Chapter 335 Can't Live Without You!
After this major incident, the head of the Public Relations department quickly reached out to Darwin.
Darwin, barely asleep, was awakened by the phone ringing, his groggy voice startling the person on the other end.
“Mr. Solomon, there's been an issue with Miss Robbins...”
Darwin furrowed his brows. Lilian was locked up in Klein Mansion. What could have possibly gone wrong?
“Is it something to do with the project she's working on?” Darwin asked, his impatience evident.
“The details are on your WhatsApp, sir. Please look.”
Darwin hung up, annoyance clear in his actions. Opening the PR head's WhatsApp message, he was confronted with a video. His frown deepened, a bad feeling growing in the pit of his stomach.
He played the video, watching intently. With each passing moment, his face grew darker and more troubled.
“Where did this video come from?” Darwin inquired.
There was an instant response, “It was leaked on an anonymous forum. We're still investigating the source.”
Then, he received another message. “Miss Robbins's name is now trending. Previous partners who have had disputes with her have been continuously leaking information about her, even claiming... even claiming that her mother’s death, her brother's disappearance, and the car accident involving you and Miss Rhoads were all because of her. We’re being bombarded with calls from the media, Mr. Solomon... should we respond?”
Darwin clutched the phone so tightly his knuckles turned white. He felt a rush of emotions. All that talk of being forced into marriage... had been a lie...
His own guilt toward Lilian had made him repeatedly turn down Fiona to be with her. If only...
If he hadn’t harbored that guilt, he wouldn’t have spent time with her and might have learned of the pregnancy before Hathaway concocted those fake test results. All those subsequent entanglements, the five years of separation, and the current awkwardness between them could have been avoided!
At Klein Mansion, Lilian’s routine was utterly reversed.
She was afraid to sleep at night, feeling as if Anniston were always watching her. Even her daytime naps were haunted by nightmares.
Like now.
Lilian was jolted awake by a chilling gaze. She gasped and flicked on the light, only to stop, breaking into relieved laughter upon seeing Darwin. “Darwin! You finally came! Chelsea has been unbearable...”
As she lunged for Darwin, a sharp crack resonated. The wall-mounted TV in the room flickered on.
Startled, Lilian instinctively glanced over.
After a brief moment of darkness, an image appeared on the screen.
Lilian’s eyes widened at the sight of the person in the video. Horror-stricken, she lunged at the TV, attempting to switch it off.
She fumbled for a while, but couldn’t find the power button.
By then, the video had begun to play.
“It’s fake!” Lilian turned to Darwin immediately. “Someone is trying to frame me, to sabotage our relationship! It’s Chelsea! It must be her!”
The dialogue between Lilian and her brother echoed in her ears.
She felt like she was losing her mind.
"Darwin, this is really fake. Just turn it off. Let's talk this through!" Lilian pleaded in desperation.
Darwin watched her coldly, his eyes bloodshot.
Lilian dared not meet his gaze.
Glancing around, she grabbed a table lamp and hurled it at the TV.
The screen burst into smoky debris with a loud crash, and the video finally stopped playing.
Lilian dropped the lamp and rushed to Darwin. She tidied her hair that had been unwashed for days, trying to appear collected and dignified.
He had always liked her gentleness.
"I really don't get it. Miss Rhoads is already your wife. Why would she pull such a stunt to torture me?" Lilian choked back tears. "But Darwin, you know me.."
"Do you really think I wouldn't verify that the video was real before coming here?" Darwin's voice was icy. "Lilian, you saved my life once, even if you had chosen to marry into royalty back then. I would have taken care of you after you returned. Why would you lie?"
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"It's not like that..." Tears began to stream down Lilian's cheeks.
"Do you realize what your lies have cost me?" Darwin pronounced each word with gravity. His gaze on Lilian was fierce. "If it weren't for your lies, I would have learned about Fiona's pregnancy before Hathaway's schemes unfolded, and everything that followed wouldn’t have happened!"
Lilian looked at him. His disgust was palpable.
Suddenly, it dawned on her.
Darwin would never forgive her.
A laugh burst forth from her. "You're blaming me for this too? Darwin, the Hathaways forged some fake report, and you just believed it. It was because you never trusted Fiona, wasn’t it? That was what led to the tragedy. Why are you blaming me for that?"
Darwin's gaze was icy.
"I never said the Hathaways forged the reports," he said slowly.
The version of the story Lilian knew implicated Anniston in forging the reports.
She shouldn't have known even that.
Three months after the plane crash, Darwin and Anniston had an argument in the hospital, and Lilian happened to be there.
Frozen, Lilian blurted out, "Mr. Potter told me about it!"
Darwin's gaze fixed on Lilian as he slowly rose to his feet, taking deliberate steps toward her. A wave of unprecedented fear washed over her, urging her backward.
"It was you who influenced Hathaway," he declared.
Lilian shook her head vigorously. "Darwin, you can't just pin everything on me because of one mistake... I admit, I did deceive you about marrying into the White family, but I had no choice! They thought you were as good as dead after your accident and treated me terribly. One night, I overheard their plans to marry me off to some widower for a business deal. I was desperate, so I agreed to Grandma Solomon and Anniston's plan to go to Europe...Later, I lied because I was afraid of losing you. I had already lost everything. I couldn't lose you again!"
She paused, her expression becoming even more distressed. "I never intended to deceive you, but when I saw you with Fiona, completely infatuated, and you confessed your love for her... I was terrified! Without you, my life would be unbearable. I simply couldn't face it!"
Darwin watched her with icy detachment. She had done this before: play the victim when things got tough, always pleading sadly.
He had always softened before, but now...
His steady, cold voice cut through the air. "Anniston and your family might be gone, but Hathaway is still alive."
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