Chapter 44 Chapter 45
At that precise moment of his worrying, Chad's phone began to ring.
"Who could it be?" Chad wondered, questioning why someone would be calling him at that crucial moment. He stared at the screen and saw the name, "Spark."
Chad's mood instantly became sour. With a grumpy face, he answered the call. Chad skipped any pleasantries and inquired, "What is it?"
"Are you searching for your beloved wife?" Mockingly," Spark replied.
Chad immediately realized that his wife was with Spark, taking in his words. He immediately became furious and growled...
"Where is Charlie?!" Chad commanded, but Spark simply laughed, finding humor in the fact that Chad was concerned about an imposter.
"Tell me, where on earth are you?!" Chad frustratingly demanded as he made his way towards his room to change.
"In light of your scandalous activities, do you deem it wise to come here?" Spark questioned his friend, adding, "Besides, people don't know that she is your wife."
Chad was aware of this fact, but the leaking of that picture made him consider the possibility that his wife's face was known.
"Spark, to hell with what the world may say, but I do not want Charlie to be harmed in any way. She is naive and weak." Chad expressed his worry. At least, he knows his good friend in Spark is still there.
This statement caused Spark to chuckle. Chad, referring to Charlie as a weakling, stunned him. Yes, Chad was always worried for Charlie; if not, why would he even go ahead and marry her? But now, this Charlie was an imposter, and worse yet, she was the one playing with his life.
"You don't have to worry about her. Trust me, she can take care of herself," Spark assured, lifting his gaze to see Marlie emerging from the washroom.
"She is stronger than you think," Spark concluded, calmly relaxing in his seat. However, something made him rise from his seat.
"Reporters?" he involuntarily exclaimed.
"Damn it!" Chad cursed, hitting his hand against the wheel. "Get her out of there now, Spark!" he urgently commanded, causing Spark to quickly get up to retrieve Marlie.
But it was too late. Marlie was approaching their direction. Why wouldn't she? These were the people she had been waiting for.
"Mrs. Baristanas, Mrs. Baristanas, may we ask you a few questions?" the reporters called out.
She pretended to be frightened by the numerous flashes on her face. After all, Charlie is weak and would definitely be scared of this kind of thing.
She quickly ran to Spark's side and hid behind him. It was as if the reporters were going to eat her at any time.
Damn it, with Marlie's mannerisms, one would never suspect that she could harm a fly.
"Stop taking pictures of her! Trust me, I could make your companies disappear from the surface of the earth if you don't.
Since you addressed her as Mrs. Baristanas, you don't need me to tell you how powerful her husband is, right?" Spark threatened the reporters, but how could they stop when it was the supposed victim who was the culprit behind their actions?
Marlie, who was hiding behind Spark's back with a satisfying smirk, hidden from everyone, prayed that the reporters wouldn't stop their harassment because of what Spark said.
Thankfully, the reporters continued their questions. They pretended not to have heard what Spark said despite their fear.
"Have you seen the scandal that is making headlines today?" one of the reporters asked.
"What scandal?" Marlie pretended ignorance, scanning the faces of the reporters as if expecting them to inform her.
"The mistress of the Baristanas," one of the reporters stated aloud.
"What?... What... What are you talking about?" Marlie responded, feigning tears and fear.
"It was on the internet a while ago, but it has completely disappeared from there." another reporter stated.
"Is Miss Angelina a homewrecker?"
"Your husband is always seen with Miss Angelina by his side. Are they involved in a romantic relationship?"
"According to the date seen on the picture, it seems they have been cheating on you for the past two years. How have you managed to endure this, ma'am?"
They bombarded Marlie with questions rapidly. Tears streamed down her face while she displayed a pitiful expression for the cameras.
But she had to play her role. She had orchestrated this entire situation and needed to make her plan succeed.
"STOP! STOP!! JUST STOP, PLEASE!!!" Marlie cried out as fake tears streamed down her face.
"Mrs. Baristanas... Did--"
"I said stop it!" One reporter wanted to ask her something, but Marlie dramatically cried out. Her face was full of tears, and her body swayed slightly as if she had taken a blow.
She closed her eyes tightly and came out of Spark's back to face the reporters. Everyone could see that she was weak and overwhelmed by their questions.
Marlie stared at the camera with a fragile face and said... "I am indeed Mrs. Baristanas."
Murmurs started circulating among the people around. But Marlie ignored them and continued...
"I don't know where you get all those pictures from. My husband and Miss Angelina have been friends since childhood. You can just frame my husband and tarnish Miss Angelina's reputation because of those pictures. Who knows... Maybe those pictures aren't even real. I trust my husband, and I know he loves only me.
If you people try to tarnish my husband and family's reputation, I will never forgive you! If you- If--" Marlie forced the words out of her mouth before dramatically fainting into Spark's arms. Deep inside her heart, she felt so proud and satisfied. She couldn't wait to see Chad's face at the end of the show.
At that moment, Spark would have felt a pang of sympathy for her if he didn't know she was an imposter.
As the cameras continued rolling, news channels broadcast the scene. Marlie had made sure the entire world witnessed it before Chad, or anyone could order them to cease airing it. \[scoff\]
This report didn't last at most two minutes; even if calls were made to the news stations to halt the broadcast, it would be too late as the video would have already finished. Nevertheless, everyone watched it. Silvia, Audrey, the mistress Angelina, Gideon, Ken, and even Chad himself.
Chad had restrained himself from going there, trusting that Spark would handle everything, but Spark couldn't. How could he when Marlie was one step ahead?
Spark lifted Marlie in his arms and hurriedly carried her to his car. Truth be told, with all the anger Chad was emitting, ordering people to stop the news channels, he paused to feel jealous at the dress Marlie wore for their outing, and worse, the sight of Spark holding her in his arms. "How dare he!!"
He clenched his jaws and fist so tight that if Spark was to get in front of him, he was going to punch him.
And he did. As soon as Spark stepped out of his car upon arriving home with Marlie, Chad threw a punch. One might think he did it because Spark allowed the reporters near Marlie, but Chad knew he punched his friend because he had dared to lift his wife in his arms.
It was Vien who intervened and prevented Chad from striking Spark once again. It was hard to resist the urge to retaliate against Spark, considering the smug expression he wore even after being punched. Asshole! Spark knew from the beginning that lifting the woman would not sit well with Chad.
Meanwhile, Marlie was seated in the car, pretending to be conscious now, and called out Spark's name.
Spark responded provocatively with a sly smile directed towards Chad, who was throwing angry daggers at Spark, silently warning him not to dare go near her.
Spark gestured with open arms, signaling to Chad that it wasn't his intention to be close to Marlie,
"The lady prefers me, dude,"
Chad was raging with anger, but it was better to focus on his wife. He didn't mind him and hurried towards the car, intending to remove Marlie from it.
"Charlie, let me..."However, she resisted his attempt.
"Spark, will you please assist me," Marlie implored in a weak voice, making sure Chad could hear her plea. Chad felt hurt by Marlie's words but attributed it to her feeling bad about the scandal.
Observing Chad's pitiful state, Spark chuckled after opening the car door. Being on opposite sides of the car door, Spark made eye contact with Chad and arrogantly scoffed, extending his hand to help Marlie disembark.
Chad remained frozen in place, and his anger towards Spark was evident in his eyes. However, he was unable to do anything if Marlie didn't want him to touch her.
Once in the hallway, Marlie appeared weak. Undeterred, Chad rushed to her side. Poor him, continuously asking her if she is okay, but this Delilah in his story has another bomb for him.
With the release of the third piece of news concerning the Baristanas, the media could no longer bury the story. They crafted various headlines, such as
"The homewrecker is forcing the wife out of her house,"
"Mr. Baristanas is kicking his wife out of the house because of his lover, " and even
"The injustice to Mrs Baristanas"
Why would they be bold enough to make such headlines?
Because Marlie leaked the divorce papers.