Chapter 490 Both She and I Are Your Commodities
Blood instantly began to trail down from her temple.
In the past, Justin was always concerned even for the slightest bump that Maria got, let alone such a bloody injury.
"Maria, it's your jealousy and distrust that make me not want to come home anymore. Have you seen what you've become in these past two months?" Justin asked, grabbing his jacket. "Forget it, I might as well not come back home ever again."
With that, Justin left without giving another glance at the bleeding Maria and walked out the door.
Maria was shattered.
Clutching her injury, she cried as she grabbed her phone, intending to call Chris to take her to the hospital. She also wanted to tell Chris about what Justin was doing to Thalassa.
However, just as she took her phone, a text from an unknown number popped up.
Maria opened it, and her head pounded thunderously. There were seven messages. Six of them were photos of a young, beautiful woman and Justin, naked together in bed. The seventh message read, "Did Mr. Justin come home? Did he hit you? Probably not, since he said he gets disgusted just thinking about your sagging skin."
Maria's hands were covered in blood.
Clutching her phone tightly, she succumbed to tears of helplessness and despair.
Chris rushed over after receiving Maria's call.
He found her at the doorstep, blood covering half her face and clothes, the wound no longer bleeding but it was still a disturbing sight.
He immediately took Maria to the nearest hospital to get cleaned up, stitched, and bandaged.
"Dad's gone too far, leaving you in such a state and walking away without a care," Chris said angrily.
Truth was, after the altercation at the station with Justin, they had been at odds with each other. Justin hadn't even glanced at his son when he passed out overseas during a wedding photoshoot.
"It's not your dad's fault," Maria looked at Chris. "It's that woman's bad influence."
"He cheated on you?" Chris was even more shocked. In his recollection, Maria and Justin had always appeared to be a happy couple. The notion of infidelity followed by violence was utterly shocking to him.
"It's my fault," Maria cried, quickly defending Justin. "Since I got out of the detention center, I've been in a terrible mood. There's been so much trouble at the company, he's been stressed every day, and I've been nagging, that's why he cheated."
"Mrs. Maria," Chris scorned. "He cheated on and hurt you, and you think it's your fault?"
Chris paused before continuing, "You should get a divorce. I'll find you the best lawyer..."
Maria was stunned.
Pushing away Justin's hand that was trying to support her, she said, "Chris, you want me to divorce your dad so you can make up with Thalassa and marry her, right?"
Chris stood there, dumbfounded. "What... What are you talking about?"
"Don't even think about it. I would never divorce your father, and even if I did, Thalassa is already married!" Maria's gaze at Chris was devoid of any trust.
She even wondered.
If Chris was in cahoots with that woman.
Intentionally trying to deceive her into a divorce.
"You know about Thalassa and me..." Chris stood rigid.
To Chris, Maria's awareness of this situation was a more significant blow than Justin's discovery of it.
Maria's face twisted with disgust. "Right, when I found out, I wanted to strangle you. Thalassa is so innocent, with all those women out there, why did you have to mess with her?"
"We were in love, it was mutual," Chris hurriedly insisted.
"You seduced her!" Maria enunciated fiercely.
Chris looked at her.
Suddenly feeling the absurdity of it all, he exclaimed, "You knew Thalassa and I were in love, yet you happily set up these blind dates for me!"
"What else was I supposed to do? Approve of you two together, approve of your marriage? Would that not destroy my family?" Maria glared at Chris. "And was the match I found for you not good enough? Isn't Crystal good enough for you, or are you still fixated on my friend from Chicago?"
"Enough, do you really care about Thalassa? Your efforts to break us up are just to make a good profit off of us — the Ayre family's connections and status are the only reasons you set us up!" Chris's mocking smile faded. "The guys you brought to Thalassa were all flawed, but their family resources could benefit my dad..."
"He's my husband, it's my duty to help him, and besides, what's there for Thalassa to complain about? Marrying into such a family would make her a wealthy lady," Maria said self-righteously.
Chris felt she was beyond help.
"Fine, if you won't divorce my dad, let's leave it at that." Chris averted his eyes. "Let me just ask you one thing."
Maria remained silent.
"Don’t let Thalassa find out that you knew about us. It would break her heart." With these last words, Chris placed Maria's medication and the medical report on the stool nearby.
Then he turned and left without looking back.
What a farce.
He and Thalassa had spent four years fretting over the prospect of their parents uncovering their relationship, dreading the potential fallout.
Little did they know, one parent was scheming to exploit him as a means to secure Thalassa and ensure a continuous stream of profit, while another, preoccupied with her own marriage, was all too willing to sell him and Thalassa to the highest bidder.
Maria stood still as she watched Chris walk further and further away.
Panic surged within her; she wanted to follow.
Yet she feared Chris might persuade her to divorce again.
In the end, she could only slump in her chair, covering her face and crying helplessly.
She wasn't wrong.
Everything she did, she did for the sake of her family.
She did nothing wrong.
Shortly after, Kenny received a video and some photos from an informant who had been keeping an eye on the Shaw family.
The message was brief.
It explained what had happened that day.
Kenny looked at the photos with an expressionless face.
When Maria got hurt, she actually called Chris right away.
The video was at the end.
Normally, informants wouldn‘t send him videos.
Kenny opened the video.
Although the volume was low, the clarity of their English made the argument between the two very understandable to Kenny.
“Trash,“ Kenny cursed.
Both Chris and Maria were trash.
Then, he sent a message to Thalassa.
Kenny: [Thalassa, how about coming over to my place this weekend to meet my parents?]
Thalassa: [?]
Kenny: [Before we got married, didn't I say I wanted to take you stargazing in the Northwest? This is the best season for it. We can go and stay at my parents' place, then just drive to the spot.]
Chaos would surely ensue after that.
He wouldn't let those trash people get anywhere near Thalassa.
Thalassa: [When do I have the time? It's busy at work, and I'm worried about Charles. I want to stay by his side for the bone marrow transplant.]
Kenny could only solve the former.
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