Chapter 216 Am I Still Going to Catch Up with Her?
Stella's face immediately turned ugly. She frowned at the female journalist, her eyes sharp as she retorted, "I have never poured wine for Adeline with outsiders. Who did you hear that from?"
Faced with her aggressive gaze and words, the female journalist chuckled. "Ms. Foster, are you suggesting that it never happened?"
After speaking, she smirked and continued, "But the others present didn't say the same."
Stella narrowed her eyes. Obviously, this female journalist came prepared.
So she changed her strategy and responded, "Of course, it did happen." She then affectionately took Adeline's hand and held it in her palm. "Adeline and I are good friends, so I was just joking with her. She got drunk yesterday and was taken away by strangers. Jasper and I even sent people to look for her."
The warmth of the woman's hand made Adeline very uncomfortable. She frowned, trying to pull her hand away from Stella's, but couldn't manage to do so.
The female journalist in the distance frowned, wanting to say something, but was interrupted by others.
The reporters rushed up and took pictures of Stella and Adeline holding hands.
"I didn't expect you two to get along so well. Those rumors are debunked on their own!"
"I knew it, Ms. Foster is such a good woman, how could she be betrayed..."
"Ms. Foster is both beautiful and virtuous..."
The reporters' praises made Adeline feel nauseous.
She knew very well that if Linda hadn't turned against her at the press conference today, she would have been plunged into endless darkness by Stella and the forces behind her!
Now, Linda had finally stood on her side.
And the instigator, Stella, not only faced no punishment or harm but also held her hand, putting on a show in front of everyone, portraying herself as generous and virtuous!
Adeline bit her lip tightly. This woman named Stella, with a face identical to hers from five years ago, did nothing as malicious as Molly!
After who knows how long, the reporters finally finished taking photos and prepared to leave.
"Everyone." At this moment, Linda, standing on the stage, took a deep breath and said, "I actually have one more request."
The woman bit her lip tightly before continuing, "Have you forgotten that I haven't revealed who threatened me to slander Adeline?"
The reporters who were about to leave stopped in their tracks.
Then someone in the crowd said, "We've got all the big news, who cares who threatened you."
This sentence sounded particularly ironic to Adeline. She let go of Stella's hand and looked coldly at the reporters. "So, is it the duty of you journalists to simply observe the spectacle and snap photos? She claimed she was threatened, ensnared, coerced into actions she never desired. Faced with such circumstances, do you remain indifferent?"
The woman's words made the reporters look at each other.
After a while, a reporter smiled awkwardly, looked up at the pale-faced Linda on the stage, and said, "So, Linda, who threatened you to slander Ms. Wilson? We can include it in the news when reporting on Ms. Foster."
Linda's face drained of all color. She struggled to remain upright, fighting against the urge to faint. "I want to say," she managed, taking a deep breath. "Someone has used my father's life as leverage to coerce me into accusing Adeline."
Her eyes locked onto the cameras below. "This individual is..."
"Bang." Before Linda could finish her sentence, the door of the small auditorium was kicked open from the outside.
Disheveled, Lyndon burst through the door and made a beeline for the stage, where he promptly seized Linda's hand. "What nonsense are you spouting, young lady?" he exclaimed.
He flashed a quick smile at the audience below. "No one has threatened her, and there's been no trouble for me. This is just a bit of playful banter between this child and Ms. Wilson—nothing to take seriously!"
After speaking, he glared fiercely at Linda and dragged her off the stage to the backstage.
Adeline frowned, wanting to say something, but saw the man standing at the entrance of the auditorium.
Jasper stood there as straight and aloof as a tall pine tree.
Seeing Adeline looking at him, the man smiled at her and then lowered his head to fiddle with his phone.
At the same time, Adeline's phone rang. He was texting her.
Jasper: [This morning, the Evelyn family transferred Lyndon. They've been tailing him during the transfer. Lyndon is safe now; I'll handle the rest. This matter concludes here.].
Adeline held her phone, staring at the last four words, "It ends here."
Linda's father was imprisoned, almost unable to come out.
Linda almost killed her own father.
She almost got caught in the whirlpool of public opinion.
All this, in exchange for Jasper's casual words, "It ends here."
Adeline stood frozen, her gaze fixed on Stella as she rushed to Jasper and clasped his arm.
With each step Stella took, it felt as though something inside Adeline was being torn apart, her heart fracturing into countless shards.
He continued to coddle Stella, continued to shield her. And what was Adeline in comparison? Nothing.
She dared not even entertain the thought of returning to him as herself, as Adeline. Would he treat her with the same tenderness he reserved for Stella? It seemed unlikely.
He could harbor affections for countless women, even those who shared her name and appearance. But for her, there would never be such regard, no matter how much she transformed.
Deep helplessness and sadness enveloped her.
Adeline remained standing in the auditorium until all the reporters had departed, and even after the play concluded, she still didn't turn around.
It wasn't until the cleaning staff finally ushered her out that she left. "You're so young, whatever it is, go solve it, don't cry!"
The words of the staff made Adeline subconsciously wipe her eyes.
She really cried. There were quite a few tears.
The woman laughed at herself.
Since the accident six years ago, she had vowed never to shed tears for Jasper in this lifetime.
But in the end... she couldn't help it.
"Adeline." Suddenly, a woman's voice sounded in her ear.
She instinctively looked up. Standing in front of her was Linda.
"I couldn't reach you on the phone, and Sebastian said he couldn't find you. I just thought, maybe you're still here, and I guessed right!" Linda explained, a hint of relief in her voice.
Reaching out, she gently clasped Adeline's cold hand. "Crying?" Linda inquired, her concern evident.
Adeline wiped away a tear, gently clasping Linda's hand. "Is Uncle Lyndon okay?"
"He's fine," Linda responded, her lips pressed into a thin line. "Thanks to Jasper. If it weren't for him, I might never see my dad again. Dad just explained to me that Jasper already knows Luna is the mastermind behind everything. But the Evelyn family and the Foster family have had ties for years. Jasper wants to maintain that relationship, so he didn't allow me to mention Luna's name at the press conference."
With a sigh, she continued, "Although I don't particularly like Jasper, I have to admit that sometimes his emotional intelligence is quite remarkable. He considers the feelings of those around him."
Adeline closed her eyes and coldly smiled. "Yes. He considers the feelings of those around him, except me."
After saying that, she wanted to say something, but her phone rang.
It was Ryan calling. He said, "Jasper asked me to inform you that you must attend the dinner at the Evelyn family's home tonight to catch up."
Adeline remarked, "Luna almost made me a third party, and I still have to catch up with her?"
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