Chapter 192
Josephinefelt a wave of slight embarrassment wash over her, instinctively averting her gaze to avoid any direct eye contact with him. It seemed that even she had begun to realize she had been overthinking the situation entirely.. "That's not what I meant. I just…"
She stole a quick glance at Cedric, whose face remained frigid and his expression stern—a look that was intimidating, to say the very least. Deciding it was time to be transparent, Josephine resolved to just lay all her cards on the table. "You wouldn't tell me anything before. I had no idea what your plan was, so of course I was worried… Haven's already in such bad shape. She definitely can't handle more pressure."
"Did I ever say Haven would be the one taking responsibility?" Cedric asked.
Well... when she thought about it, he actually hadn't.
Josephine decided not to beat around the bush any longer. "Fine. I admit that I misunderstood your intentions, and I am sorry. So, can you finally tell me now what it is you are actually planning to do?"
"Go home first. You'll find out tomorrow." He refused to elaborate.
JJosephine was well aware that there was no point in pressing him for answers, as Cedric’s lips were effectively sealed—whenever he did not wish to speak, absolutely nothing in the world could make him budge.
After watching the taillights of Cedric’s car pull away into the distance, Josephine turned around and began heading back toward her home at Clearwater Ridge. However, a familiar figure was already standing waiting by her front door.
It was Gideon.
"I saw today's press conference. The media's already all over it. But this thing is far from over."
Josephine pulled her phone from her pocket and opened the trending news feed to see the damage for herself. The headlines were chaotic and scattered all over the place:
[Explosive Press Conference! Victim's Family Demands Justice!]
[The Victim's Bizarre Relatives.]
[The Getty Group Teams Up with Victim's Bizarre Relatives in a Staged Act.]
Josephine found herself utterly speechless.
Where had that last headline even originated from, and wasn't the person who wrote such a thing embarrassed by their own lack of integrity?
"You see what I'm talking about." Gideon's voice was cold. "I never agreed with holding that press conference, but none of you listened. This so-called clarification didn't solve the crisis—it only sparked more speculation and rumors. I told you it wouldn't work."
"Whether it works or not, we had to try." Josephine's tone was calm. "Is there anything else?"
"I'm sticking to my position." He believed whoever made the mistake should take responsibility. If someone chose to hide because they were afraid of losing their career, they wouldn't get far anyway. "Sometimes sacrifices are necessary for the company."
But Josephine countered, "An employee made one careless mistake, and you won't even give them a chance. You'd throw them under the bus without a second thought. How do you think that looks to the rest of the staff?"
Gideon said something brutally cold: "How they see it doesn't matter."
Josephine stared at him in disbelief—though, honestly, she wasn't surprised.
Gideon had always been this way. Cold and ruthless.
"Jojo, listen to me. I wouldn't hurt you." Gideon stepped forward, trying to take her hand.
Josephine immediately stepped back, her expression just as cold as his. "I'll handle this my own way. I know what I'm doing. You should go back and deal with your own company's issues. This scandal isn't just affecting the Getty Group, is it?"
"Don't worry about my side. Technically, we're victims too…" Gideon's gaze darkened. "Jojo, I hope you never do something like that again."
He'd seen the press conference. Of course he knew Josephine had planned to take the fall herself.
He was furious, yet heartbroken to realize he wasn't surprised. Because that was just who Josephine was.
She always protected the people around her.
"Is that why you came here today? To tell me this?" She wanted to go inside.
"Jojo, have you thought about how hard you've worked to get where you are? To gain the position you have now? Is throwing it all away for one employee really worth it?" Gideon didn't understand, and he never would. Sacrificing your own career for someone else—to him, it was foolish.
Josephine laughed softly and shook her head. "Gideon, you really haven't changed at all."
Gideon frowned. "My feelings for you haven't changed. My principles haven't changed either. You know I would never sacrifice myself for someone else."
He was shamelessly honest about his selfishness.
Of course, he couldn't hide it from Josephine anyway. They knew each other too well. Josephine glanced at her phone. She'd already wasted half an hour here. She was tired. "Do you know what the biggest difference is between you and Cedric?"
At that question, Gideon's face stiffened. His jaw tightened. "What?"
He stared intently at her lips.
Josephine spoke slowly, enunciating each word: "He's strict, commanding, and his word is law at the company. Few people can argue with him. But every decision he makes earns people's respect."
Gideon laughed bitterly. "So you're saying every decision I make is tyrannical?"
"Those are your words." Josephine didn't deny it. It was the truth. "You and Cedric are very different."
In fact, Josephine herself couldn't understand how she'd ever thought Cedric was the bad guy.
She'd been so blind.
When faced with Josephine's choice, both Gideon and Cedric disagreed—but they chose completely different approaches.
Cedric bought time and found another solution. Gideon proposed sacrificing someone else.
"Looks like we're really not on the same page."
As Josephine walked past him, Gideon grabbed her wrist. "Everything I do is for your own good."
Even now, he didn't understand. What had he done wrong? Employees were just employees. If not A, then B. There were so many of them—did they really have to coddle every single one?
Someone makes a mistake, they get fired. Simple.
"I used to run the company the same way, and you never said a word against it."
Josephine slowly pulled her hand free and looked up at him. "Because I loved you back then."
When you love someone, you can forgive anything. Even when your viewpoints clash, you smooth out your own edges. But now that the love was gone, everything became clear.
"I'll handle this. I have my own way. Please stop interfering."
She turned and left.
Gideon stood there alone, his expression shifting through various emotions. Suddenly, he lashed out and kicked the tree beside him with immense force; then, he closed his eyes and leaned his weight back against the trunk, ignoring the sharp, throbbing pain in his toes.
Not on the same page…
Not on the same page—but they'd been married for years. He'd won her over once. He could do it again.
The following morning, Josephine arrived at the office quite early. She was immediately informed that Cedric wanted to see her in his office. Assuming it was regarding the strategy for handling the ongoing online backlash, she hurried over to his room without any delay.
When she pushed open the door, she found several familiar faces inside.
Emma, Haven, and Lily.
Noah was busy fiddling with a smartphone nearby, carefully angling the camera toward the three women as he prepared to go live for a broadcast.
The only person missing from the room was Cedric.
Josephine was completely confused by the scene. "What exactly is going on here?"
Noah looked up and explained, "Mr. Getty said that today, we are finally putting an end to this whole thing once and for all."