Chapter 219
Willow closed the app and set her phone aside.
"Did someone say nasty things about you?" Maria asked with concern. She could tell Willow's expression had darkened considerably, which meant people online must be attacking her.
The thought of her granddaughter being criticized when she'd done nothing wrong infuriated Maria. "Just wait, I'm calling Charles right now! He needs to clear this mess up!"
Willow snapped back to reality and gave Maria a small smile. "No, it's fine. You know Charles left the Lancaster Group—he doesn't get that much attention anymore. Not many people online actually care about this."
There were plenty questioning how she'd gotten into the Lancaster Group, but Willow heard these whispers at work every day and had grown used to them. As long as they didn't drag Sterling into it, she could handle it.
Maria gave her a suspicious look.
"If there's really an issue, I'll talk to Charles myself," Willow assured her. She worried that if Maria actually got Charles to come over, he might say something inappropriate in front of her grandmother.
After much reassurance, Maria finally calmed down, though she continued to grumble about Charles.
Willow promised again that she wouldn't let herself be taken advantage of, even mentioning she'd ask Sterling for help if needed, which finally put the topic to rest.
"Grandma, I need to go out for a bit," Willow said after breakfast. "I might not be back for lunch, so don't wait for me."
Maria immediately grew wary. "Are you going to see Charles?"
Understanding her grandmother's concern, Willow smiled. "My professor asked me to meet her today. I'm not sure what it's about, but I should go."
Maria reluctantly agreed.
After leaving the hospital room, Willow went upstairs to check on Sterling. He was eating breakfast, looking somewhat tired, as if he hadn't slept well.
Seeing his face, Willow couldn't help but recall last night's events and the embarrassing dreams she'd had. She slowed her steps, feeling awkward.
Sterling heard her enter but noticed her hesitation. "Opened the package last night and already looking to return it today?" he said with irritation.
The images in Willow's mind became even more vivid. She stared at him, annoyed and embarrassed, about to say something when she noticed his injured arm.
"Is your wound bothering you?" She quickly approached to examine his injury. The bandage looked different from yesterday's—it appeared freshly changed.
"Last night's bandage was too tight," Sterling explained. "I had a nurse rewrap it earlier."
Relieved, Willow sat with him while he finished breakfast.
"Charles suddenly made our marriage public," she told Sterling about the morning's events.
Sterling's eyes darkened briefly as he quickly guessed Charles's motives. However, he didn't want Willow to worry about it.
"It might not be him," he said.
Willow frowned, connecting this to last night's events. "Where's that guy from last night?" she asked about Jay's whereabouts.
Sterling paused. "Why? Do you need him for something?"
"I want to confirm a few things with him," Willow replied.
Sterling looked up at her.
"I think he might be acting on Rachel's orders," Willow shared her theory. "Rachel knows Charles and I don't get along." Jay's sudden escape last night confirmed he was working for someone else, and Rachel was the only person Willow could think of.
"But there are details that don't make sense," she continued. "Rachel has always wanted to be with Charles. Making my relationship with Charles public doesn't benefit her at all."
Sterling's lips curved slightly as he asked, "What about Gloria?"
Willow paused. "She doesn't know about my college relationships." After starting university, she had completely lost touch with Gloria until she married Charles.
As soon as she said this, an image flashed in Willow's mind: at Elaine's baby shower, Rachel and Gloria had been conspiring together. Realizing this, Willow fell into thoughtful silence.
Sterling didn't pursue the point further. "About what you're curious about—Blake asked around last night. It was indeed Rachel's doing. You're very perceptive."
Willow sighed. "I can hardly be caught off guard so many times and not learn my lesson."
"I want to talk to her," she said.
"I'll come with you," Sterling replied firmly.
Willow refused without hesitation. "You're still injured. Stay in the hospital and rest. Rachel's mother is probably still in the hospital too. I'll confront her there. She won't expect me, so there shouldn't be any trouble."
Sterling glanced at his bandaged arm with a frown. "My arm is injured, not my legs."
"Still not happening," Willow insisted. "The doctor recommended you stay for observation."
Sterling fell silent. He couldn't argue with Willow. "At least let my driver take you."
Willow agreed.
When the driver dropped her off at the hospital, he said, "I'll wait for you down here. Call me if anything happens." She knew Sterling had instructed him to say this.
Willow smiled at him. "Thank you for your trouble."
Samara's hospital ranked first in Majestic City, and Maria had received treatment there before. Early as it was, the hospital was already crowded with people waiting in line. Willow went directly to the inpatient department and found Samara's room from memory. As she approached the door, she heard Rachel's tearful voice from inside.
"Now everyone knows Charlie was already married, and not to me! How am I supposed to face my classmates..."
Rachel sat beside her mother's hospital bed, sobbing. Since Charles hadn't made his marriage public before, Rachel had bragged to her friends that she was Charles's new bride, trying to make herself seem important. Now Charles had humiliated her, and she didn't know how to show her face again.
Samara didn't look pleased either. "I told you not to listen to that Brown woman. Everything she does is for herself—how could she truly collaborate with you?"
The mention of Gloria only made Rachel cry harder. "What was I supposed to do? I lost the baby, Mrs. Lancaster stopped helping me, you're in the hospital and can't help me—I had no choice but to listen to her!"
She had followed Gloria's every instruction, even telling her about Willow attending the Majestic City University reunion. And now Gloria had betrayed her, without any consideration for her situation!
"If you want to be with Charles, and she wants to be with Sterling," Samara reasoned, "your goals were never aligned. How could you work together? She'd be thrilled if Charles and Willow got back together!"
Rachel's crying paused for a few seconds before she became hysterical. "You knew all this? Why didn't you tell me?!"