Chapter 036 Was Xavier Helping Her?
Xavier hadn't expected Grace to go through so much in just a few days. He had pegged her as a smart woman who knew whom to rely on to achieve her goals. Otherwise, she wouldn't have slept with him the day before their engagement was to be called off.
Xavier figured that if Grace were willing, she had ways to contact him and could use their past encounter as leverage to get his help. Yet, Grace hadn't reached out to him.
Xavier called Mason over and assigned him a task.
The online frenzy didn't seem to impact Madison much; in fact, it was the exact spectacle she relished seeing.
Madison even indulged in skin care and manicures, thoroughly enjoying her leisure. While discussing Grace over the phone, Madison glanced at the manicurist entering the room and said in surprise, "Yaeli? What are you doing here?"
Yaeli Lynn was a classmate of Madison and they got along reasonably well at school. Yaeli's family also had money, often flaunting designer bags. Yet here she was, clad in a work uniform, appearing at this place.
Yaeli herself was stunned to encounter Madison there. Sheepishly, she confessed, "I... I... got into a fight with my dad, and he cut me off from my credit cards."
Madison replied with nonchalance, "Oh, well, in that case, I'll tip you a little extra later."
Madison wasn't concerned about the money, but Yaeli bit her lip.
She thought, ‘Madison always enjoys giving handouts to others.’
Yaeli was extremely vain. Her family wasn't that wealthy, but to break into the circle she coveted, she played the part, buying second-hand designer bags.
Madison continued her phone conversation, "Guess who I ran into at the nail salon. Yaeli. She's working here, doing my nails."
Yaeli overheard Madison and a flash of resentment crossed her eyes. She thought, ‘How dare Madison treat my misfortune like a joke to tell others?’
Just then, an exclamation came through the phone’s speaker, "Madison, check Twitter quickly. Things have taken a turn!"
Madison ended the call promptly, logged into Twitter, and found to her astonishment that Tom had posted a video clearing the air.
In the video, Tom and his wife were walking hand in hand, looking very much in love. Tom said he had always worked with the Lewis Group, and Grace was just approaching him to renew their contract. Their meetings were simply part of a normal contract process, and there was no personal relationship between them. However, someone named Kelly had warned him not to collaborate with the Lewis Group.
Surveillance footage from clubs and hotels was also posted online. It showed that in the VIP sections of clubs, not only were Grace and Tom present, but other partners were there to discuss business as well.
Hotel surveillance footage was even more conclusive. Grace was in the hotel room for less than two minutes from the time she entered until she left.
All the messages previously disparaging Grace had disappeared. Now, all that could be seen online were Tom's clarification video and the surveillance footage.
"Grace, look online, all the negative posts about you are gone!" Angela exclaimed excitedly, looking over at Grace who was holding her laptop.
She didn't know what Grace was doing, nor did she understand why Grace wasn't in a hurry to address her situation.
Grace picked up her phone and saw that Tom had clarified the accusations. Although she wasn't close to Tom, she knew he was far from a saint. Moreover, Tom was known to be petty and cunning.
Grace thought, "I set Tom up last time. It was already good enough that he didn't come after me. How could he possibly help me clear things up?"
"Do you think Tom would help me clarify things?" Grace asked.
Angela shook her head, aware of what Grace had done to Tom. "I think you're lucky he hasn't gone after you."
"Don't you find this video strange? And all the comments about me, they're gone. Isn't that weird?" Grace mentioned.
"Could it be that someone is helping you?" suggested Angela.
Grace thought, ‘Helping me? In this world, even my father wouldn’t lift a finger. How could there possibly be someone…?’
Suddenly, Grace's head shot up as a thought struck her. ‘Wait a minute! Could it be Xavier?’
Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of Xavier's face.
She pondered, ‘Xavier doesn't seem like the type to meddle in other people's business. Would he do something like this?’
Grace had never considered asking Xavier for help. After all, this was her personal issue to deal with.
"What's wrong? Did you think of something? Why are you blushing?" Angela asked, looking at Grace's flushed face.
"What?" Grace touched her hot cheeks and then fanned herself, denying, "I'm not blushing. It's just too warm in here."
"How can that be? Did you think of someone? Grace, is it that man who took you to the hotel last time?" Angela was quickly catching on…
Grace thought for a moment and replied, "I don't know if it's him. But he certainly has the capability."
"Grace, what kind of person is he?" Angela asked, her curiosity piqued.
A man capable of capturing Grace's attention had to be impressive. Angela, however, worried about Grace potentially being deceived, acknowledging that many wealthy individuals nowadays weren't good people.
"He is someone I don't deserve. Angela, I know what you're trying to say. Don't worry. There's no way we could end up together," Grace said with clarity.
Xavier exuded a magnetic charm that made it easy for anyone to become infatuated with him.
She was aware of the chasm that lay between them. He was akin to a god, while she was merely mortal.
The gods had long shed their desires, while mortals still struggled. Mud surrounded her, preventing her escape, and she couldn't afford to sink any deeper.
"Grace, there's no such thing as true love in this world. It's all a trick played by others. Has he seen your face?" Angela asked.
"He saw me at a party. But he doesn't know it was me," Grace replied.
Angela nodded, thinking that perhaps the person who had helped Grace wasn't motivated by her appearance.
Yet the world was too complex. Angela hoped that Grace could find someone who genuinely liked her for who she was, not like Ryan, who was only infatuated with her beauty.
Without Xavier's contact information, Grace had no way to confirm whether he had helped squash the public rumors.
Grace was also tidying up some matters and was nearly finished. And decided to go public with it.
Madison had stolen her perfume formulas several times before, claiming them as her original creations online.
Madison had frequently done shameless things like this. Grace organized all the evidence, along with the patent reports she applied for each new creation. The formulas were identical to Madison's.
Moreover, the patent applications predated Madison's publications by one or two months.
Almost instantly, public opinion online began to shift. The tag "Madison plagiarism" surfaced again. Madison had not cleared the air previously. Instead, she had redirected all criticism towards Grace, thinking people would forget her act of plagiarism.
Now, Grace posted all the evidence of Madison's plagiarism on Twitter. Madison, already somewhat famous, found the hashtag gaining further attention.
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