Josephine got the message and her first thought was, 'Why the heck is Claudia in Celestia Springs?'
She rushed out, dialing Laura on the way.
She didn't even question if Stuart was lying.
If Stuart was really sorry, he wouldn't make up some lame excuse to trick her.
Plus, she was genuinely worried about Claudia, especially since she couldn't get her on the phone earlier.
No matter what, Josephine was going.
Hopefully, everything was fine.
Laura was eating at a restaurant next door and showed up in minutes.
When she saw Claudia looking a mess, she gritted her teeth and asked, "What happened? Who did this to you?"
Seeing Laura, Claudia couldn't hold back her tears anymore.
"Why are you crying!" Laura was pissed and looked at the girl across from them. "Was it her?"
Claudia nodded, still crying.
Without a word, Laura grabbed another drink from the table and threw it at the girl.
The girl, who had been spoiled her whole life, had never been treated like this.
She screamed and stepped back.
The orange juice, with pulp bits, dripped from her hair, making her look even worse than Claudia.
"I'm gonna kill you!" The girl pointed at Laura. "Just wait! My dad will deal with you!"
"Fine!" Laura crossed her arms and stared her down. "I'll wait! I wanna see what kind of jerk raised someone as rude as you!"
Stuart and Jair exchanged looks, both thinking that women should handle women.
As guys, what could they do? Fight a girl?
But that girl was definitely a brat.
Laura's scolding was well-deserved.
"Still crying!" Laura snapped at Claudia. "She splashed you, and you didn't splash her back? Even if you didn't, weren't there two guys with you? Or did they not help?"
Claudia shook her head, tears streaming down.
Jair quickly defended Stuart, "Of course, we helped Claudia. Stuart suggested we go say hi to her, and that's when we saw her getting bullied."
The girl went to make a call, probably for backup.
Laura glanced at Stuart. "Are you really that nice?"
Stuart said, "What I told you before was sincere. You are all Josephine's best friends, and I'll work hard to earn your approval."
Laura scoffed, then looked at Claudia. "Stop crying. You came to Celestia Springs without telling me and got bullied. Are you trying to worry me to death?"
"None of you are leaving!" The girl came back after her call. "You're gonna pay a hundredfold!"
Laura supported Claudia. "Why are you yelling? Does being loud make you right?"
She then looked at Stuart. "I'll leave this to you."
"Don't leave!" The girl, eyes red, glared at her. "None of you are leaving!"
"You think you're the only one who can call for backup?" Laura's temper flared. "Fine, just wait! I'll make a call too!"
She pulled out her phone and called Steven. "I've been bullied. Are you gonna do something about it?"
Steven was surprised. "Where are you?"
He thought, 'Who would dare bully Laura?
It wasn't just because he protected Laura, but with Laura's temper, who could actually bully her?'
Even though he had his doubts, Steven didn't waste any time.
He headed straight to the address Laura gave him.
By the time Josephine got to the restaurant, Claudia couldn't hold back anymore and hugged her, crying softly.
Josephine's heart broke. "It's okay, Claudia. I'm here."
Laura, always the sharp-tongued one, wasn't great at comforting people.
And Claudia, being a bit soft and easily bullied, often got scolded by Laura.
This made Claudia kind of scared of Laura.
So she only dared to cry out loud when she saw Josephine.
Laura chimed in, "It was that girl over there who splashed our Claudia first!"
Josephine looked over.
The girl had heard from a friend in Hustalia that Claudia's designs were unique and wouldn't be seen on anyone else, so she impulsively called Claudia over.
But Claudia didn't agree with her and said their ideas didn't match.
In a fit of anger, the girl poured her drink on Claudia's head.
She thought Claudia was just an ordinary person with no background and could be easily bullied.
But in no time, Claudia had one helper after another.
But she was still alone!
Just as she was fuming, two people appeared at the door.
It was her father and cousin.
"Dad! Gary!" Her voice was tearful. "Why did you take so long!"
Regardless of the situation, Stuart softly said to Josephine, "You should take Claudia to wash up and change clothes. I asked the restaurant manager, and they can provide a resting room."
Josephine glanced at him and then said, "Thank you."
"Maria, what's going on?" Arnold Edwards frowned. "Why do you look so disheveled!"
Maria Edwards pointed at Claudia. "Dad, she bullied me! They all bullied me! Dad, Gary, you have to stand up for me!"
Arnold looked at Gary Armstrong, who subtly shook his head.
Arnold felt relieved; Gary didn't recognize these people, meaning they had no significant background in Celestia Springs.
"How dare you bully my daughter! You must be tired of living!" Arnold said angrily.
Laura patted her chest. "Oh, we're so scared! Who are you to talk so arrogantly!"
"You!" Arnold's face twisted in anger. "So young and already disrespectful and ill-mannered. Who raised such an unruly person!"
"Whether I'm polite or not isn't for you to decide," Laura retorted, "You come in here throwing your weight around without asking what happened. I think you're the one who's unruly!"
"How dare you talk back?" Gary said, "I don't think you want to stay in Celestia Springs anymore. Do you know what happens when you offend The Armstrong Family?"
Maria looked smug. "Exactly! Gary, make their family go bankrupt!"
Laura looked at Josephine.
'The Armstrong Family?' she thought.
Was it the Armstrong Family she was thinking of?
This was going to be interesting.
"Bankrupt? Are all Armstrong Family members this arrogant?" Stuart said coldly, "I was thinking you could apologize, and this would be over."
"Apologize?" Arnold sneered, "Who are you to demand an apology from Maria!"
Arnold thought, 'If word got out, wouldn't the Edwards Family's status be affected? The Edwards Family was related to the Armstrong Family!'
"And who are you to flaunt the Armstrong Family's name around?"
Everyone turned to the door.
Steven had arrived.