It was the servant who called Raymond.
Seeing the two figures in the water, especially the corner of the gray evening dress floating on the surface, his eyes widened in shock.
He quickly shrugged off his suit jacket, and Stuart hurriedly followed suit.
One after the other, they dove into the pool, swimming towards the two women in the center.
By this time, Melinda had already passed out.
Emily, seeing Raymond swimming over, quickly pretended to be drowning, choking on some water before sinking down.
She felt an arm wrap around her and tried to open her eyes to see who it was, only to find that it was Stuart who had saved her!
Raymond had already lifted Melinda and was swimming towards the shore.
The crowd that had gathered upon hearing the commotion quickly helped pull the two women out of the water.
Raymond knelt on one knee in front of Melinda and began performing CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, pressing down on her chest repeatedly.
"Mr. Thomas, Ms. Sharp will be okay," Stuart said, quickly draping a white towel over Raymond's shoulders.
He also took a white towel handed to him by a servant.
Emily, after being pulled out of the water, lay on the other side. Stuart didn't dare to perform CPR or mouth-to-mouth on her.
Emily kept her eyes closed for a long time, waiting for someone to come over, but when no one did, she had to pretend to cough up some water and weakly opened her eyes.
"Mr. Thomas, Ms. Lowe is awake," Stuart quickly reported.
But Raymond seemed not to hear him, continuing to perform CPR and mouth-to-mouth on Melinda.
"Melinda! Melinda! Don't scare me!" Raymond called out urgently.
A flash of hatred and unwillingness crossed Emily's eyes.
Her original plan was to fall into the water and have Raymond save her, thus gaining his attention.
But she hadn't expected Melinda to jump in to save her. She could have let Melinda drown! But Raymond intervened, and her plan failed once again.
With Raymond's relentless efforts, Melinda coughed violently, spitting out a lot of water before slowly opening her eyes. The first thing she saw was Raymond's anxious, handsome face.
"You're finally awake!" Raymond said excitedly, caressing Melinda's cold face, tears of joy welling up in his deep eyes.
The crowd cheered.
Both women who had fallen into the water were now awake, but among the crowd, one person watched the scene with a complex expression.
She looked at the noble and handsome Raymond, kneeling there soaking wet, overjoyed for the just-rescued Melinda, feeling a mix of emotions.
Melinda suddenly sat up, draped in Raymond's suit jacket. She looked up and met Emily's resentful eyes.
Without hesitation, she pushed away Raymond's outstretched hand and struggled to stand up.
Despite her weakness, she took one step at a time towards Emily, raised her hand, and slapped her hard across the face.
Emily was caught off guard, tears streaming down her face like broken pearls.
She looked up, her voice trembling with sobs, "Melinda, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I know you were trying to save me, but I'm afraid of water."
After saying that, Emily signaled to a waiter.
The waiter turned to Melinda and questioned, "I saw with my own eyes that you pushed her into the water. Now you're hitting her? How heartless can you be?"
"Don't blame Melinda, I accidentally fell in myself," Emily said, covering her face.
Melinda's figure swayed slightly. She had just experienced a near-drowning and was truly exhausted.
At that moment, a strong arm wrapped around her waist. She leaned against a broad chest, knowing without looking who it was.
More and more guests gathered around the pool, all wanting to know what had happened.
The two women who had called out from the shore earlier spoke with lingering fear, "Ms. Lowe was pushed into the water by Ms. Sharp, but after we shouted, Ms. Sharp jumped in to save her and almost drowned herself."
Emily, worried that Raymond would see through her scheme, shivered and hugged her arms, pretending to be pitiful, "Raymond, don't blame Melinda. She was trying to save me, but she can't swim. She resents me, but I don't blame her."
After saying that, she covered her face and started crying.
"She's clearly seeking revenge! Five years ago, Ms. Sharp was a promiscuous woman, sleeping with a nightclub gigolo and even having a child. What right does she have to stand here now?"
"Really? Her child's father is a gigolo? I thought she was so high and mighty!"
These words exploded like a bomb among the crowd. The girl in front of them was involved with a nightclub gigolo? The crowd buzzed with curiosity and speculation about Melinda's past.
Melinda's face turned pale, trembling with anger.
"Shut up! Enough!" Raymond couldn't take it anymore. His eyes, sharp as blades, glared at the person who had just spoken. That girl was a guest at today's party, and Emily had deliberately let her know she was Raymond's fiancée, the future mistress of the Thomas Villa. Naturally, these people wanted to curry favor with her.
But the crowd's chatter didn't stop; it only grew more intense.
"Mr. Thomas, really? You want a woman like that?"
"Just for fun. His fiancée just fell into the water too, didn't she? Poor thing, not even as important as an outsider!"
"Ms. Lowe is really pitiful, getting hit and still apologizing!"
Melinda felt immense pressure from the surrounding whispers.
The people around completely ignored the truth, accusing her of being a homewrecker.
Raymond, ignoring the stares, scooped Melinda up in his arms.
As he walked, he shouted to Stuart, "Take Ms. Lowe home!"
"Raymond, I don't want to go. I want to wait here for you!" Emily's heart-wrenching cries echoed.
The onlookers shook their heads and dispersed.
In the end, Melinda emerged as the biggest winner of this drama.
Raymond's love for her surged like a tide, while for Emily, he didn't even spare a single extra word.
Melinda took a comfortable hot shower, changed into clean clothes, and lay weakly on the bed, clutching the blanket tightly.
Raymond also came out after washing up, his hair still dripping, wearing a loosely tied silk robe. He sat by the bed, gently holding her hand, his gaze tender and affectionate, "I had someone make chicken soup for you to warm you up."
"Will I... bring you shame?" Her mind was filled with the words of the onlookers, talking about Sam's biological father being a nightclub gigolo. Such a disgraceful thing spreading around, Sam was only five years old and would have to endure these rumors.
"As long as I'm here, no one will dare to bully you." He gently caressed her cheek.
"I want to transfer Sam to a different preschool. The Thomas Group has preschools, and any child from our family can attend. I've already asked Stuart to handle it."