Filed To Story: A Second Chance with My Billionaire Love
After all, wasn’t that where all female celebrities ended up anyway- married to rich and powerful men?
Halston, however, was nothing but disinterested. He could see through Ruby’s true intentions at a simple glance and had no intention of humoring her. Thus, all he did was bluntly ask, “What’s going on between you and Flossie?”
Ruby’s smile stiffened. She awkwardly replied, “What… What do you mean, Mr. Guajardo?”
’I saw how you vehemently targeted her just now, so I assumed there’s something going on between you two. Do you mind telling me about it?”
“That’s not true!” Ruby argued defensively. Her eyes flickered, ashamed that Halston managed to see through her deceit. “To be perfectly honest, I’d never even heard of Ms. Ellsworth’s name before today. All I did was speak the truth about what I saw. I’d harbor absolutely no animosity towards someone I consider a stranger!
“You’re lying!’
Halston’s eyes were as keen and shrewd as an eagle’s. He sneered at Ruby and added, “Didn’t you just tell me you’ve admired me for a long time?
Then how is it possible that you’ve never heard of my ex-wife’s name?’
“I…” Ruby was stunned, speechless. Being a veteran of the entertainment world, she was used to pulling words out of her *ss, and everyone would accept whatever she said without batting an eyelid. She never expected Halston to be so perceptive that he could immediately catch the inconsistency in her speech. For a second, she was completely at a loss for what to do.
Then in a hasty bid to save face, she blurted, “What… What I meant was that I’ve never personally met Ms. Ellsworth, but of course, I’ve heard of her. After all, your CP ‘Hunt My Ellsworth’ is really popular online. Lots of people in the entertainment industry are fans of that site.”
“Because you admire me…” Halston ruthlessly interjected, coldly staring at Ruby. “You must be jealous of her because of how close she is to me.
That’s why you targeted her from the start. You took that damaging photo of her with ulterior motives. You then led everyone to believe that she was the one to push Cecilia into the sea, am I correct?”
At that moment, Ruby was so flustered that her face was crimson red. Barely able to handle the mounting pressure, she only managed to stammer, “No! That’s not true! I didn’t do that! I…”
Being the most sought-after celebrity, Ruby was no stranger to high society. She had been mingling with the upper echelons of the professional world, yet this was her first time being rendered completely at a loss.
Perhaps it was because Halston had such an intimidating aura. His eyes could seemingly penetrate all manner of lies or deception, and now, all her hidden cards were laid bare for him to see!
“Did you really think that just by eliminating Flossie, you’d easily take her place and get what you want?”
Halston’s freezing gaze was full of disdain. He sniggered and added, “Even without Flossie, a cunning and calculative woman like you would never catch my eye, so stop wasting your time and effort.”
All these years, there had been such a continuous flow of women trying to latch onto him that he lost count. There was, at this point, no trickery in this world that he had not seen.
Ruby Chisholm was indeed pretty, but her beauty in no way made up for her cutthroat ambitious nature. There was just too much greed in her eyes. She was not pure enough.
But to be fair to her, all of the women who threw themselves at him had too much greed in their eyes. All of them except Flossie.
There were no ulterior motives, no greed in Flossie’s crystal clear eyes. They were as pure and innocent as a baby’s…
That was the main reason why Flossie had a special place in Halston’s heart.
Ruby watched as Halston coldly walked away from her. She clenched her fists and bitterly yelled, ‘I never knew that you could be so cocky, Mr. Guajardo!”
His vicious words had been a huge slap in her face, filling her with shame and humiliation. She was the queen of the movie industry, after all. She had been used to everyone admiring her and showering her with praises. Never in her life had she been treated so brutally!
“I had indeed been admiring you,” she continued, “but you really are just so cocky and arrogant that you’re pushing everyone away. No wonder your first love dumped you! No wonder your ex-wife divorced you!”
Halston stopped in his tracks. He never expected Ruby to have the audacity to poke at his sore spot.
“And your ex-wife might not be as innocent as you might think, Mr. Guajardo. If she was, how could Miss Cecilia Smith and I both accuse her at the same time?”
She then sneered and added, “Think about it. Do you really think that it makes sense for Miss Smith to risk her own life just to slander a woman that means nothing to her?”
M II
Halston frowned deeply. Ruby’s questioning had really thrown him off balance.
Flossie Ellsworth… Did you really push Cecilia? Why were you unwilling to explain yourself? Was it because you were ashamed
This whole incident had been plaguing Halston’s mind, and he knew he would not be at peace until he found out the truth.
He took a deep breath and decided that the best course of action would be to ask the person directly involved in the matter-Cecilia Smith.
Cecilia had been sent to the hospital to receive emergency treatment, and her life was now out of danger, but because she was drowning in the water for too long, there were concerns that she might’ve damaged her brain, heart, and lungs, and she had to remain hospitalized for a few more days for observation. 1
All the guests had now left, with only Cecilia’s parents, Christopher, and Xavier remaining at the hospital with her. They were all standing outside the door to her private ward amid a tense and heavy atmosphere.
Cecilia’s mother was wringing her hands and staring cautiously at Christopher. She then fumblingly said, ’Chris… There were too many people earlier, so I couldn’t really speak to you frankly, but now that everyone’s gone, why don’t we sit down and have a proper talk about the things between you and Cecy?”
Christopher kept his hands in his pockets, but his eyes remained kind and gentle. He seemed to be his old mellow, and affable self.
“What would you like to talk about?” he asked her in a calm voice.
“You must know that Cecy has always been an indecisive girl, but she can also sometimes be a little headstrong. As her mother, I can sense that after all these years, Halston still has a special place in her heart…”
“Nonsense!” Cecilia’s father interrupted her with a frown, glaring violently at his wife. Then his expression softened as he turned to Christopher and told him, “If everything had gone according to plan, I’d have raised my glass to your happiness and called you my son-in-law by now, Chris. Don’t listen to my wife. She’s talking nonsense. I know for a fact that Cecy has no feelings left for Halston Guajardo, but she is a gentle soul. She felt that she had once hurt Halston, and she is unable to forgive herself until now. The truth is, the person she loves the most is still you. So don’t worry. Once Cecy has gotten better, we’ll find another suitable and auspicious date for the wedding, and everything will fall into place.”
“Yes, yes, that’s right! My husband is absolutely right! I was using the wrong words just now. I didn’t mean that Halston holds a special place in Cecy’s heart, only that she still regrets hurting him. As for her feelings for you, that was pure and deep, for sure! You mustn’t let this misunderstanding stand in the way of your happiness as a couple!”
Cecilia’s parents were no fools. They knew that Christopher’s family was highly respected in Beach City and that this was probably the best family that their daughter could marry. Naturally, they weren’t about to let her miss out on this opportunity so easily.
Christopher’s clean-cut face revealed little emotion, rendering him inscrutable. All he did was reply in a flat voice, “You’ve misunderstood me. I announced the ending of my relationship with Cecilia today, not because of her, much less Halston. It’s a decision that I’ve made myself after a long consideration.”
“The truth is,” he continued, “I’ve long noticed that Cecilia and I aren’t compatible with one another. But at the time, I guess we were just too enmeshed in our feelings, or perhaps a better way to put it is that we both sacrificed too much for our feelings to give it all up. In fact, I should thank Cecy, because her courage helped me to finally make this decision.”
“Wh… What?”
Both of Cecilia’s parents were dumbfounded. They never expected Christopher to actually change his mind about their daughter. After all, he had loved Cecilia so much in the past! How could he change so easily and suddenly?
“Chris!” yelled Xavier. He could no longer take it. It was the first time that he ever raised his voice at Christopher, who he always respected like his own big brother. “Are you out of your mind? Do you know what you’re talking about? I can’t believe all that bullsh*t you just spewed! You sounded like a total scumbag!
“Have you forgotten how well Halston and Cecy were getting along back then? They were even discussing marriage! If you hadn’t shown up, they’d probably be having their second baby right now! You made Cecy’s feelings for Halston waver for a while, till she decided to dump Halston. And now that Halston finally managed to let go of Cecy, you’re saying you want to break up with her! You’re such a scumbag that I really want to beat you up right now!”
“You’re right,” Christopher took a breath and helplessly admitted. “I really am a scumbag. If beating me up could lessen the pain I’ve caused Cecy, I’ll gladly accept it!” “You!”
Xavier was taken aback, completely at a loss for what to do
Xavier balled up his fists, but in the end, he had no choice but to reluctantly let it go.
If he really beat Christopher up, the three best friends would return to being distant and strained around each other after having recently overcome many obstacles to reunite.
“Fine, fine! The three of you have been dragging it out for so many years now that it’s all a big freaking mess! I’m so tired of it and want nothing to do with it anymore. Just do whatever you like!”
Xavier quickly turned and stomped away. He still had a lot on his plate. In fact, even his dad declared that this week was his last stint of freedom! If he lost that criminal case, he’d be locked up behind bars and face a harsh sentence for a long time.
What mattered most to him was finding a good lawyer to help him win the case right now. But no matter where he looked, he still found that the only person suited for the job was Zack Rosenwell, yet Zack was Flossie Ellsworth’s employee, and he had unfortunately been in a battle royale with her today. It really looked like he was in deep s**t now!
“Mr. Smith,” Christopher called out after Xavier was gone. “Mrs. Smith, I am deeply sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused. I will do my best to make amends. For now, let’s focus on calming Cecy and helping her to recover. If there’s nothing else, please allow me to excuse myself.”
He then bowed humbly at them. Although his words were sincere and polite, he was unmistakably defiant and unyielding.
Seeing this, Cecilia’s mother could no longer hold it in and immediately burst into tears. She grabbed Christopher’s arm and begged him, “Don’t do this, Chris! You’ve been with Cecy for so many years now! How can you just give her up so easily? Both of your families have gotten along so well, and you’re both at an age when you should get married, so please don’t give it all up just because you’ve stumbled onto a small obstacle! You can always begin again with a clean slate. Even if the passion between you two has died down, you can still get along in harmony… After all, love isn’t the most important thing in marriage. What’s more important is how suitable you are for each other. You know how those couples who love each other to death don’t always end well!”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.