Chapter 24
"I can't have children? Can someone else?" Josephine asked pointedly.
"Of course! Lo—"
Briana didn't finish her sentence as Gideon clamped his hand over her mouth. Seeing her son's darkened expression, she fell silent.
"Gid..." she mumbled.
Ignoring her, Gideon walked to Josephine. Noticing the wine still on her face, he pulled out some napkins and gently lifted her chin. He tenderly wiped away the wine until her face was clean.
With a sigh, he said, "Mom misunderstood. I'm sorry you had to go through this."
Then Gideon turned and grabbed Briana's wrist. "Mom, let's go home."
"I'm not leaving!" Briana refused to miss this opportunity to force a divorce. "She tricked you out of your property rights! She clearly has ulterior motives. I told you from the beginning—this Josephine only married you for your money!"
"Mom, I'll say it one more time. Come with me." Gideon's patience was gone.
Despite her reluctance, Briana had no choice but to shut up.
Gideon looked at Josephine. "Honey, enjoy your celebration dinner. Text me when you're done, and I'll pick you up."
The perfect husband image was restored.
After he left, people continued whispering.
"What a good man."
"Did you see how gentle and attentive he was with his wife?"
Everyone sighed in admiration.
Cedric glanced at Josephine. "Feeling happy again?"
Josephine was taken aback. "When did I say I was happy?"
"Haven't you been happy all these years?"
It was a simple observation, but coming from Cedric, it always sounded like mockery. Josephine studied his impassive face, unable to read him.
"That was before."
"Remember to report in tomorrow."
Cedric left this parting comment before turning to leave.
Josephine stared at his retreating figure, confused. Why had he come? Just to remind her about reporting for work? Surely he hadn't personally come to rescue her from the situation.
Clearly, she wasn't the only one with such thoughts.
Emma cupped her face dreamily. "Cedric Getty is so handsome. Josephine, do you think he has feelings for you?"
"Impossible."
Others might not know, but Josephine was certain—Cedric didn't like her.
"But he's asking you to join the company!"
"That's because of my abilities." If she didn't have scientific expertise, Cedric wouldn't give her a second glance.
Though Cedric appeared reliable and steady, his coldness matched Gideon's perfectly. After all, he was a Getty, with the same blood flowing through his veins. He came today because she was about to join the company, and he couldn't allow any scandal to affect the group.
---
Briana was furious. She maintained a sour expression the entire way home, and as soon as they arrived, she confronted Gideon. "Why are you protecting her? Now that Lorelei is pregnant, that Josephine is useless. She's stealing your property rights. I think she's clearly—"
"She's my wife," Gideon cut her off.
Briana looked exasperated. "Wife? So what? You can have as many women as you want. Why stick with her? And look at her relationship with Cedric—they're probably already seeing each other behind your back!"
"Impossible."
"Impossible?" Briana laughed bitterly. "She's living it up out there! Gid, listen to me—just get divorced already. Lorelei is carrying your child. Don't you owe her some kind of commitment?"
"When she climbed into my bed, she never mentioned anything about commitment."
Gideon casually removed his suit jacket and tossed it on the sofa, his mind flashing back to the scene at the restaurant. Cedric and Josephine standing together looked... irritating.
"But now there's a child," Briana persisted. She simply didn't like Josephine and preferred the sweet, obedient Lorelei. "You fired Marshall, and Lorelei didn't say a word—she even expressed understanding. See what a good girl she is? Why don't you like her?"
Gideon poured himself a glass of red wine and scoffed. "You like her?"
"Of course! Lorelei is sweet and obedient. Who wouldn't like her?"
"Then you marry her."
Briana slapped his arm in frustration. "What are you saying? How could I marry her?"
"If you're not marrying her, don't force me to." Gideon downed his wine in one gulp, set down the glass, and turned to leave.
"Where are you going?"
Gideon didn't break stride. "To find my wife."
"She's completely brainwashed you!"
Gideon stopped at the door, turning slightly to look at Briana with a devil-may-care smile. "Mom, Josephine will always be my only wife."
He left, the door closing slowly behind him.
Briana hurled a cushion across the room. "That bitch! She must be some kind of witch to have my son so completely bewitched!"
Her phone rang. It was Lorelei.
"Ms. Hughes, the Getty family's annual dinner is coming up in a few days. You mentioned taking me along, so I've prepared a gift. It's that auction item you loved—I had a friend bring it in for you. Shall I bring it over tomorrow?"
Briana had three loves: power, money, and jewelry.
"Fine, bring it over. We'll try on your dress while you're here. It's a family dinner—you can't embarrass Gideon and me."
"Thank you, Ms. Hughes. Don't worry, I won't."
After hanging up, Lorelei looked at Marshall.
"Did you hear that?"
Marshall's attitude toward Lorelei had completely changed. He smiled. "I heard, I heard. I knew you had potential. This family dinner is your chance to win over David. Don't miss this opportunity."
"I know. I don't need you to tell me."
---
Josephine brought Aiden and the others to report to the Getty Group.
Cedric didn't appear; instead, his assistant Noah Reed handled their reception. Noah showed them to their prepared workspace.
"This entire floor is for you. Besides your team, there are other researchers who will help you—they'll report tomorrow. Additionally, Ms. Kennedy, you have a private office."
Josephine followed Noah to see the office.
Emma marveled from behind. "This treatment is incredible."
It exceeded all their expectations.
Aiden commented, "That's because of Josephine. We need to work hard and not let anyone look down on us. We'll make Gideon regret his decision."
"Yes! He'll regret having fired us!"
They all held grudges against Gideon for what happened. Even though he hadn't directly issued the termination orders, it was his hire, Marshall, who had used Gideon's name to blacklist them in the industry.
"We need to show results. We can't let Mr. Getty down about our team leader," Kenneth said.
Aiden raised an eyebrow. "You're so strange. After all these years, you still call her 'team leader.' The rest of us call her Josephine—it's more friendly. Only you're different."
Kenneth remained silent. There was no particular reason. He simply preferred not to call her that.
Leaving the company and returning to Clearwater Ridge, Josephine found Briana waiting at her door. She appeared to have been waiting for some time and looked impatient.
But upon seeing Josephine, Briana forced a smile onto her face.
"The family dinner is in three days. Be there on time."