Chapter 116 Yes, I Regret It
Cassidy's heart inexplicably filled with dread. Feeling uneasy but trying to act natural, she asked, "Mom, Anthony, what's going on..."
Before she could finish, Jennifer violently slammed her teacup to the ground, her face dark as she cursed, "You shameless slut, you still have the nerve to come back? Why didn't you answer when I called this afternoon?"
Cassidy said guiltily, "Mom, this afternoon I..."
"Don't call me Mom!" Jennifer looked at her with disgust, her gaze full of revulsion and contempt. "The Watson family doesn't have such a shameless daughter-in-law. After doing such things, you still have the face to come back? If I were you, I would have chosen suicide long ago!"
Jennifer's words shocked Cassidy. Did they know? But... there had been no one else at the scene except Gloria. As for those thugs, they had no idea who she was—how could word have gotten out?
Could it be that Gloria and Rachel, to extricate themselves from this mess, had pushed all the blame onto her?
That didn't make sense either. If Gloria and Rachel didn't want this to blow up and threaten Gloria's reputation, they should have stayed quiet and pretended nothing happened.
A flood of thoughts raced through Cassidy's mind. She couldn't figure out exactly what Jennifer was implying, and she was panicked by Anthony's current attitude. Despite feeling guilty, she still pretended to be clueless. "Mom, what are you talking about? I don't understand."
Seeing Jennifer's eyebrows rise as she prepared to attack her, Cassidy quickly walked to Anthony's side and said pitifully, "Tony, others may not know me, but you do. Since marrying into the Watson family, I've been dutiful, staying home and taking care of the family. Why would Mom say such things about me?"
What terrified her was that when Anthony heard her words, he didn't even look up. He flicked the ash from his cigarette and said, "You don't know?"
Cassidy was momentarily speechless. What was she supposed to know?
Seeing her still pretending at this point, Jennifer sneered, pulled out her phone, opened something, and threw it at her. "You think just because you don't say anything, we won't know what happened? This video has gone viral on foreign websites and is the talk of all Majestic City! If the Watson and Reeves families hadn't worked together to suppress this, who knows what damage you would have done to the Watson family reputation! Cassidy, my son really had the worst luck marrying a whore like you!"
Any last shred of hope Cassidy had vanished completely when she saw the video footage. On the screen was exactly what had happened to her and Gloria last night.
She was breathing rapidly, almost fainting. Instinctively looking at Anthony's expression and seeing his dark face, she frantically crouched in front of him. "Tony, let me explain. This isn't what you think... this video is fake, that's not me in there. You have to believe me—someone is trying to frame me!"
Anthony said nothing, just stared at her coldly. Cassidy felt inexplicably creeped out. She'd never seen Anthony like this. In her memory, Anthony had always been gentle. Even when he'd grown cold toward her later, he'd never made her suffer any real grievances.
But now, he was looking at her with that icy gaze, as if he were looking at a corpse.
Her worst fear had come true—Anthony knew everything, and... he didn't believe her.
Seeing her still daring to seduce her son at this point, Jennifer flew into a rage and rushed over to slap her. "Cassidy Sanders, let me tell you, stop dreaming about being a wealthy wife! After pulling this disgusting stunt, don't blame us for being ruthless!"
Cassidy's psychological defenses also crumbled. She jumped up and screamed at Jennifer through tears, "You have some nerve talking! If you hadn't had your daughter kidnap me, how would I have encountered such a thing? The Reeves family probably doesn't know that their precious daughter experienced this because of Rachel! If you dare throw me out, I'll tell the Reeves family the truth. Let's see if they'll let you two venomous women off!"
Jennifer was stunned by her scolding. She naturally knew the real reason behind Gloria's incident, but she hadn't expected Cassidy to dare threaten her with this!
She was about to speak when Anthony suddenly said, "Mom, go back first."
Since the last incident with Molly when Anthony had talked to her, Jennifer had moved to another complex nearby. She'd only returned to the villa today because of this matter.
Hearing Anthony's words, Jennifer was somewhat displeased. "Anthony, I..."
Anthony looked up at her. "I'll handle this."
Jennifer was uneasy. "Don't let this vixen fool you. This kind of woman spends all her time studying how to manipulate men. I know her type all too well—don't fall for her tricks!"
Anthony said, "I won't."
Jennifer was still worried and wanted to say more, but Anthony looked at her with slightly cold eyes. "Mom, go back first."
Jennifer knew this was a warning.
In the past, Anthony had been obedient and filial to her. No matter what she said or did, he never contradicted her to her face, and he always backed her up. But since his divorce from Arabella, it had become increasingly obvious that his attitude toward her was far worse than before.
Not only would he scold her, but he'd also kicked her out of the villa to live elsewhere, even going against her wishes repeatedly.
But the more this happened, the less Jennifer dared to say anything. She always felt this son had changed a lot and become much more sinister and violent than before.
Faced with Anthony's warning, Jennifer could only nod and finally instructed, "Don't let her deceive you easily. Mom can agree to anything for you, but this kind of woman absolutely cannot be kept around. That's all I'll say—you handle the rest."
After speaking, Jennifer glared fiercely at Cassidy, then grabbed her purse from the sofa and left.
Once she was gone, Cassidy finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as that old hag wasn't there stirring up trouble, she was confident she could make Tony let go of his prejudices.
She stood up and walked to Anthony's side, gently leaning against him with tears in her eyes. "Tony, you have to believe me. That video really is fake. AI face-swapping is so advanced now. I don't know who has such hatred for me to hurt me like this..."
Anthony looked up at her. He didn't reach out to embrace her or push her away, just smiled without warmth. "Even now, you're still going to keep pretending? That video isn't fake—I already had technicians verify it."
Cassidy's face went pale. Before she could speak, Anthony grabbed her chin, his lips curved in a smile but his eyes ice-cold. "Cassie, tell the truth—how many men did you sleep with last night?"
Cassidy felt her chin going numb from pain, but facing Anthony's gaze, she didn't even dare move. Her legs went weak, and she could barely stand.
"Tony, I..." She tried to use gentleness to awaken his pity. "I really didn't..."
Anthony's eyes suddenly turned cold as he violently threw her onto the sofa, looking at her with complete disgust. "Don't call me that. When you were lying under other men, how many times did you moan their names?"
Cassidy's emotions, which had been tightly wound all day, finally snapped. After what happened to her, Sawyer had brought her back without any disgust, helping her find a doctor, showing nothing but heartache and concern from beginning to end. But the man she loved didn't even ask her a single question—he only cared that she'd disgraced the Watson family!
She cried, "Why are you treating me like this? I'm a victim too! It was your mother who had Rachel kidnap me—they wanted to hurt me. I was perfectly fine, and they ruined me like this. Why are you still blaming me? Tony, didn't you say you loved me most? Didn't you say you wanted to grow old with me? Why... why do you only care about your reputation!"
She cried with particular skill, looking pitiful with tears streaming down her face.
If it were before, Anthony would have lovingly pulled her into his arms long ago.
But now, looking at her like this, images flashed through his mind of her crying and begging for mercy under other men.
A surge of violent rage erupted in his heart. His eyes turned bloodshot as he viciously grabbed her throat!
"Grow old? A piece of trash like you is worthy of that?"
What he loved was that pure, innocent Cassidy—not some slut who'd spread her legs for countless men!
What he loved was the Cassidy who'd been with him at eighteen, who even after they'd been apart for years, had remained pure when they reunited.
Not this Cassidy covered in traces of other men!
Cassidy could hardly believe her ears. She looked at Anthony in panic—had those hurtful words really come from his mouth?
"Tony..."
She tried to grab his sleeve, but he slapped her hand away viciously. Anthony grabbed her hair and, amid her screams, dragged her to the ground, slammed her down hard, then stepped on her back.
Cassidy was completely dazed from the beating. Anthony had never laid a hand on her before—she didn't even know he was capable of violence.
He'd always been so gentle. Didn't he say he loved her? How could he bear to hit her like this?
Anthony kicked her brutally, one kick after another, as if trying to vent all the rage in his heart. In stark contrast, his expression remained eerily calm throughout, only his eyes flickering with mad fury.
Only when Cassidy could no longer make a sound did he stop. He loosened his tie, threw off his jacket, pulled over a chair and sat down, breathing slightly heavily.
Cassidy was covered in blood from head to toe, her hair matted to her face and soaked with blood. If not for the slight rise and fall of her body proving she was still alive, this might have become a murder scene.
Her fingers twitched as she tried to crawl up and ask Anthony—when something like this happened to her, was it her fault? He didn't go after Jennifer and Rachel who had harmed her, didn't go after the men who had assaulted her, didn't go after Arabella who had arranged for her to be violated, but instead beat the victim—her—half to death. Was this right?
But she had no strength. She couldn't move or make a sound. She heard Anthony's calm, cold instruction to the housekeeper: "Throw her in the basement. Keep her alive."
Cassidy was dragged up by the housekeeper. Her whole body hurt, yet everything felt numb. She figured the baby in her belly was definitely gone now. She couldn't even tell which blood had soaked through her pants.
In the last second before being dragged away, she used all her strength to rasp at Anthony, "It was Arabella. She arranged it. She's getting revenge on you!"
She'd heard Rachel and Gloria's conversation and knew Arabella had arranged all this. She guessed Arabella was targeting her, but she wouldn't tell Anthony that. She wanted Anthony to know that Arabella was getting revenge on him, and she was taking the punishment for him!
Even if there was no longer any place for her in his heart, she would never give Arabella the slightest chance!
And Anthony's eyes flickered when he heard her words.
After Cassidy was dragged into the basement, Anthony suddenly smiled, grabbed his coat, and headed out.
He drove at breakneck speed and happened to catch Arabella just as she was returning from overtime work, blocking her at the complex entrance. He slammed on the brakes, the car making a screeching sound as it stopped in front of Arabella.
Arabella was startled, not expecting to encounter such a thing. She thought the driver might be drunk, until Anthony got out of the car and she took a step back.
Frowning as she looked him over, she asked, "Why are you here?"
Something was very wrong with him. His clothes were wrinkled, and he looked terrible. He wasn't someone who neglected his appearance—she didn't know what he'd been through to end up looking like such a mess.
Arabella's wariness toward him increased greatly. If his car hadn't been blocking the entrance to the complex, she definitely would have run.
Even though she couldn't run, she remained ready to defend against his next move.
This man showing up in the middle of the night looking crazy—it wouldn't be as simple as just having tea.
Seeing her on high alert, Anthony couldn't help but laugh. "You're afraid of me?"
Arabella thought 'Of course I'm afraid of crazy people' but said, "Is there something you need?"
Anthony looked at her for a while before speaking. "I don't want to scare you, so let me explain. Cassie was gang-raped at a suburban factory last night. She says you arranged it because you hate me."
He paused here, his beautiful phoenix eyes gazing deeply at Arabella, his deliberately softened voice seeming to carry a hint of hope. "Is it true?"
Arabella found it ridiculous. How could he have such an unbelievable idea?
"What ability do I have to arrange for people to do such things to the Watson family? Anthony, do you have paranoid delusions, or are you overestimating me? I'm just an ordinary person. After our divorce, I'm just a regular working-class person. My monthly salary isn't even enough to cover your cigarettes. You say I arranged people—where would I get people to arrange? Cassidy must have offended someone herself but is pushing it onto me. I'd like to be this scapegoat, but do you think I'm capable of it?"
She was at the end of her rope to speak to Anthony like this. Usually, she preferred to avoid trouble and would dodge and avoid the Watson family whenever possible. After all, they had power and influence—she didn't want to be an ant they could crush at will.
Today she really couldn't take it anymore. How could such absurd and infuriating things happen to her?
After speaking, Arabella didn't want to entangle with Anthony further and walked around him, preparing to enter the complex.
Unexpectedly, after taking two steps, a hand reached out from behind and grabbed hers.
Anthony's voice slowly sounded, "You asked me last time if I regretted the divorce. I'll answer you now."
"Yes, I regret it. Arabella, if I said I don't mind your relationship with that man and everything could go back to how it was at the beginning, would you be willing to come back to me?"