By Zephyria “Don’t worry, I’ll somehow take care of this.”
After hanging up, he let out a short sigh. He took more painkillers than usual, but the headache didn’t subside at all. The pain was getting worse, to the point where his vision was blurring. The secretary’s office and the public relations team were running around trying to stop the article, but it wouldn’t be easy to resolve.
It’s easy for rumors to spread, but it’s almost impossible to correct them. The important thing is who orchestrated this.
My mother, of course.
There was no need to think deeply. The clumsy scheme didn’t even make him laugh. What was the reason for holding such a party in the first place?
She must have wanted to let everyone know that the Campbell family was still going strong.
The problem was that his mother’s purpose wasn’t just that. There was no way she could have gotten such perfect photos by chance. Someone at the party must have taken the pictures. Maybe she even called a reporter.
With this intention from the beginning,
This was also a huge discourtesy to Evelyn. Winston was publicly married, but she had suddenly become an adulteress. He had to tell his mother to apologize directly.
But before that.
The person he had to persuade and assert his innocence to now was none other than Yu-jin. In fact, he didn’t care who else was hurt or misunderstood. The important thing was that Yu-jin didn’t believe him.
Just like I did.
Only after being in the same situation did he realize how wronged and upset Yu-jin must have been. How could he be so stupid? He wanted to curse himself, but that wouldn’t change anything. What did it matter if he was misunderstood for having an affair? Yu-jin had been wearing the false accusation for years, or rather, still was.
He thought and thought again, even with a terrible headache. How could he clear Yu-jin’s name? If things continued like this, wouldn’t it be inevitable that he would continue to misunderstand and hate Winston? If all this could be undone with just a few apologies, it would be too unfair to Yu-jin.
……That’s right.
Winston’s eyes narrowed. Wasn’t this a good opportunity instead?
Just as he thought that far, his cell phone rang. He frowned for a moment when he checked the caller. As he thought, he soon pressed the call button.
“Yes, Mother.”
He answered quietly, and Mrs. Campbell’s voice came from the other side.
“Winston, I just got a call from Evelyn. She said she called you too?”
Winston resisted the urge to grind his teeth and answered as calmly as possible.
“Yes, she did.”
“Oh dear…… I hope you talked it out so she wouldn’t misunderstand? I’m worried it will damage your relationship.”
“It’s okay, we talked it out.”
Winston reassured her in a calm voice.
“Evelyn is easy to talk to, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Is that so?”
A smile spread across Mrs. Campbell’s voice. She must have taken Winston’s words completely differently. As proof, she continued in a much brighter tone.
“Let’s all have dinner together soon. It would be better to meet and talk to each other, wouldn’t it?”
“Of course, Mother.”
Winston readily replied.
“I think so too.”
He gave a faint smile, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all.
* * *
“Oh my gosh, what is all this?”
Georgina, who had just returned home, shouted in surprise at the sight of people carrying large pieces of furniture. The house was full of furniture, decorations, and paintings she had never seen before. The existing works and furniture were all being carried out somewhere. Lady Catherine, who was watching the workers from one side, smiled and said to her bewildered daughter.
“Welcome home, Georgina. Was school fun?”
“Ew, school fun? Does that even make sense?”
She stuck out her tongue and shook her head, then quickly continued.
“More importantly, what’s going on here? Are we moving?”
Her mind went blank for a moment. She should have been told in advance, what was she supposed to do with all the treasures in her room! Seeing her daughter clutching her head as she thought of the idol posters and memorabilia she had collected, Lady Catherine widened her eyes and scolded her.
“What are you talking about, moving? That’s impossible.”
“Then what is all this commotion?”
When Georgina asked urgently, Lady Catherine raised her hand to her chest with an elegant gesture and said.
“I’m just redecorating the house. The furniture and everything is quite old, and I thought it would be nice to change things up, don’t you think?”
“That’s true, but changing things up costs money. We don’t have that kind of money!”
“Can’t you be quiet?”
Lady Catherine was startled by Georgina’s loud voice and covered her daughter’s mouth. Seeing Georgina rolling her wide eyes, she put her second finger to her lips and signaled her to be quiet, then lowered her voice and said.
“What are you talking about, we don’t have money? How embarrassing! Don’t believe such ridiculous rumors.”
It wasn’t a rumor, it was the truth. Georgina knew the family’s financial situation inside and out. Above all, everyone in America knew that Lady Catherine had been sued for not paying properly after a huge shopping spree. So what money is this all with? How is this possible? After confirming that Georgina had quieted down, Lady Catherine took her hand off her daughter’s mouth. This time, Georgina questioned her mother in a muffled voice.”What happened to the things you bought at the department store? There was a pile of bills to pay. We need to take care of that first!”
“Of course, I did. What do you take me for?”
Lady Catherine pouted her lips, looking displeased.
“I told you, it wasn’t that I couldn’t pay, I just forgot! It’s all taken care of now, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“No, I mean, with what money! Did you win the lottery or something?”
That was the only reasonable deduction Georgina could make. But upon hearing that, Lady Catherine covered her mouth with the back of her hand and let out a short laugh.
“That’s something only poor people do. It has nothing to do with people like us.”
“Then how did all this happen?”
Georgina asked repeatedly, frustrated. Lady Catherine smiled broadly at her daughter’s appearance and replied.
“There’s no need to worry so much. Winston simply recognized George’s abilities and entrusted him with one of the family’s businesses. And we’re receiving fair compensation for it.”
“Winston?”
Hearing that made even less sense. As far as Georgina knew, her father was a very timid and weak-hearted man. As a result, he had not been able to properly maintain the business he inherited from his father and it had been in a precarious state. Moreover, Georgina had resigned herself to the fact that they would soon go bankrupt due to her mother’s severe spending habits.
But Winston entrusted her father with the family business.
“What exactly is it? What is Father doing? It’s not something illegal, is it?”
“What are you saying!”
Lady Catherine raised her voice in a stern tone when Georgina asked urgently, feeling impatient, and then quickly glanced around. After confirming that everyone was busy with their own work and not paying any attention to them, she glared and opened her mouth in a lower voice.
“Of course, it’s legal. We’re just protecting the family’s assets from the government. Reducing unfair expenses.”
“Tax evasion, you mean?”
“Tax reduction.”
Lady Catherine quickly corrected her daughter’s words.
“You don’t have to worry about it, it’s adults’ business. Would Winston ever do anything bad to us? We’re family.”
Her belief was so firm. That’s why Georgina couldn’t bring herself to tell the truth.
“Don’t trust Winston too much.”
Lady Catherine scoffed and waved her hand at Georgina, who barely managed to say that.
“That’s enough, go upstairs. Don’t you have homework? Don’t stay up all night again and do your homework.”
Soon, she turned her attention away from her daughter and towards the workers. Watching her mother directing the placement of the furniture here and there, Georgina couldn’t say anything more.
Winston knows, Mother. He knows that you and the rest of the family conspired to deceive him and make him break up with Yu-jin.
The words rose to her throat, but she couldn’t open her mouth. Without even imagining what would happen in the future, she was just watching her mother’s happy face.