###Chapter 61: Kneel and Apologize
Nina Wainwright t her gaze calmly. "And with that short hair, you look like a bitch who thinks she’s one of the guys."
’She wasn’t taking a jab at people with short hair; she was just retaliating against Talia Talbot.’
Talia Talbot was instantly enraged and grabbed at her clothes.
Nina Wainwright smirked, then suddenly raised a hand and slapped herself across the face before shoving Talia away.
Talia Talbot froze.
Nina returned to the private room, glanced at Zachary Hawthorne with red-rimd eyes, then grabbed her bag and made to leave.
Zachary Hawthorne imdiately grabbed her wrist. "What happened to your face?"
"It’s nothing, I bumped into sothing," Nina whispered.
Talia, who had just rushed back in, imdiately shouted, "She slapped herself! She’s trying to fra !"
"She didn’t say you hit her," Zachary Hawthorne said, his face grim.
Seeing his anger, Caleb Ford imdiately stood up, shielding Talia, who looked utterly aggrieved. "Zach," he said, "could there be a misunderstanding? No matter how bold Talia is, she wouldn’t dare lay a hand on her."
Nina tugged on Zachary Hawthorne’s sleeve. "I want to go ho. I want to change my clothes."
"What’s wrong?" Zachary turned to look at her. "You don’t like the outfit? Is it uncomfortable?"
"Miss Talbot said this outfit makes look like a prostitute from the Republican era. I’m sorry, I’ve embarrassed you," Nina said, taking the bla upon herself.
Talia’s face flushed with anger. "When did I say that?!"
"If I’m lying, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death," Nina said, looking at her with a placid expression.
Talia was about to speak again, but Zachary cut in, "Luna, is this what you call an apologetic attitude?"
’Luna Sterling truly didn’t understand why Talia was acting this way.’
"So what if I said it? She called Luna a howrecker, so I called her a prostitute. That’s fair! But I didn’t slap her—she slapped herself!" Talia shouted, her eyes red with rage.
Zachary Hawthorne’s face beca impossibly dark.
"Talia!" Luna Sterling imdiately stood up and shouted, "I told you all to stop this! I know you’re doing this for , but I really don’t want you to act this way. She’s Zach’s wife, after all. If you call her that, what does that make Zach? A john?!"
Caleb Ford also quickly chid in, "Zach, Talia was out of line. I’ll have her apologize to Miss Wainwright."
"No need," Zachary Hawthorne said, his face cold. He took Nina’s hand and said gently, "This outfit was made by an intangible cultural heritage master. A prostitute wouldn’t have the money or the status to acquire it."
Nina was a little surprised.
"Silas Sinclair, take her ho to rest," Zachary called out towards the door.
Silas Sinclair imdiately ca in and said gently to Nina, "Miss Wainwright, I’ll escort you."
Nina lowered her eyes and followed him out of the private room.
’The pent-up frustration in her heart eased considerably in that mont.’
Zachary didn’t leave. Instead, he sat down, took out his phone, and dialed his company’s vice president.
"Investigate the Talbot Family. Send any problems you find to the relevant authorities. Show no rcy." With that, Zachary Hawthorne hung up.
Talia Talbot’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Even Luna Sterling couldn’t help but say, "Zach, isn’t this too severe? She... she already knows she was wrong. I’ll take her to apologize to Nina. Whatever Nina asks, she’ll do it."
"There’s no need. Since her parents can’t teach her how to respect people, I’ll teach her for them. Calling my wife a prostitute? I think you’ll be frequenting those kinds of places yourself soon enough." Zachary Hawthorne stood up, his gaze sweeping indifferently over Caleb Ford. "You should watch what you say in the future, too. It’s not your place to lecture my wife."
"Zach... can’t you do this for my sake..." Luna Sterling pleaded, grabbing his arm.
"Luna, this has nothing to do with you. It’s better if you stay out of it." Zachary pulled his hand away and walked towards the door.
Luna Sterling followed him, clutching his hand tightly and crying, "Talia is my best friend... She really knows she was wrong. Can’t you let her off just this once? I promise, this won’t happen again."
A trace of impatience flashed across Zachary Hawthorne’s face.
"Talia!" Luna Sterling cried, looking at the ashen-faced Talia Talbot.
Caleb Ford quickly pulled her in front of Zachary Hawthorne. "I’ll make her kneel and record a video apology for Miss Wainwright, how about that? We all grew up together. If you do this to the Talbot Family, think how heartbroken their parents will be."
After speaking, he gestured to Talia Talbot.
Talia was already terrified. Her legs gave out, and she knelt before Zachary Hawthorne. "I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have said those things. I was wrong..."
Zachary Hawthorne looked down at her. "Send the video tomorrow. If it’s not sincere, don’t bother. Don’t waste my ti."
With that, he shoved one hand in his pocket and strode away.
Talia sat on the floor, her face as white as a sheet.
Luna Sterling crouched down and hugged her. "I’m the one who got you into this... I’m the one who got you into this..."
Caleb Ford watched them, his brow tightly furrowed. "This is Nina Wainwright’s fault. Besides, Zach has changed. He’s so defensive of her. We say one bad thing about her, and he’s ready to annihilate the Talbot Family, completely disregarding our history!"
"Don’t say any more," Luna Sterling whispered.
Zachary Hawthorne went downstairs.
After standing at the entrance for a mont, another car arrived to pick him up.
anwhile, when Nina arrived ho and was about to get out of the car, Silas Sinclair suddenly asked, "You slapped yourself, didn’t you?"
"Are you trying to stand up for your friends?" Nina asked, looking at him with an exceptionally calm gaze.
"I’ve been with Mr. Hawthorne for a long ti, so I know what kind of person he is. I advise you to drop the sches. He doesn’t like won like that," Silas said coldly.
’He knew perfectly well that the only reason Zachary Hawthorne kept her around was because of her pure love for him. She’d married into the Hawthorne Family with nothing, and her own parents treated her like a tool. Zachary Hawthorne was her whole world; she depended on him, her entire heart devoted to him. And that was precisely what Zachary Hawthorne needed most.’
Nina opened the car door. Before getting out, she replied with a single word, "Thanks."
’Too bad she no longer cared whether he liked her or not.’
’It was a good thing Talia Talbot and her friends were trying so hard to stir up trouble.’
’If they didn’t, how would she ever leave Zachary Hawthorne?’
’There was no way she could leave him just by fighting him head-on.’
’She had already been mistaken for three years... wasted three years, and still couldn’t make him truly love her. Why should she care about any of it now?’
’Besides, his affection wasn’t love. He was only angry because she was his wife; for soone to strike her face was to strike his.’
’Of course he was angry. Of course he was going to punish Talia Talbot.’
’Nina knew it all too well. This group of people was only good at fighting amongst themselves.’
As she walked past the car, Silas Sinclair, still gripping the steering wheel, said, "Mr. Hawthorne cares about you a lot. He’s just not good at expressing it... or maybe his way of expressing it is wrong."
Nina stopped and turned to look at him. "Then what about him and Luna Sterling?"
"Regarding Miss Sterling, I’d advise you not to ask," Silas said, then started the engine.
Without giving her a chance to ask more, he drove the car away.
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