Chapter 73 Trash!
She bit her lip hard. Zachary, the one who exposed the audio to the media, would stoop to such a dirty deed. He truly was a scumbag!
The medication flowing through her body took effect, and a heavy drowsiness overwhelmed Winona. With her eyes closed, she thought hazily that if she could get up right now, she would beat the living daylights out of this bastard!
He was nothing but trash!
Winona's condition improved, and when she woke up, it was already the next day.
The room was bright, and she reached up to touch her forehead. The fever had subsided, and her head no longer hurt, but her body still felt weak.
She stared at the ceiling, letting her thoughts wander aimlessly. Eventually, they settled on Zachary and Matthew from last night.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the living room, getting closer until they stopped at the bedroom door. Winona turned her head and met the man's dark eyes fixedly.
At this moment, Zachary looked at her expressionless, his eyes tired from staying up late, and a faint stubble growing on his chin. He was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday, with his shirt and pants all wrinkled.
Surprised, Winona didn't expect Zachary to still be here.
Zachary furrowed his brow and spoke hoarsely, "Get up quickly. Don't act like you're dying. No one will collect your dead body."
Although his words sounded harsh, there was no ill intent - more like the grumpy behavior of a child.
But Winona continued to look at him, unmoved.
It must be said that Zachary had a face that could make people blush and their hearts skip a beat. He was handsome, elegant, and extraordinary, but unfortunately, his temper was too unpleasant.
Seeing her lying still, the man's expression grew even more unfriendly as he approached her. "What? Do you think you're a princess? You need to be waited on? I took care of you all night. Shouldn't you show some gratitude?"
He bent down as if to lift her up, but before his hand could touch her waist, a slap landed hard on his face.
With a crisp sound, the whole world fell silent.
Winona seemed to put a lot of force into it, but in reality, it was weak. She hadn't eaten anything since coming back yesterday and had been burning in fever. Even though it was akin to scratching an itch, the act of slapping someone wasn't about causing physical pain but rather the depth of humiliation it brought!
When had Mr. Bailey, who was always flattered and ingratiated, ever been slapped by someone?
He narrowed his eyes and lifted Winona from the bed, their eyes locking. "You're getting bolder, daring to hit me?"
His tone wasn't particularly intense, but each word, each letter, and even each note carried anger.
With his menacing appearance, Winona even prepared herself to strike back if he made a move. She planned to go to the police station with a body covered in bruises, accusing him of domestic violence and forcefully filing for divorce.
However, Zachary did not strike back. He just looked at her with a gaze as if staring at death.
The woman, just recovering from an illness, had a face as white as paper, lacking any vitality. But even though she was a person he could easily crush with one hand, she looked at him with a proud expression, showing no signs of submission.
Though she looked up at him, he sensed a condescending contempt; her eyes were exceptionally bright, showing no remorse.
"Zachary, you are truly shameless."
Zachary sneered, "You slapped me and now you're calling me shameless. What? Do you want me to offer the other cheek for you to slap?"
Winona glared at him. "How can a person with manners expose someone else's private conversations behind their back?"
Upon hearing this, Zachary finally understood why she resorted to violence.
With a smile, his thin lips curved, releasing her hand. Winona, already weak, fell back onto the bed the moment Zachary's grip disappeared.
The man stood up and suddenly kicked over the nearby trash can. "Winona, I'll give you half an hour to figure out how to make it up to me, or you'll pay the price for this slap," he said coldly.
After uttering this threat, Zachary stormed out and even the walls shook from the impact.
It wasn't until the room had completely returned to silence that Winona let out a long exhale. She felt as if she had just walked through hell, suffocated by the eerie aura emanating from Zachary, and drenched in cold sweat.
As for Zachary's demand for her to appease him, Winona let out a sarcastic laugh and dismissed it from her mind.
He was the one who made the mistake, so why should she have to please him?
There was still some time before the exhibition, and Winona felt she was getting better. She got up, took a shower, and prepared to go to the event.
It was almost eleven o'clock now, and no one had called to rush her, except for a message from Alex asking if she was feeling better.
Half an hour later, just as Winona reached the entrance of the exhibition, she saw Layla standing there.
Compared to yesterday, she was more exquisitely dressed today, wearing a warm-colored long dress that was completely unsuitable for her age, with a thin coat draped over it.
It had rained yesterday and the temperature had dropped a few degrees. The wind felt cold against Winona's skin, while Layla, in her thin attire, looked like a blooming flower in the wind.
Of course, if she didn't shiver, she would make a decent vase.
"Winona..." Layla stood by the glass entrance door, and as Winona approached, she came closer.
Winona ignored her and took out a temporary pass from her bag to swipe it in.
However, Layla grabbed her arm tightly. "Are you deaf or something?" she said.
When they were still with the Sullivan family, Layla was used to bossing Winona around. Although she never gained any benefits from it, Winona would be beaten if she ever reported it.
Later, they quickly went abroad when something happened in their family, cutting off contact with Winona. So, in Layla's eyes, Winona was still the Cinderella who could be bullied at will, not the Mrs. Bailey whom she couldn't reach even on tiptoes.
Winona lowered her gaze and glanced at the wrinkled sleeve that Layla had grabbed, and said calmly, "The wealthy young masters are not interested in shrewish women like you. With your hot-tempered nature, you should quickly dispel any thoughts of marrying into a wealthy family."
Layla immediately let go of her hand and looked around furtively before ordering, "I've made a reservation at a restaurant. You need to message Matthew now and invite him to dinner tonight."
Unless there was no other way, she would never have lowered her dignity to seek Winona's help.
Matthew had just returned to the country and hadn't formally taken up his position or joined the Watson Group, so there was no information about him online.
She had called her father last night and asked him to make arrangements, but they had both fled abroad to avoid debt, so the domestic network had long been lost, and now asking Winona was the only way...
Winona decisively refused, "It's impossible."
"Do you really not want your mother's inheritance?" Layla jeered, raising her chin arrogantly as Winona's hand paused in mid-air while swiping her card. "As long as you arrange a meeting with him..."
"Do you have the final say?" Winona impatiently interrupted her. "Layla, don't let me hear anything related to my mother from your mouth again. Otherwise, I guarantee that you will never climb up to the wealthy class for the rest of your life."
Prominent families value their reputation, and it is very easy to ruin a woman's reputation. It doesn't require much effort.
Layla was furious, convinced that Winona did not want to introduce Matthew to her because she secretly still had feelings for him!
She taunted sarcastically, "Does Mr. Bailey know that you're so concerned about another man in private?"
"He doesn't know, so you better go and tell him. Get as far away from me as possible and stop being a nuisance."
"You!" Layla resorted to being unreasonable. "If you don't agree, I'll keep following you. Dad already knows about this, so get ready for him to scold you to death!"
Winona couldn't be bothered with her and simply swiped her card. After all, Layla couldn't enter without a ticket, and buying a ticket meant becoming a sponsor. She couldn't stop her.
"Beep beep..." The red light on the card reader flashed. "Information error, please swipe the card again."
Thinking that she had mishandled the operation, Winona swiped it again, but got the same result.
Upon seeing this, Layla crossed her arms and taunted coldly, "Could it be that you were fired for not doing your job properly? Neglecting your duties and getting into an argument with a customer during work. If I were..."
Not waiting for Layla's endless chatter, Winona directly took her access card and went to find security. The security guard said "Wait a moment" and made a phone call.
After a few minutes, the security guard returned, but instead of returning the card to her, he said, "Sorry, the person in charge of the exhibition said you don't need to come here for the next two days."
Winona frowned. She wasn't an employee of the exhibition, so she didn't have to follow this instruction.
She took out her phone and dialed Mr. Baker's number at work.
The call was continuously in progress, and she dialed several times with no response. In the not-so-long duration, she had already prepared for the worst until Mr. Baker finally called back.
"Mr. Baker, I can't get into the exhibition."
"Windy..." Mr. Baker's voice sounded tired and hoarse, probably from talking for a long time. "You have been working hard recently. Take a good rest at home. The studio doesn't have much work at the moment, so it's a good time for you to take a break."
Winona had been working at View Studio for a while. The excavation of the ancient tomb was still in progress, and many damaged relics were delivered every day. In addition, due to the unique nature of this industry, there was always a shortage of personnel but never a shortage of work.
She no longer played dumb and went straight to the point, "Mr. Baker, has someone been pressuring you?"
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