Chapter 115 Scandal Known to All
Sawyer was nervously standing guard nearby when his phone rang. It was Richard's voice, and his anger could be felt even through the phone. "Sawyer, where did you go? Get back here right now!"
Sawyer quickly glanced at Cassidy and, seeing she wasn't paying attention, relaxed and smiled at her. "I need to take this call. Let the doctor examine you first."
Cassidy nodded obediently and understandingly. "Go ahead with your business, Sawyer."
Sawyer walked to the window. In the phone pressed to his ear, Richard's voice was practically exploding. "Where the hell are you? Who was that woman talking just now?"
Sawyer felt somewhat guilty. After all, he'd personally promised his father he'd cut off contact with Cassidy, yet here he was secretly meeting her again. If his father really found out, he'd probably have a heart attack from rage.
He deflected smoothly. "Dad, I'm out with some friends. It's broad daylight—I'm not out doing anything crazy. You don't need to keep such close tabs on me. I know what I'm doing."
Richard hadn't called to interrogate his whereabouts anyway, so hearing this explanation, he didn't pursue the matter further. Instead, he lowered his voice seriously. "I don't care where you are right now—come home immediately. Something happened to the Reeves family."
Sawyer asked, "What happened?"
Recently, the family had been trying to match him with the Reeves family's daughter Gloria. Because of his previous messy situation with Cassidy, the family worried he might rekindle old feelings with her and cause more scandals, so they were eager to get him engaged. In such a short time, it was hard to find a truly elite family's daughter, so they had to choose from slightly lower-tier families.
Gloria was the right age with a decent reputation, and the Tucker family was quite satisfied with her. As for Sawyer himself, as long as it wasn't Cassidy, anyone else was the same to him. He'd long lost the right to love Cassie. His love had already entered the grave, and marriage was just a superficial shell. As long as he could satisfy the family, anything would do.
So during this period, the Reeves and Tucker families had been in close contact. But recently he hadn't heard of the Reeves family's business facing difficulties—why had something suddenly happened?
Richard's voice carried a hint of displeasure. "It's Gloria who had an incident. Come home first—we'll talk when you get back."
Sawyer felt torn. Cassie had just suffered severe trauma and needed companionship and care most right now. If he left at this moment, what would happen to Cassie?
He hesitated before asking, "Dad, could I come this afternoon instead? I can't leave right now."
Richard was not having it. "No, you must come back immediately. I'm leaving for the Reeves family in half an hour. If you're not back by then, don't bother coming back ever!"
Having spent years in the military, his every gesture carried heavy authority, and his voice even more so. It was manageable when he was calm, but once he got angry, even Sawyer was scared.
Knowing there was no room for negotiation, Sawyer had to agree.
He hung up and walked to Cassidy's side, asking the doctor, "How is she?"
The doctor shook his head. "The external injuries aren't serious, but there's some minor tearing that needs suturing. Besides that, she needs to start taking HIV prevention medication ASAP. As for other diseases... she should get tested soon."
The implication was clear—going to a hospital was unavoidable.
Sawyer paused, looking at Cassidy with heartbroken eyes. "Cassie, maybe we should go to the hospital after all?" How could he feel at ease without completely eliminating those risks?
Cassidy hadn't thought about how serious the consequences of not going to the hospital would be. Thinking about those diseases, she couldn't help but shudder. After hesitating for a while, she said, "Sawyer, I'll go by myself in a couple of days."
She still didn't want to go to the hospital and arouse suspicion at this critical moment.
Sawyer could only agree, sighing and looking at her with tender concern. "Whatever you say. If you need me to come with you then, just ask."
Cassidy nodded. She looked at Sawyer hesitantly. "Sawyer, if you have something to do, go ahead and handle it. The doctor has finished examining me."
She'd heard Sawyer's phone call earlier. Though she didn't know the content, she could tell the other party wanted him to come immediately. She didn't want to leave Sawyer with the impression that she was a troublemaker.
Moreover, having just experienced that nightmare, she didn't know how to face Sawyer. Though she didn't like him, she also didn't want to appear so wrecked in front of a man who cared about her.
Sawyer hadn't expected her to notice. Looking at her with even more heartache, he realized that even though he'd deliberately lowered his voice during the call with his father, she'd still picked up on it, showing how sensitive and on edge she was now.
He wanted so much to stay with her, but his father's orders were like military commands. He could only say bitterly, "If you're not in a hurry to leave, wait for me here. I'll come back to see you later."
Cassidy nodded gently. "Anything you say."
Sawyer felt reluctant in every way, but ultimately could only bid her farewell and leave. The family doctor also left quickly.
Cassidy's phone rang. She glanced at it—it was Jennifer calling. Her resentment instantly flared, but she took a deep breath and didn't answer. She didn't know what to do next. Before figuring out a strategy, she didn't want any more involvement with Jennifer.
After a while, Anthony called. Cassidy irritably threw her phone aside without answering. She wasn't mentally prepared yet. Anthony's phone rang twice without Cassidy answering, then finally stopped ringing. She breathed a sigh of relief.
But she had no idea that at this very moment, chaos had erupted outside.
Sawyer rushed home and arrived just as Richard was about to leave. Seeing him, Richard impatiently waved his hand. "Hurry up and change clothes. How did you get so dirty?"
Sawyer looked down. When he'd held Cassidy earlier, he'd gotten some dirt and dust on himself. Afraid Richard would probe deeper, he quickly went upstairs to change.
When he came down in fresh clothes, Richard had everything ready and immediately headed out. "Hurry up, stop dawdling!"
Sawyer knew nothing and just got in the car. Only after getting in did he have time to ask, "Dad, what exactly happened to Gloria that requires you to make a personal trip?"
Richard adjusted his glasses, displeasure flickering in his eyes behind the lenses. Then he was silent for a moment before opening his phone and handing it over.
Sawyer took it. It was a video. After watching just two seconds, he immediately closed it and looked at his father in disbelief. "Dad, this is Gloria?"
Richard nodded.
Sawyer could hardly believe it. "How is that possible? She's the Reeves family's daughter—doesn't she have bodyguards when she goes out? How could something like this happen?"
Richard shook his head. "I spoke with the Reeves family. Their explanation was that she was called out by friends and something unexpected happened."
Sawyer held the phone, feeling somewhat at a loss. Finally, he asked, "So she and I..."
Richard got angry just thinking about this. He suppressed his rage repeatedly to avoid cursing, only saying with obvious agitation, "The Reeves family is going too far! Something like this happened and they actually wanted to hide it from us. This video has already leaked out, yet when I called to ask, they wouldn't admit it. Only after I shoved the video in their faces did they finally confess."
Sawyer wasn't particularly surprised. With something like this happening to a girl, it was natural for the family to want to cover it up. Just like Cassie... Thinking of Cassie, his heart ached again. At least Gloria had the Reeves family protecting her, but Cassie was all alone—only he could extend a helping hand.
He didn't connect Cassidy's ordeal with Gloria's situation. They weren't from the same social circle, and he'd never heard either mention knowing the other. It must be a coincidence.
Richard looked at Sawyer with a stern face. "When we get to the Reeves family, besides demanding an explanation, the main thing is to break off your engagement with Gloria. If the video hadn't leaked, we might have overlooked it, but now that it's out there, we absolutely cannot bring Gloria into our family. Understand?"
Sawyer felt relieved and quickly nodded. "Dad, I understand."
They soon arrived at the Reeves family home. When the father and son entered, Gloria wasn't there. Only Gloria's parents were in the living room. Seeing them come in, the elderly couple was extremely welcoming, personally standing up to greet them.
But Richard gave them no face, directly sitting on the sofa with an aggressive attitude.
The elderly couple exchanged glances, both looking worried. Gloria's father hesitantly spoke up. "Mr. Tucker, we find it hard to accept that something like this happened, which is why we made the decision to conceal it. Please don't be angry."
After a pause, he sighed, seeming to age several years in an instant. "Gloria is innocent..."
Gloria was his only daughter—his doting affection went without saying.
Richard kept a stern face. Seeing them, he felt some pity, but when such matters involved the Tucker family, it was a different story entirely. He maintained his stern expression and said after a long pause, "Setting aside the concealment for now, Sawyer and Gloria's marriage cannot continue."
The elderly couple were thunderstruck and quickly said, "Gloria is a good child. Could this matter perhaps..."
Currently, the two kids were only in preliminary marriage discussions—nothing was set in stone yet. If the Tucker family called it off now, the Reeves family would truly be screwed over completely!
Richard shook his head with finality. "I know you love your daughter dearly, and I'm willing to understand that, but the Tucker family rules are what they are. I cannot do anything that would bring shame to the Tucker family, so let's call off the marriage."
Gloria's mother's tears started flowing. She looked at Sawyer like grasping at a life preserver, choking up. "Sawyer, you've had more contact with Gloria. The feelings between you two..."
She didn't expect that Richard had already briefed Sawyer on the way over, and besides, Sawyer didn't like Gloria anyway. So he also spoke up, directly and bluntly refusing. "Mrs. Reeves, there are no feelings between her and me. I'm very sorry."
He hadn't wanted to marry Gloria in the first place. Now that he could openly avoid the marriage, he couldn't ask for more. Though arranged marriages were inevitable, he could delay as long as possible. As long as he remained unmarried, he could openly love Cassie.
Gloria's mother hadn't expected him to be so cold. She stood there stunned, only crying, unable to speak. Gloria's father, backed into a corner, could only agree to Richard's demands.
Upstairs, Gloria had been sent to her room by her parents when they learned Sawyer and his father were coming. Hearing Sawyer's words, she bit down hard on her sleeve as tears fell in large drops.
After experiencing such horror, she hadn't stopped fantasizing—if Sawyer knew, would he gently support her, tell her not to be afraid? He was such a good person—might he not despise her?
But now, all her dreams were shattered. He hadn't left her even a trace of warmth. He said he had no feelings for her.
Gloria watched as Richard and Sawyer were seen out by her parents. Unable to support herself any longer, she slowly slid to the floor as tears poured out. What should she do? What would happen to her future?
She'd thought that by keeping this buried in her heart and never telling anyone, everything would be fine. But she'd never dreamed that those thugs who violated her had actually filmed it and posted the video online to make money.
Someone online had recognized her, and in just half a day, it had become the talk of the entire city. Now she had no love, no marriage prospects, no dignity. She'd lost everything.
Remembering Rachel's earlier claim that Arabella was behind all this, Gloria's heart filled with hatred. It was all Arabella's fault, all Rachel's fault! Her perfectly good life had been completely destroyed by them! She wouldn't let either of them get away with this!
Meanwhile, Cassidy, who had just returned to the Watson family, was similarly trapped in deep shit.
She'd rested at Sawyer's apartment all afternoon, not returning until evening. She'd changed into clean clothes and covered the bruises all over her body with foundation. As for the tearing below, Sawyer's family doctor said it would heal gradually without needing sutures.
As long as she didn't sleep with Anthony during this period, she shouldn't be discovered. As for the baby in her belly... she'd forgotten to ask the family doctor about this, and the doctor hadn't mentioned whether she'd miscarried. Her lower abdomen only ached dully—she wasn't sure if she'd actually lost it.
She'd have to find a chance to go to the hospital for a checkup another day. But even if she had miscarried, it didn't matter. That baby was just her means of marrying into the Watson family anyway. Even if she'd lost it, she could find an opportunity to put on an act and get through it.
Cassidy spent a long time preparing herself mentally before returning to the Watson family as usual.
The moment she walked in, she felt an oppressive atmosphere that could choke you. Jennifer and Anthony each sat on different sofas, neither speaking, while the servants nearby were practically shaking with fear.
Anthony held a cigarette between his fingers, with a pile of ash at his feet that no servant dared approach to clean. The room was thick with smoke. Cassidy coughed uncomfortably—her body was weak right now, and this cough made her entire body ache.
But not a single servant in the room came forward to help her.
Both Jennifer and Anthony looked up at her. Cassidy's heart couldn't help but tighten. Jennifer had always despised her, so looking at her with disgust was normal. What wasn't normal was that Jennifer, who usually hid it well in front of Anthony, was today expressing her revulsion so openly.
Even more abnormal was that Anthony's gaze toward her was identical to Jennifer's!