setting his cup aside.
Arya nodded.
"Mmm, don't worry. Now, all of the work is on track. In fact, it's actually almost done."
The reason they could finish so quickly was also that of his help. Otherwise, she would probably only be done with half of it.
"About all those rumours..." He still could not help but look at her with concern as he listened. Arya slowly lowered her gaze. She fell silent for a moment, then tightened her fists. Breathing in lightly, she nodded and said,
"I'm fine. Don't worry."
"Don't worry. Maybe when the truth comes to light, they'll even have to give you a public apology."
"All those don't matter. I just want to prove my innocence. I don't want to cause an uproar because of all the things in the past, and even implicate others."
She could not help but sigh and lament,
"Sometimes, wanting to live a few days of peace seems to be a kind of luxury."
As he listened, he could not help but laugh.
"How much of a storm is this? We should be grateful that we're not living in war times, though fighting and scheming between people might not be easier than fighting in a war. I can understand how you feel too."
When she heard this, she did not say anything. Instead, she lowered her head silently.
At work the next day, as expected, Arya received all sorts of weird looks from fellow colleagues on the way to work. The people who interacted with her were obviously clear-sighted, while those who stayed away looked on with doubt.
To say that she was not affected at all would be a lie, especially when she heard all of them secretly discussing her. In fact, when she logged onto Weibo, she noticed that under the official Weibo feed, the news had been blocked. She did not seem to see any negative news about her in the newspapers today either.
She breathed in and relaxed in her chair, staring plainly at the screen that had already turned blank while an indescribable warmth crossed her heart.
He had quietly handled it all for her!
...
Xavier did not go straight to the office this morning. Instead, he made a trip to Michael. There seemed to be some sort of emergency, and when he was done and went back to the office, it was already afternoon.
When they walked to the elevator, Rick suddenly asked,
"Chairman Knight, don't you want to have lunch first?"
"No need. Please send the details to VP Liam," Xavier said and walked towards the elevator. However, just as he was about to enter, he heard several employees who were waiting for the elevator, whispering.
"Do you think the thing about Director Johns is true? Even our Glory World official Weibo blocked it!"
"I don't think so. Director Johns doesn't seem like that kind of person."
"You can't really tell with something like this. It's impossible to judge one's heart from their face. I think that Director Johns has some tricks up her sleeves. Didn't you see how her relationship with Chairman Knight was so ambiguous shortly after he returned?"
...
Xavier listened to all of them and started to frown. Rick cleared his throat, and then everyone snapped back. When they saw Xavier standing behind them, their expressions changed drastically. They quickly said in a panic —
"Hello, Chairman Knight... We... We were just talking nonsense..."
"Chairman Knight, please..."
Xavier's mysterious eyes shot them a cold look. Before they could finish, he already said indifferently to Rick,
"Ask them to go to the finance department to settle their wages. They don't have to come to work tomorrow."
Then, he walked right into the elevator, leaving behind a cold air.
The few of them widened their eyes and only reacted after a while, yet the elevator door had closed.
Rick looked at them sharply too and reprimanded,
"Didn't the company already ban discussions on this? Still, you knowingly did it! Pack up and go to the finance department to settle your wages."
"Assistant Rick, we didn't do it on purpose. Assistant Rick..."
"Assistant Rick, please help us tell Chairman Knight..."
They wanted to beg for forgiveness, yet Rick already walked into the elevator with his documents.
This morning, he could already detect that Master was not in a very good mood, and now he had to hear such gossip too. Naturally, he would be unhappy. Furthermore, they were discussing Missus's matters...
The news of Xavier firing several employees in a fit of fury spread. For quite a few days, the entire Glory World was shrouded in stifling repression. Everyone did not dare to simply discuss any gossip, afraid that the next one to be fired would be themselves.
While the same thing about Victoria continued to become worse, they recently even heard that Kristina had fallen sick from being worn out mentally and physically while Johns Media was getting ready to be taken over by Victoria.
This news shocked the entire entertainment industry. Now that Johns Media was on the verge of collapsing, Victoria still dare to take on as Johns Media's CEO! Could she be so confident to help Johns Media safely survive this threat again?
This issue did start because of her, yet not only did she not lie low, but instead she appeared so high-profile. This was outrageous to everyone.
For quite a few days, Victoria held press conferences, at which she beat around the bush. Neither did she directly admit that she had done all those things, nor did she deny them. She only apologized, and the way she looked all weak and pitiful while weeping made everyone suspect whether that news had been fake.
On the other hand, some people also noticed that they did not seem to see the appearance of Victoria's fiancé, Ethan. Some reporters managed to get pictures of Ethan, who seemed to be keeping to himself without any pictures of him with Victoria. At such a time, should Ethan not be by her side?
What followed was the news of Ethan and Victoria's breakup.
While all of Arya's scandals seemed to have been suppressed, the crowd's attention was all on Victoria and Ethan.
Arya had been focused on the South River project. After she surveyed the area with Xavier and the government, she started to pour herself into her work day and night. She did not have time to rest as the proposals underwent changes again and again. Then, it was given to Xavier and several Vice Presidents for examination and approval.
Today, the weather was pretty enjoyable. The warm sun was dim. Xavier and Arya had once again gone to the South River viewing deck to survey the area. They verified their thoughts by comparing the proposal content that Arya and her elite team had poured their hearts into collating, amending, and completing to see whether there were still any oversights.
On the long walkway of the South River viewing deck, the husband and wife walked slowly side by side. The folder was opened up in Xavier's hand and Arya was by his side. The gentle and warm sun shone on them while they looked extremely harmonious.
"This is the leisure area. The north council will be right here. What do you think?" Arya said as she reached out to point at a certain area below while referring to the blueprint in his hand.
Xavier nodded, then he slowly closed the document and handed it to Rick behind him. Rick knowingly received it as he stopped and did not follow them.
Xavier turned to look at her, seeing the fatigue that could not be hidden in her eyes. He said with concern,
"Let's stop right here for now. You've been worn out with work recently. It's the weekend tomorrow, so rest well."
Arya lifted a hand to massage between her brows and answered,
"I have been a little tired, and the team especially, so today when I left in the afternoon, I let them leave work earlier to have a good weekend."
The dusk with the setting sun was just beautiful. The husband and wife were in sync as they did not plan to go home so early. Xavier reached out with his long arm and circled Arya's shoulders, he walked ahead slowly as he asked her softly,
"A good weekend? Where do you want to go?"
"Grandmother wants us to go back to the Mu residence, doesn't she?"
"It's just going home for a meal."
When she heard him say this, Arya breathed in. She looked up at the golden-bright, dazzling warm sun. After a while, she was about to say something when her phone suddenly vibrated. She quickly took it out to see a text from Mia!
She raised her brows and opened the text. It was another of Mia's long ramblings, yet at the start of the sentence, Arya was stunned.
"Arya, I'm pregnant. This time, I'm really going to be a mother! Bloody hell! Aaron, the bastard, said that we'd only have children a year after we get married, yet we just conceived with one try! I don't want you to be my child's godmother. We'll just arrange for our children to get married. How romantic does that sound!? Right, aren't you going to check whether you're pregnant? I've been dizzied recently, so I went to get checked at the hospital. The doctor immediately sent me to the gynaecology and obstetrics department. Didn't you complain feeling very tired too recently?
Mia was pregnant!
Arya was shocked. With Mia's carefree personality, it was really hard to imagine how she would be like with a child!
Aaron would probably baby her so much! Knowing Mia, she would probably become more intense.
When she thought about this, Arya could not help but smile as she quietly kept her phone.
When he saw her grinning away, Xavier asked,
"What are you laughing about? You're looking pretty happy."
She then looked up and smiled at him, her laughter intertwined with well wishes.
"Mia's pregnant, so tomorrow I want to go see her."
Pregnant?
When he heard this, Xavier's mysterious eyes flashed with a faint light. He stared at her bright and beautiful face for quite a while, then his gaze looked down subconsciously at her belly with a gaze that seemed a little wistful.
Yet, Arya could see through what he thought. She instantly blushed and reached out to cover her belly, trying to block his gaze.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not pregnant yet!"
Her period had just passed. How could it be so soon?
"I know, I'm not working hard enough." He very calmly averted his gaze, and her blush started to intensify. Suddenly, he laughed,
"We don't have to rush with these things. Just go with the flow."
Xavier felt that he was not ready to be a decent father either. He also could not imagine how it would be like to have a little monster wandering around them and calling them Father and Mother.
"Don't eat those things Grandmother gave you if you don't want to... as long as you're healthy."
Arya then remembered that he had found out about the things that she stuffed into the storeroom. Bella and Daniel both wanted grandchildren. The Knight family had passed three generations, and now it was his turn...
She fell silent for a while, then she could not care less about blushing. She muttered,
"I heard that you have to quit smoking and drinking... That way... Your child can be smart and healthy..."
When he heard this from her, Xavier turned to look at her with interest. He was about to say something when suddenly they vaguely felt that there was someone ahead. At this moment, a voice came through.
"Arya?"
The husband and wife both stopped in their steps. They looked up to where the sound came from, and by the stairs was Ethan's figure greeting their sight.