It was the first time Josie was formally appearing in public. Although Winston looked down on her, he couldn't let her embarrass the Carters. For that reason, he had prepared an extravagant gown for her.
Now, as he looked at Josie standing before him in a dark red mermaid dress, her figure curvaceous and her expression as cold as an ice queen, he was momentarily stunned. Winston snapped a photo and sent it to their group chat. "Gotta hand it to Wallace's latest design. Even an 'old woman' like Josie can look good in it.
Soon, his phone started buzzing with notifications. He didn't go to see it but took Josie's hand and went to the banquet hall with her.
All eyes were on them as they walked in. Some were envious, some were surprised and some were even jealous. Winston's mood lifted considerably. However, his expression stiffened when someone asked which prominent family the lady belonged to. "She's not from our circle."
Before he could finish, a sharp, playful voice chimed in from the side. "A lady? Don't flatter her! She's just a country bumpkin."
Zelda, dressed in a delicate pastel pink princess gown, walked over gracefully, exuding elegance and nobility. The people around her joined in, scanning Josie with mocking eyes and clicking their tongues in disapproval.
"Zelda, even you're giving her too much credit. She's not just from the countryside, she came straight out of the deep mountains!"
"She doesn't even have to worry about getting kidnapped. The moment she steps off the car, she knows this place better than the traffickers themselves!"
Thinking about Winston's shared photo in the group chat and the compliments that followed, Zelda clenched her teeth and looked down at Josie with condescension. "Did you really think that putting on a designer gown would turn you into a peacock?"
Soft snickers echoed around them, the initial admiration for Josie replaced by ridicule. Winston's face darkened, his expression shifting between embarrassment and anger. He frowned and scolded in a low voice, "Zelda."
Zelda pouted in displeasure, then quickly latched onto Winston's arm, pushing Josie aside. "Winston, I was just joking with her. She's not even mad—why are you?"
She turned her head and smiled sweetly at Josie. "Josie, your life has really improved since being with Winston. It's my birthday today and you didn't even get me a gift."
Winston's face darkened. "Josie, I told you it was Zelda's birthday. How could you come empty-handed?"
If she could, Josie would have walked away right then and there to end this farce. "You only told me at nine o'clock last night. I didn't have time—"
"Enough." Winston cut her off coldly. "That's no excuse. Apologize to Zelda."
Her body was still weak from the effects of drinking the other night. Standing so long on an empty stomach made her stomach ache, but she knew they wouldn't let this go easily. As expected, Zelda smiled sweetly. "We all know about Josie's financial situation, so we won't make things hard for her."
She then picked up a glass of wine and held it out. "Since you're such a good drinker, why don't you down this as an apology? Then I'll forgive you."
Josie knew she couldn't avoid this, so she swallowed her discomfort and accepted the glass. However, she sensed something was wrong as soon as she drank it. With her tolerance, one glass of wine shouldn't have made her feel this dizzy. Moreover, a strange heat was spreading through her body.
She tried to grab Winston's arm to tell him, but he coldly pushed her away. "Zelda drank too much and isn't feeling well. I'll take her upstairs to rest. You can look around."
Josie's vision blurred quickly and she saw double. She stumbled and tried to walk out of the crowd but was hugged by a pair of hands that came out of nowhere.
Meanwhile, Zelda stood obediently by Winston's side, saying to his parents, "Josie also came to celebrate my birthday. Let's go find her later, okay? She'll be so surprised to see you two!"
The woman's opulent dress was half off, exposing her shoulders in the dark hotel room. George swirled the wine in his glass before slowly pouring the red liquid onto her body. It trickled down her pale skin and disappeared into the deep red fabric of her dress, making her appear even more alluring.
Josie bit her tongue, trying to force herself to maintain a sliver of clarity, but to little avail. George leaned in, his tongue sliding over her collarbone like a snake. Meanwhile, his other hand held up his phone, capturing the scandalous moment on camera.
Then, after glancing at a message on his phone, George adjusted Josie's position, making her sit on top of him before he slowly lay down beneath her. When Zelda led Winston's parents in, they saw Josie straddling George's scene.
On the other hand, George looked aside in humiliation and refused to look at her. Mrs. Carter pointed at the lewd scene before her in disbelief, her eyes rolling back as she was about to faint. Later, the scene descended into chaos.
***
When Josie woke up again, she found herself in the hospital once more. The first person she saw was once again Winston, but unlike last time, there was no tenderness in his eyes. The moment he saw her open her eyes, he swung his hand and slapped her hard across the face. "Josie! I brought you to meet my parents and this is how you do it?"
Josie struggled to sit up, her voice hoarse as she said, "Since I'm in the hospital, you should know I was drugged."
Slap! Another slap landed on her face, splitting her lip.
Winston's face was dark with fury. "That is not an excuse for what you did! You were drugged and instead of coming to me, you went to George? Looks like I wasn't wrong about you after all. You're just a greedy, shameless woman who chases after money and pleasure!"
She wanted to say that she had tried to find him, but he had chosen to take care of Zelda instead. Josie also knew that even if she said it, Winston would only believe what he wanted to believe. So, Josie remained silent.
Her silence only fueled his rage. His voice was ice-cold as he spoke again. "Tomorrow at 3 PM, meet me at the City Hall to get our marriage certificate. After that, I'll owe you nothing. Once we're married, I'll leave for France with my parents. You can figure out your own life from there."
The cracks in Josie's already shattered heart deepened further. This incident had given Winston the perfect excuse. Before this, he was probably still struggling to find a way to get rid of her.
Was he more furious or more relieved now? She didn't know and she no longer cared to find out.
The day before their supposed wedding, Josie spent her time in the hospital. During that time, Janice visited her, bringing along documents for a new company and agreements she needed to sign before starting her closed training.
The nursing home also called, informing her that Thomas's condition had improved significantly and there were signs that he might wake up soon. If everything went well, he could regain consciousness within half a month. At the latest, it wouldn't take more than six months.
A flicker of hope reignited in Josie's desolate heart. Maybe her uncle would be back by the time she finished her training.
She packed everything she owned and grabbed a taxi to the airport, holding onto that hope. On the way, she received a message from Winston. He told her that Zelda was devastated because her birthday party had been ruined, so their wedding certificate appointment would be postponed for three days.
Josie took a deep breath and with that, any last bit of hesitation she had disappeared completely. Without a second thought, she blocked and deleted Winston's contacts from all her social media accounts and boarded her flight without looking back.
***
Three days later, outside the City Hall. Winston sat in his car, increasingly irritated as his third call to Josie went unanswered. In a fit of rage, he slammed his phone onto the dashboard. "Damn it! Where the hell is Josie Yaeger? She's already half an hour late!"
He turned to his assistant. "Go to her house and bring her here!"
The assistant hesitated, his voice shaking as he looked at the latest message on his phone. "S-Sir. Miss Yaeger … she's already gone."
