Chapter 174
Josephine ignored the person behind her and carried a fruit basket into the hospital room. After a brief conversation, she learned that the girl's name was Lily.
Lily didn’t hold any resentment toward Josephine over the accident. She was surprisingly understanding and even tried to comfort Josephine. "Please don't blame yourself. I know this was an accident no one wanted."
Josephine felt uneasy—she would have preferred if the girl blamed her. "Regardless, I'm apologizing on behalf of our company's employees. This was their oversight. When I get back, I'll make sure they're severely disciplined."
"It’s okay, really. I’m fine, aren’t I?" Lily was remarkably optimistic, scratching her head in embarrassment. "Though I was really scared at first—I thought my first time volunteering would be my last..."
Josephine touched her hair gently. "Don't be afraid. You're going to be fine."
Gideon, who'd been silent until now, spoke up. "Your medical expenses, compensation for emotional distress, and wages will all be doubled. You'll receive every penny of the compensation you're owed."
Lily's eyes lit up. "Thank you so much! My family's poor, and I'm putting myself through college while earning money. With this, I won't need to work part-time jobs next semester."
Josephine still had other matters to attend to and couldn't stay long. Before leaving, Lily whispered, "Ms. Kennedy, your husband is such a good man."
Josephine froze, then said quietly, "You've misunderstood. We're not in that kind of relationship."
Gideon glanced at her. He neither confirmed nor denied it, simply saying, "Did you drive here? I can take you home tonight."
"No need. I drove."
The firm rejection was the answer Gideon had expected. But that hadn't been his real purpose anyway. He said casually, "That's a shame. I wanted to talk to you in the car about something. Olivia's birthday is coming up soon. She wants to throw a party and would like to invite you."
Josephine frowned slightly. She'd been so busy lately that she'd forgotten about it. In all her years with the Getty family, Olivia was the only one she'd gotten along with well.
In previous years, she'd never missed Olivia's birthday celebration.
"I see."
Watching their familiar exchange, Lily smiled knowingly. "Mr. Getty, did you upset this beautiful lady?"
Gideon nodded. "I did."
"Then you need to really make it up to her." Lily laughed cheerfully, pure innocence in her eyes. "Girls are actually easy to win over—as long as you're sincere, you can make things right."
After listening, Gideon nodded seriously. "You make a good point. I'll work on it."
Josephine frowned as she listened from the side.
Gideon glanced at her, then asked Lily, "So how do you show sincerity when making things right?"
Lily thought about it. "I don't really have experience with that—I've never been in a relationship..."
Josephine stood up and said coolly, "The prerequisite for successfully making amends is not making fundamental mistakes in the first place. If you cross someone's bottom line, no amount of apologies will matter."
Gideon watched her silently, something dark flickering in his eyes. "But I believe that no matter what someone does wrong, they should be given a chance to reform. Even death row inmates get a chance to explain and repent before execution."
"And then they're executed anyway."
Since the death sentence would be carried out regardless, explanation and repentance were pointless exercises.
They locked eyes—his dark and complicated, hers cold and merciless.
Though naive, Lily wasn't stupid. She sensed something was wrong and shrank back, not daring to make a sound.
Josephine's manner toward her was much gentler. "It's getting late. I should go. Rest well, and call me if you need anything."
"Okay, drive safely."
After Josephine left the hospital room, Gideon followed her out, silently trailing behind without speaking.
Josephine ignored him.
When they exited through the hospital's main entrance, Josephine quickly reached her car. She'd just opened the door when Gideon pressed it shut.
He was too close, his presence enveloping her. Josephine immediately stepped back, frowning and making no attempt to hide her irritation. "Do you find this amusing?"
"No," Gideon answered.
Josephine held back her anger, her tone mocking. "I had no idea Mr. Getty had taken up stalking—and gotten so good at it too."
"What if I said I wasn't stalking you? Would you believe me?"
"Do you think I would?"
Gideon rubbed his forehead, seeing the wariness in her eyes. It would be a lie to say it didn't hurt. "Jojo, she's a volunteer at my company. As CEO, isn't it my responsibility to visit her? I didn't expect to run into you here."
It was the truth.
But there had been too many coincidences. Josephine didn't believe him. She gave him a cold look. "Do whatever you want. But next time someone mistakes our relationship, I hope you'll clarify rather than being evasive."
"We barely know her. Is there really a need to discuss our divorce in front of her?"
Josephine ignored him and turned to get in the car.
Gideon held the door open, preventing her from closing it. Meeting her angry gaze, he said, "Jojo, I've been investigating something recently. About Cedric."
"So?"
"You should keep your distance from him. That man is far more dangerous than we imagined." Gideon's voice was grave. "He's getting close to you, but not to help you."
"Even at his most dangerous, he couldn't compare to you."
Josephine pushed his hand away, watching as his fingertips gradually left the car door.
The door slammed shut. The engine started. The car pulled away in front of Gideon, leaving behind only one light, dismissive comment.
"After all, he won't destroy my expectations of marriage."
Gideon stood frozen in place. A cold wind swept over him before he snapped back to reality. His phone rang in his pocket.
It was Lorelei calling.
Gideon didn't even look—he just hung up.
Lorelei called again.
Gideon simply turned his phone off.
Hearing the cold automated message from the other end, Lorelei angrily threw her phone. Briana had just come downstairs and jumped at the sound.
Lorelei's face was rigid. "Mrs. Getty..."
Briana walked up to her, frowning. "Your temper is getting worse and worse. Do you know how ugly you look when you lose control like this? That's no way to hold onto a man's heart."
Lorelei bit her lip. "I know. Gideon doesn't like seeing me like this..."
She stroked her belly, but anxiety churned inside her. Before, she could at least use physical intimacy to keep him close, but now her stomach kept growing larger. She'd gained so much weight, and stretch marks had appeared.
She couldn't even stand to look at her own body.
Briana sighed. "If you really want to win back his heart, you need to go after Josephine."
"You mean..."
Briana reached up to touch her face. She was getting older, too, but years of beauty treatments and maintenance meant that while she couldn't compete with girls in their prime, she was definitely top-tier among women her age.
"If a woman can't use her own beauty to keep a man, she needs to find a way to destroy the person who can steal his heart away."
Lorelei looked at her face as a sudden, dangerous thought flashed through her mind.
Risky, but... perhaps worth trying.