Chapter 356
My Mute Bride
Chapter 356 Mistake Born of Drunkenness The moment the girl yelled, the rabble immediately all turned around, their gazes landing squarely upon Rachel. Thatâs Hudson Pharmaceuticalsâ CEO.â
âShe even defended her subordinate and twisted the facts just now.â âGrab her and take her to the police.â
The baffling words kept pouring in. Rachelâs expression shifted. By the time she realized her gaffe, it was already too late. This mob of insane fans would not listen to any explanation as they surged toward Rachel in fury. She immediately took a few steps back, but the heel of her shoe got stuck in a crack in the ground. She gave a surprised yell as she toppled backward.
Justinâs arrival was timely, as he managed to catch her just in time.
Rachel was stunned. She could see Justinâs gaze the moment she looked up from his arms. Before she could respond, Justin pulled her behind himself, shielding her. He blocked the rest of the mob by himself as he rebuked them. âWho here dares to take another step forward?â
His full height of over six feet was especially noticeable among the crowd of girls. The chilliness emanating from his gaze was enough to make some of the girls shudder. However, they had the advantage of numbers, after all. A girl with an LED board in the center of the mob immediately answered angrily, âShe was willing to defend her own assistant when that assistant was ensnaring male celebrities into casting couch deals. Sheâs ruining the name of the entertainment industry.
Shouldnât people like her be shunned and shamed? Who are you anyway? Why are you still protecting her? Are you in league with her?â
âYeah, you must be working with her!â
Justinâs expression did not change when he was faced with the mobâs fury. âThe details of the situation still arenât clear yet. Even if itâs exactly as you said, does that give you any right to attack and hit others? Then what are the police and court for?â he asked coldly.
âDonât think that we donât know they have been colluding with Hudson Pharmaceuticals. Youâve already bribed them!â
âGirls, donât be tricked by their words. None of these capitalist pigs are good people!â
âWe want Hudson Pharmaceuticals to put out a statement!â
âDonât you dare think of leaving without putting out that statement!â
âHand Jolly Carter over!â
The mobâs rage grew intense by the second. The security could not stop these insane fans who were seeing red. The only thing Justin could do to ensure Rachelâs safety was to take her and run.
âTheyâre escaping!â
âStop running!â
âGet Jolly Carter out here!â
As the mob yelled, Justin bundled himself and Rachel into his car and quickly left the scene by driving back out onto the street.
Rachel clapped a hand over the safety belt crossing her chest. Her breaths were quick, shallow. âNo, I have to go back.â
âYouâll just get in more trouble if you go back now. I just got the security to call the police. Weâll figure out our next move once the situation is under control for now.â
âCan we even get it under control? What if someone gets hurt?â
âThe police will be here soon. Donât overthink it. In fact, you should get in touch with Jolly and ask her whatâs going on.â
It was only then that Rachelâs wits returned to her. She had been so frustrated and angry earlier by the crowd. She hastily pulled out her phone and dialed Jollyâs number.
The call took a long time to go through. A lazy, languid voice could be heard over the speakers at last;
Jolly clearly still wasnât fully awake yet. âHello?â
âWere you still asleep? Where are you now?â
âMe?â Jolly pressed a hand to her head, which was throbbing painfully. The hotel roomâs crystal chandelier greeted her when she opened her eyes. âA hotel.â
âYouâre alone?â
âWhat kind of weird question is that? Of course Iâm alone.â Jolly yawned. âI had too much to drink last night, and I was worried that I would wake you guys if I went back, so I ended up staying at a hotel. I asked for the morning off, so I wonât be going to work. My head hurts⦠Iâm about 80% f*cking sure that I drank some fake swillâmy headâs about to burst.â She rambled on and on, but she was still drowsy.
Rachel was well and completely at a loss for words. âYou asked for time off? Go take a look at the news online, then tell me if you still want that morning off.â
âWhat news?â
âTake a look yourself. I just sent you the link.â
Jolly was reluctant to do so, but she forced herself to open one eye fully and look at her phone. She shot right out of bed the next moment.
âI forced Leroy Bennett to sleep with me using my position as brand manager?â Jolly instantly woke up fully when she read the content of the article. She began cursing as she stood on her bed. âWhich media outlet wrote this? Dig up their nameâIâm going to make them shut down right now!â
âCalm down a little.â
âHow can I calm down? This is an insult to me as a person!â
âLet me ask you then: where is Leroy now?â
âHow would I know?â
The moment Jolly said that, the door to the bathroom slid open. Someone emerged from the bathroom.
He had just finished showering, so a towel hung from his hips, and his hair was still damp. The man was in the middle of towel-drying his hair when he suddenly froze on the spot and looked up in shock.
Right now, Jolly was in her birthday suit as she stood on the bed.
Their gazes met for a moment.
âAaaahhâ!â Jolly suddenly let out a piercing shriek. As she chucked a pillow at the man, she grabbed the blanket on the bed to cover herself.
Since he hadnât been prepared for that, the pillow hit Leroy. However, the beautiful, titillating scene from earlier remained in his mind. His mind buzzed as red instantly colored his handsome face.
âWhy are you in my room!â Jolly pointed at his nose. âHow did you get in here?â
âYou had too much to drink last night, so I brought you back here. Donât you remember?â
âYou brought me here?â Jolly pressed a hand to her forehead, but she couldnât remember any of this happening. âSo why didnât you leave after you brought me back to my room?â
âYou wouldnât let me leave?â
âHow? You just said that I drank too much!â
âItâs true.â Leroy shrugged. His eyes were clear and bright under his damp hair as he looked at her, an innocent look on his face. âYou kept clinging to me the entire night. I couldnât pull you off no matter what I did.â
âNo way? You took advantage of me, and now youâre trying to paint me as the one at fault, arenât you? I was so blind. Iâve completely misjudged you! And here I thought you were a good person!â
Leroy immediately took out his phone to explain. âI was worried that you wouldnât believe me, so I took a video.â
âYou even took a video?â Jolly snatched Leroyâs phone over at lightning speed. âPassword!â she barked irritatedly.
âYour birthday.â
Jollyâs expression changed when she heard that, but she still entered her birthday, albeit doubtfully. The next second, the phone unlocked, just as Leroy had said.
Typically, hardly anyone would willingly allow someone else to check something as private as their phone. Leroy, however, looked like he didnât mind as he let Jolly go through everything.
Jolly navigated her way to last nightâs video roll. The moment she opened the aforementioned video, she saw her face.
âI didnât have too much to drink. Iâm telling you, we can still go for another round. Come on, I told you before that you got to live life to the fullest. Donât just film movies all the time. Thatâs so boring. Live a little! Urkââ
âHold it in for a bit. Iâll get a bin for you.â
Unfortunately, a drunk would not listen to others.
For some reason, the video after that inexplicably became âtense.â Jolly felt like she couldnât stand it anymore.
âAre you a pervert? Are you trying to blackmail me by recording this?â
âNo, I swear I wasnât trying to blackmail you.â Leroy put his arms in the air. âI was just worried that you would think that I did something to you, so I recorded that video to prove my innocence. Nothing happened between us at all last night.â
Jolly reflexively looked down. Then, how did my clothes get removed?