CHAPTER 275
Once the guests were seated, the awards dinner officially began.
After the emcee’s opening remarks and speeches by senior figures, it was time to present the awards.
The emcee announced, "Now, let’s welcome our winner, the beautiful and talented anchor, Harmony Jackson, to come on stage."
Applause filled the room as the spotlight focused on Harmony. Her graceful steps as she walked to the stage made her appear like a superstar to everyone watching.
The general manager presented her with the trophy, and Harmony held it up with a bright smile.
The emcee continued, "To make this moment even more special, we’ve invited the boy Harmony rescued to present her with a flower. Let’s welcome Brian!"
Brian, dressed in a sharp little suit and holding a bouquet, walked onto the stage with his mother beside him.
He approached Harmony and held out the flower toward her.
Harmony smiled warmly, bending down slightly to accept it. But just as she was about to take the flower, Brian's expression suddenly changed. He pulled back and pushed her hand away, his small voice ringing out,
"You’re not the lady who saved me!"
His words, amplified by the microphone on his collar, echoed throughout the room, shocking everyone present. Gasps of surprise filled the venue, and no one had expected him to say something so startling.
Except for Arianna.
Sitting in the audience, she observed with a slight smirk, watching as Harmony’s confident smile wavered onstage.
Brian’s mother, thrilled at first that her son had finally spoken, froze in shock and whispered, "Brian, what are you talking about? Harmony is the one who saved you. Don’t be rude to the person who saved your life."
Harmony, quickly recovering, forced another smile and responded graciously,
"I’m just so happy that Brian can speak again. He must have misspoken after all the trauma he’s been through. Don’t worry about it. I’m still so thankful that he came to give me a flower today."
She knelt again and reached out to Brian.
"Thank you for the flower, Brian."
Brian, however, took a step back, clinging to his mother’s leg in fear. He insisted,
"She’s not the lady who saved me. She smells different."
"Smell? What do you mean, smells different?" Brian’s mother frowned, clearly embarrassed by her son’s sudden outburst.
A flicker of coldness flashed in Harmony’s eyes. She hadn’t anticipated the child revealing the truth at such a crucial moment. William had assured her that Brian had been undergoing treatment because he couldn’t speak, so why was he suddenly able to talk now?
If the boy continued to speak, it would ruin all the glory she had planned for the evening. Harmony knew she couldn’t allow herself to be humiliated like this.
Despite the tension, Harmony kept a warm smile on her face and spoke softly to Brian.
"Hey, Brian, maybe you don’t recognize me because I’ve changed my clothes, put on some makeup, and used a little perfume today. That’s why I might seem different. But it’s okay, I’m just happy that you’ve recovered and can talk again."
She then turned to Brian’s mother, maintaining her composed demeanour.
"Thank you so much for coming today. I appreciate it."
Concerned that something was wrong with Brian, his mother nodded quickly and said,
"I’m sorry about this. Congratulations, by the way. I’ll take Brian down now."
"Of course," Harmony replied.
As Brian’s mother bent down to pick him up, the boy started crying uncontrollably.
"Mommy, it’s not her! She didn’t save me! It’s not her!"
The crowd began murmuring after Brian denied it three times and started crying.
“What’s going on? Could it be that Harmony isn’t the one who saved him? Why would the boy react so strongly otherwise?”
“Maybe the kid’s just confused? He’s been through a lot, maybe he’s not thinking clearly.”
“I’m not sure. Kids usually show affection toward someone who helps them. If Harmony saved him, shouldn’t he be more attached to her?”
“But if it wasn’t Harmony, who could it be? Why hasn’t the real person come forward? Who would let someone else take the credit for saving a life? It doesn’t make sense.”
Harmony was finding it harder and harder to keep her smile in place.
All eyes were on her, with cameras capturing her every move. This was a live broadcast, and although she was seething inside and wished she could silence the boy, there was nothing she could do at that moment.
In the audience, William felt the cold sweat drip down his back as he saw the general manager’s expression darken.
He had gone to great lengths to organize the dinner on such a grand scale, even bringing Brian and his mother to boost Harmony’s image. But now, with this unexpected turn of events, his carefully laid plans were unravelling fast. If things went wrong, his promising future would be shattered.
He quickly got up, rushed onto the stage, and took the microphone.
“I sincerely apologize to everyone present. I didn’t take into account Brian’s mental state, and it appears he may have misspoken due to not being fully recovered yet. We will escort him off the stage now to ensure his health and well-being.”
Brian’s mother was visibly upset by his remarks. While her concern for her child's health was genuine, she felt the need to defend him when his mental state was questioned.
“My son isn’t talking nonsense! He’s recovering well and has been perfectly behaved! There’s nothing wrong with his mental state!
“It’s possible that the anchor who saved my boy isn’t Harmony.”
She paused for a moment as if recalling something important.
“Now that I think about it, I did see the anchor who rescued my child that day, but in my panic, I didn’t get a good look at her face. Her figure was similar to Harmony’s, but… I remember she was injured at the time. I noticed her waist was bruised because she took off her coat to bandage my child’s wound. Harmony’s waist doesn’t appear to be injured…”
While she was talking, everyone in the audience turned their attention to Harmony up on the stage.
Interestingly, her dress was designed to highlight her perfectly smooth waist.
Not a bruise in sight.
The whispers among the crowd intensified as they began to understand the meaning behind her words.
