Chapter 288 In Your Eyes, What Am I?
So this was his real plan all along!
Stuart finally got it. The Campbell family seemed nice, but they were all just pretending!
Alfonso's move was downright nasty!
It could leave Stuart with no way to explain himself!
But Alfonso probably didn't expect Stuart to handle things in his own unique way.
Ever since Stuart and Josephine split, he'd been replaying their past over and over. He knew that if something needed to be said, it had to be done face-to-face.
Otherwise, no matter how strong the relationship, it couldn't survive suspicion and doubt.
So, there was no way he was letting Josephine leave without clearing things up.
"Josephine!" He grabbed her arm. "Listen to me."
"What more is there to say?" Josephine's gaze remained cold. "Is there anything left to discuss?"
She had definitely misunderstood.
Stuart quickly said, "It's not what you think."
"But what does it matter?" Josephine's eyes started to water, turning red. "Stuart, will you ever learn to respect someone?"
"It's not like that!"
"Then what is it, exactly?" Josephine abruptly pulled away from his touch, tears streaming down her face. "In your eyes, what am I? Just a tool for your desires? Do you even see me as a person?"
"Josephine!"
Stuart's shout made the room go silent.
Josephine looked at him, tears falling silently.
Stuart's heart ached. He said, "I didn't sleep with you."
Josephine was stunned.
Stuart looked at her, wanting so badly to wipe away her tears.
But he didn't dare.
He said, "Last night, I didn't have sex with you."
Josephine didn't say anything, just looked at him.
Stuart closed his eyes, sighed, and quickly opened them again. "I don't lie, and I wouldn't deceive you about this. Plus, this was probably Alfonso's doing."
Josephine's mind was a mess. She couldn't think straight and just felt incredibly tired.
"Okay, I get it." Josephine said, "Can I go home now?"
"Yes," Stuart replied, his eyes reflecting pain. "Josephine, I'm making an effort to respect you. I won't do anything you're uncomfortable with without your consent. Please believe me."
Josephine replied, "I'm really tired right now. Let's talk after I've rested."
She retreated to the adjacent room. Laura, hearing the commotion, emerged, startled by Josephine's distressed appearance. "What happened to you?"
Josephine shook her head. "I'm fine. Is Jeffery asleep?"
She was anxious to get back because she was worried about Jeffery.
Seeing Laura there, she felt relieved.
"He went to bed a long time ago," Laura said. "What did Stuart want with you? I tried calling you, but you didn't answer."
Laura had been worried for a long time. If Steven hadn't kept assuring her that Josephine was fine, Laura would have called the cops.
"My phone probably died," Josephine forced a smile. "I'm going to take a shower and then hit the sack. I'm beat."
"Then go ahead."
Laura didn't press for more details but shot a message to Steven:[Can't trust any guy.]
Receiving this late-night text, Steven, feeling utterly unjustly accused, was left feeling lonely.
He replied: [Are you still awake?]
Laura typed: [I can't sleep because I'm missing you.]
Steven immediately sat up.
He replied: [Laura, should I come pick you up?]
Laura sent him a smiley face.
Steven became quite docile.
This was Laura's cold smile.
After chatting with Steven for a while, Josephine came out of the shower.
While she was in the shower, Josephine's mind started to clear up a bit.
Considering her past closeness with Stuart and their child together, she believed she would have noticed if he had crossed any boundaries.
Earlier, feeling sore and drained, she had jumped to the conclusion that Stuart had taken advantage of her.
But as she showered, she realized Stuart hadn't lied.
Actually, when Stuart was explaining earlier, Josephine knew he wouldn't lie to her.
This realization left her feeling quite vulnerable.
Even though Stuart had hurt her before and was kind of a jerk, Josephine still had some faith in his character.
And Stuart wasn't the type to lie.
So, was everything he said true?
Was this Alfonso's doing?
What was his goal?
Josephine's mind was in turmoil, and the more she dwelled on it, the more her head throbbed, prompting her to put a stop to her thoughts.
Even though she was awake, she still felt weak and a bit feverish.
She told Laura and then went to bed.
The next day, she woke up, took a leave from the research institute, and went straight to see Liam. She had her blood drawn and did a check-up at the hospital.
Liam had surgery in the morning, so he only had a brief chat with her for about ten minutes before being summoned elsewhere.
Since Josephine had returned to the country, they hadn't had a proper sit-down conversation.
But Josephine decided not to go abroad, so there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
Last night, Stuart had already dispatched someone to investigate Alfonso, whose connections paled in comparison to Stuart's.
So, who he got the aphrodisiac from and when he drugged Josephine, Stuart got the info early in the morning.
Originally, the Campbell family had been spreading the word everywhere that they were going to form an alliance with the Haustia family.
Stuart had planned to let it go.
But now, it seemed they was really asking for trouble.
If they had only offended him, Stuart might have let it slide.
But plotting against Josephine was beyond his tolerance.
So, early in the morning, the Campbell family was horrified to find that their already unsolvable problems had become even worse.
Not only that, but all their businesses were also facing setbacks.
"How could this happen?" Alfonso murmured, unable to believe his eyes.
The Campbell family prided themselves on their talent and being distinct from common merchants, looking down on others as too coarse, believing themselves to be true gentlemen.
However, regardless of their pride, they still required sustenance and rest.
They professed a disdain for material possessions, yet in truth, they relished them just as much as any affluent individual.
They thought of themselves as noble, but they actually valued profit and loss greatly.
The so-called grace was because they had material wealth as a foundation.
If they lost everything, could they survive on gentlemanly grace alone?
What use was grace then?
Moreover, the Campbell family didn't necessarily possess gentlemanly grace.
In any case, Stuart thought the Campbell family's constant boasting about their high status was nothing.
When they ran out of money, he wanted to see how they would maintain their so-called gentlemanly grace.
The Campbell family was indeed panicking. Alfonso quickly found out that all of this was Stuart's doing.
Alfonso thought he covered his tracks well.
How did Stuart catch on so fast?
He wasted no time reaching out to the Clarence family.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
