Chapter 23. Taking the Blame for Sharon
Jacintha reluctantly regained her composure and picked up the phone: "Hello, this is Jacintha. May I ask, who is this?"
Before she could finish speaking, a cold voice from Raphael echoed: "I told you to wait in the lounge, why did you leave? Have you lost your memory?"
This was the first time Raphael had called Jacintha, and she had never known how to contact him before. Jacintha had just lost an important acting opportunity, so she was in a bad mood and had no intention of being submissive to Raphael. She responded curtly: "Mr. Wulfhart, is there something you need?"
Raphael scoffed: "You hired someone to secretly photograph me and Sharon, and I haven’t punished you yet!"
Jacintha felt anxious, fearing she might inadvertently say something to anger Raphael. She quickly interrupted: "Mr. Wulfhart, the signal here isn’t good, I can’t hear you clearly! Hello? Hello? If you don’t have anything else, I’m hanging up now."
With that, she decisively ended the call and walked out of the hotel. Just as she was going down the stairs, her phone rang again. This time it was Lucas calling her back. Typically, when Lucas called, it was for two reasons: either to tell her to go to Celeste Manor to service Raphael, or to relay a message from Raphael, and it was almost never good news.
Jacintha was in a bad mood and really didn’t want to take this call, but out of frustration, she let the phone ring without answering.
A moment later, Lucas sent a message, "Ms. Wilson, Boss says if he doesn’t see you in half an hour, he’ll have me pick up your son from the kindergarten."
This was clearly a subtle threat aimed at Jacintha.
Jacintha stared at the message, her heart filled with both anger and fear, a sense of utter confusion overwhelming her. Even though it was a hot summer day, she felt a chill run through her body, cold sweat streaming down her forehead. About a minute later, Jacintha regained her composure and replied to Lucas, "I understand, I will meet Mr. Wulfhart right away."
Although she had prepared herself mentally for Raphael's punishment, when she returned to the president's office and saw Raphael's cold expression, Jacintha could not help but feel angry.
"Even dogs know to come back after playing outside, but what about you? Don't you know how to come back?" Raphael’s voice became particularly harsh because Jacintha had turned off her phone.
Jacintha immediately changed her expression, anger clearly showing on her face from being insulted. "I’m a human, not your pet. Please don’t compare me to a dog! Besides, our transaction is over, you are no longer my master."
Thud!
Raphael threw the financial report onto the desk, his expression darkening as he sneered, "I can’t believe you dare speak to me like this!"
Jacintha lowered her head, her gaze fixed on the ground. "I’m just stating the truth."
"The truth?" Raphael sneered. "The truth is that before, you performed for me for money, and now that you’ve gotten the money, you quickly forget, right?!"
"That’s not true..." Jacintha retorted.
Raphael coldly interrupted, "Do you know the difference between you and a dog? A dog just needs its master to give an order, and no matter how far apart they are, it will still remember that command. But you, you're even worse than a dog!"
"You...!" Jacintha was furious, her face pale, so angry that she couldn’t speak, her hands trembling with indignation.
Seeing this, Raphael raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued. "You don’t agree? But even if you don’t, what can you do other than accept it?!"
Jacintha turned to leave the office. At that moment, Raphael coldly spoke up, "Stop! If you dare step outside, I’ll make sure someone teaches you a lesson!"
Jacintha pretended not to hear him and quickly walked out, her heart filled with frustration. She didn’t understand why Raphael, who always said he didn’t want to see her again, kept forcing her to meet him. Was it because Sharon was secretly photographed by antis last night, and he was taking his anger out on her? But Sharon being secretly photographed had nothing to do with her, yet Raphael had quickly blamed her without even investigating.
The more Jacintha thought, the more frustrated she became. She couldn’t stop thinking about how Mr. Ball had rejected her, just because of the scar on her face, making her lose a precious acting opportunity. This only deepened her sense of despair.
Just as Jacintha was about to open the door and step outside, a long, powerful hand reached out from beside her and suddenly grabbed her wrist. "It seems you weren’t taught properly, which is why you’re acting this way."
A surge of anger rose in Jacintha’s chest. She forcefully jerked her arm away in an attempt to break free from Raphael’s grip. Then, with a sharp “slap,” Jacintha slapped Raphael hard across the face.
Raphael’s face immediately darkened, and without hesitation, he kicked her in the thigh!
The kick was merciless, sending Jacintha crashing to the ground. She felt as though her bones might break. Instinctively, she tried to get up, but Raphael stomped on her back, and her spine throbbed with pain.
"I don’t have time for your nonsense!" Raphael looked down at Jacintha, his face emotionless. "If you dared to harm Sharon, you must be prepared to face the consequences from me. Now, I will give you a chance to atone for your actions..."
"I didn’t harm Sharon!" Jacintha’s face turned pale as she knelt on the ground, gasping for breath. "Raphael, you’re so smart, why don’t you investigate the truth?! If you find out that I’m the one who did it, then go ahead and take my life!"
Raphael coldly replied, "What do I need your worthless life for? Not only would it stain my hands, but I’d also have to waste time on a petty person like you. Fine, I’ll tell you how to atone."
The spine of Jacintha was crushed under Raphael's force, and the pain was so intense that cold sweat broke out on her skin. She wanted to crawl up, but she couldn’t stand. Raphael’s cold voice echoed in her ears, “Later, you will go online and admit that it was you who had dinner with me last night, it was you sitting in the car kissing me, and that photo has nothing to do with Sharon. Do you understand?”