Chapter 38 I Wanted to Punch You Ten Years Ago
Josephine was awakened by her phone ringing. As she moved, she felt a wave of exhaustion, with her thighs aching as if they had been run over. Her phone continued to ring, and she reached for it, "Liam?"
Her voice was barely a whisper, even surprising herself.
"Are you sick? Have you caught a cold?" Liam's concerned voice came through the phone.
Josephine found it hard to explain, so she said, "I have a slight cold, nothing serious."
"No wonder you don't come to the hospital." Josephine glanced at the time; it was already past eight.
"Please take a day off for me; I won't go to the hospital today," she said. "Alright," Liam replied, still worried. "Are you sure you'll be fine alone at home? I can ask Claudia to come over."
"It's okay," Josephine assured him. "I'll take some medicine and rest."
"I have surgery this morning; I'll come to you after I'm finished. Let me know if you want anything, and I'll have it delivered to you at noon."
After a few more words, Liam hung up.
He indeed had surgery to perform this morning, but it would be finished by ten. He had made plans to meet with Stuart.
Josephine was unaware of Liam's meeting with Stuart.
Feeling sore all over and too weak, she had no energy. She didn't even know what time she had fallen asleep last night. Since she didn't have to go to the hospital, she decided to go back to sleep.
Stuart had left home in a hurry while Josephine was still asleep. He felt a sense of unease. Regardless, what he had done last night while drunk was unforgivable. He wanted to apologize, but he felt too embarrassed, so he left quickly before Josephine woke up.
However, he also thought, since Josephine hadn't explained about the photo, why should he apologize?
During the shareholders' meeting, when it was time for Stuart to decide after all the shareholders had expressed their opinions, they noticed that Stuart seemed distracted.
This was a rare occurrence.
Everyone knew that Stuart was very serious about his work. He was always dedicated and focused on work matters. Nothing could affect his mood at work.
What was happening to Stuart today? What could distract him?
The shareholders couldn't help but be curious.
His assistant, Ronald, coughed lightly and called out to Stuart, "Mr. Haustia."
Stuart snapped back to reality, about to say something, when his phone rang. Stuart required all phones to be on silent during a meeting, and the shareholders' meeting was no exception.
Today, however, Stuart's phone rang, and he quickly answered it, standing up, and walked out while talking on the phone.
The shareholders were now extremely curious, with some of the older ones directly asking Ronald.
Ronald only said that it was a private matter concerning Stuart, and he was not aware of the details.
As Stuart left the meeting room, he immediately saw Liam being brought in. Their eyes met, both filled with hostility.
Liam couldn't help but think about how Stuart had misunderstood and possibly insulted Josephine. He wanted to go up and punch Stuart again.
But before he did that, he had to resolve the situation.
"Let's go to my office," Stuart said, turning around.
Liam followed behind. A few curious shareholders peeked their heads out of the meeting room. Why was the visitor a man?
Seeing Stuart's nervous and eager appearance, they had thought that the person coming to see him would be a woman.
Although there had been rumors about Stuart and Doris in the company recently, the shareholders didn't pay much attention to it.
After all, her background and capabilities could rival Stuart's. To a great extent, Stuart's stable marriage could also help maintain the company's stock momentum.
Once in the office, Stuart asked directly, "What do you want to say?"
Liam raised the item in his hand. "I need to use your computer." He walked over, made some adjustments, and then said to Stuart in a cold voice,
"Take a look."
He played a segment of the footage captured by the dashcam. The recording started when Josephine fell asleep. Though the people in the driver's and passenger's seats were not visible, their voices were clear.
Josephine fell asleep.
The carriage was filled with only the soft background music.
Upon arriving at the Haustia Manor, a burst of noise was followed by the sound of seat belts being unfastened.
Liam then spoke, "You are sleeping so soundly, Josie. You're home."
Until Josephine got out of the car, everything seemed normal, including their conversation.
"Have you finished watching?" Liam's gaze turned cold. "You can have someone verify if the video is authentic or tampered with. I don't usually explain myself; you can doubt me. However, I won't accept your suspicion of Josie."
In reality, Stuart had already guessed the truth when he saw what Liam had brought.
The photo was likely to be taken out of context.
After watching the video, Stuart had no doubts about its authenticity.
Faking a video would have been easily exposed, and Liam wasn't that foolish.
So, the photo was taken out of context, and he misunderstood the relationship between Liam and Josephine.
He misunderstood, and yet he forced her last night.
Stuart's expression darkened.
Liam raised his hand with his fist clenched and said,
"Stuart, I want to settle this with you today!"
However, Stuart didn't even look at him. "I won't fight you."
"Are you scared?" Liam sneered. "I've wanted to fight you for a long time. Last time, no, I should say, ten years ago, I want to beat you up!"
Stuart did not react at first, but when he heard Liam mention ten years ago, he looked up at Liam.
"Do you want to fight me?" Liam raised his chin and said, "Stuart, if you're a real man..."
Stuart stood up and took off his coat.
Josephine only realized that Claudia had arrived when she woke up.
"Does Liam call you?" She propped herself up on the pillow, her voice still a little hoarse.
Claudia sat on the edge of the bed and felt her forehead. "Thank goodness you don't have a fever. Why don't you tell me you are sick?"
Josephine moved slightly; Claudia immediately saw that her neck was full of hickeys.
She exclaimed, and Josephine, realizing her marks, quickly covered herself with the blanket.
"You guys... Stuart..." Claudia found it hard to continue.
After all, they were a couple. It seemed normal for them to do such things.
But could they be so passionate without any feelings between them?
Josephine quickly changed the subject. "Liam says he would come after his surgery, and we would go out to eat."
Claudia's attention was indeed diverted. "Liam? He goes to find Stuart."
Josephine was surprised. "When does this happen?"
"Not long ago," Claudia took out her phone. "He tells me to wait for him to have lunch together."
"Does he say why he is looking for Stuart?"
Claudia shook her head. Josephine immediately got up. "Claudia, come with me quickly!"
Claudia asked in confusion, "Where are we going?"
Josephine said, "Let's go find them! I'm afraid they'll fight!"
