Chapter 84 Provocation
When Linda came downstairs early in the morning, she accidentally twisted her ankle and fell down the stairs.
When Joanna came out, she only had time to help Katie get Linda into the ambulance.
She hadn't expected that just after arriving at Linda's house, Linda would get injured and need to be hospitalized.
Now Joanna had no choice but to delay her return home.
She called Angelo to let him know: "Angelo, Ms. Stone got injured. I want to take care of her for a few days. Also, Ms. Stone has a new design project that she needs my help with, so I might need to go back a bit later."
Angelo responded very gently: "I know some people in Harmony City too. If you need any help, just let me know. I also need to spend a few more days checking out the research institute here. When you're done, let me know and I'll have my assistant book our return tickets together."
What a coincidence?
Joanna was a bit surprised, but since Linda had just finished getting her wound bandaged, she didn't have time to think much about it. She quickly thanked him and hung up.
By the hospital bed, both she and Katie felt terrible: "Ms. Stone, how are you feeling?"
Linda weakly shook her head. "It's my body that's letting me down. I'm afraid I can do even less for this charity design project now. Joanna, I'm counting on you. If this piece gets selected and implemented, it will really put you on the map. You could reach the position I'm at now."
She could have easily explained the situation to the organizers and withdrawn from the competition.
But since Joanna had come back, Linda wanted to give Joanna this opportunity.
She knew that Joanna was the type of person who, given a chance, would definitely seize it and do a beautiful job.
It was precisely because she understood how much Linda was doing for her that Joanna felt so guilty.
She nodded gratefully: "Don't worry, Ms. Stone. I'll follow through on the new project. You focus on recovering. I'll stay at the hospital with you these next few days."
Linda was worried about delaying her work and quickly refused.
But Joanna explained the situation, which put Linda's mind at ease.
These few days would be perfect for the two of them to get a preliminary but comprehensive understanding of the charity project and discuss it.
News of Linda's injury spread quickly, and many people came to visit. Joanna just hadn't expected to see Chris and Cynthia.
They came with William.
"Old friend, you don't need to sacrifice this much for a new project. You injured your leg - can you still design?" William said with a smile, looking like a very kind little old man.
Linda rolled her eyes. "I hurt my leg, not my head or hands. Why wouldn't I be able to design a new piece? Only one of us will be selected for this charity project, and it'll definitely be my student's."
At these words, both Cynthia and Chris looked up.
The moment they saw Joanna, their expressions changed, instinctively thinking Joanna had been hiding another identity from them.
But soon they spotted Katie, who had accepted the award as Y at the Blue Ocean Design Contest, and they relaxed.
Linda must be talking about this girl. How could it be Joanna?
Cynthia walked in holding Chris's arm, smiling: "Ms. Stone should take care of herself. My teacher is looking forward to competing with your work. I'll be participating too this time. I hope to learn some experience from the industry veterans."
Linda had met these two before and didn't have a good attitude toward them.
"Good, then let's wait for the designs to be completed and let the organizers evaluate them. I'm fine - my students are taking care of me. Thanks for visiting."
Cynthia glanced at Joanna and said with a smile: "So Miss Jones is here visiting a friend. Chris and I misunderstood her at the airport earlier. Oh, Miss Jones, I forgot to tell you - Chris and I have set our wedding date for after the charity project submission deadline. My baby bump won't be too obvious then. Any later and I probably won't fit into my wedding dress. Chris and I are planning to design our wedding dress ourselves. You'll bless us, won't you, Miss Jones?"
Joanna looked at them calmly, her gaze making Chris unconsciously take half a step back, feeling somewhat guilty.
He was actually afraid of confrontation.
Linda thought Joanna had already divorced Chris, so she just snorted coldly and didn't pay much attention.
No one in the hospital room responded to Cynthia's words, making her feel awkward.
Finally, William stood up and casually dropped a line: "If my student can participate in designing the winning piece this time, you'll be begging to see her. Young people these days are way too arrogant."
Joanna gave a cold laugh and gestured toward the door: "Ms. Stone needs to rest. If you're here to show off, maybe come back after the competition results are out."
William's expression soured. Usually wherever he went, people fawned over him, and suddenly having no one give him face made him very uncomfortable.
But Linda was injured, and showing off to a bunch of kids was pointless. In the end, he just glared at Joanna and left.
Cynthia didn't immediately follow him. Instead, she smiled and said to Chris: "Chris, Miss Jones made my teacher angry. It's not too much to ask her to apologize, right?"
"She should." Chris didn't see anything wrong with it. "Joanna, you made William leave angry. You were really rude."
Katie couldn't help but roll her eyes: "If you don't catch up, William will be long gone! Joanna has always been polite. You're the ones who came in acting all superior, as if you're afraid our teacher might still be able to compete. The work hasn't even been submitted yet - is this really necessary?"
Cynthia wanted to say something, but Linda spoke up: "Enough. The elder has left, and you're still here picking on my students. How much do you look down on me?"
Linda had considerable prestige in the design industry, so Cynthia certainly couldn't offend her directly. She quickly smiled apologetically: "You misunderstand, Ms. Stone. We're just worried that Miss Jones might offend people, and then Chris will have to help her solve the problems. After all, this isn't our home country - there's only so much Chris can do."
Linda closed her eyes, looking like she didn't want to deal with them.
Cynthia felt awkward and left with Chris.
As soon as they were gone, Katie couldn't hold back: "Those three people clearly just came to show off! And that man - he was Joanna's husband before, right? Finding a new woman so quickly - what a player!"
Joanna shrugged, looking unconcerned: "We haven't gotten our divorce certificate yet. That Cynthia is pregnant, and the Coopers are pushing her and Chris to get married. They came to Valeria this time to set the wedding date with Cynthia's parents."
"What? Joanna, you've been treated so badly!" Linda was so angry she tried to sit up from the hospital bed.
Katie quickly went to support her, also speaking indignantly: "That man is terrible! Joanna, why don't you sue him in court? He's bullied you to this extent - you should have just gone up and slapped them both!"
Joanna smiled bitterly: "Our divorce isn't going smoothly. Being able to get the divorce certificate directly is better than court proceedings dragging on for half a year or two years."
There were many such cases back home. If one party didn't agree, the first trial would be dismissed, and you'd have to wait two years of separation before filing for divorce again.
Legal proceedings were a last resort. Joanna just wanted to get the divorce certificate quickly and cut ties with the Coopers.