### Chapter 88: Used and Discarded
Nina Wainwright set down her glass, her expression calm as she looked at Chloe Chapman.
Chloe Chapman shoved her aside and sneered, "I’m not apologizing. Your Grant Family is in business too, so what? Big deal! Let’s just see what your Grant Family can really do to the Chapman Family!"
Catherine Grant bit her lip and imdiately pulled out her phone.
She made a call, waited for a mont for it to connect, then yelled into the phone, "Nina’s being bullied, are you going to do sothing about it or not! It’s one thing for you to bully her, but now so damn woman who clearly doesn’t respect you slapped her right on the street!"
"Who are you calling?" Nina Wainwright realized with a sinking feeling.
Catherine Grant held her phone, looking triumphant. "Who do you think? I can’t handle this, but Zachary Hawthorne certainly can."
The mont Chloe Chapman heard Zachary Hawthorne’s na, her face changed.
"Why would you call him out of the blue?" Nina Wainwright said, a little angry.
’Zachary is looking for any excuse to make co ho. Isn’t Catherine just playing right into his hands?’
Catherine Grant said, "Why can’t I call him? I’m going to make her apologize to you today, one way or another! Otherwise, she’ll just keep coming here to cause you trouble!"
Leo Larkin frowned but said nothing.
Catherine hung up and turned to the pale-faced Chloe Chapman, her tone aggressive. "Either you apologize right now and I’ll let you walk, or you don’t. But when Zachary Hawthorne gets here, let tell you, you’ll be apologizing to Nina on your knees."
Nina Wainwright knew Catherine Grant’s personality well.
She acted sweet and gentle around Nina, but that was because of Nina’s own disposition. If soone truly bullied her friend, Catherine would instantly turn into a spitfire and wouldn’t rest until she had her opponent in tears.
"Do you really think I’m easily intimidated? If she really knew Zachary Hawthorne, would she need to work as a bartender in a place like this?" After a mont of fear, Chloe Chapman’s bravado returned.
Nina Wainwright had to admit, she had a point.
Zachary Hawthorne was on a completely different level from people like them.
And unfortunately, Nina, his wife, was living a life worse than a dog’s.
Catherine Grant was so incensed by this remark that she almost lost her composure.
She hated Zachary Hawthorne for how he bullied Nina, but... right now, she had no choice but to use his na to stand up for her.
Gritting her teeth, she faced Chloe Chapman. "Fine, then don’t you dare leave! If you walk out today, you’re a dog!"
She wasn’t even sure if Zachary Hawthorne would actually co.
Chloe Chapman glanced at Nina Wainwright and said with a smile, "Fine by . I won’t leave."
With that, she walked over to a nearby table and sat down.
After she walked away, Catherine Grant couldn’t help but lean close to Nina Wainwright and whisper, "Is Zachary Hawthorne going to co?"
"How should I know...? He’s very busy with work," Nina Wainwright said.
Even when she and Zachary were on good terms, she never bothered him, especially during his work hours. As the sole heir to the Hawthorne Family, he had inherited all of their businesses. Once he started working, he would be so busy he’d practically disappear.
Now that their relationship was strained, it was anyone’s guess whether he would show up for such a trivial matter concerning her.
"I really shouldn’t have called..." Catherine Grant said, her face fraught with worry. "I knew I shouldn’t have bluffed like that."
Nina Wainwright couldn’t help but laugh. "If he’s not here in half an hour, I’ll call him."
"Forget it. I’d rather be humiliated myself than have you go begging him for help!" Catherine Grant said softly.
Leo Larkin sighed helplessly. Leaning against the bar, he dialed Lucy Stratton’s number.
The mont the call connected, he said in a low voice, "Get over to the bar right now. If you don’t, you’re fired."
Nina Wainwright subconsciously glanced at him.
Half an hour later, Zachary Hawthorne, as expected, had not shown up. But even Lucy Stratton had arrived.
Chloe Chapman, perched on a high-top round chair to the side, raised her voice in mockery. "Well, well, I thought you knew Zachary Hawthorne? How co he isn’t here? It’s been half an hour. He should’ve made it by now, even on a bicycle, right?"
Catherine Grant bit her lip and said nothing.
’This is so humiliating.’
Nina Wainwright reached for her phone, but Catherine Grant put a hand over hers to stop her. "Don’t worry about . Let her mock . I’m thick-skinned, anyway."
"Don’t call him next ti," Nina Wainwright said in a low voice.
She wasn’t sure if this was sothing worth bothering Zachary Hawthorne over.
There might be many more situations like this in the future, but after they divorced, could she really still run to him to fight her battles? Besides, Nina Wainwright truly didn’t want to owe him any favors.
But she also couldn’t stand seeing Chloe Chapman mock Catherine Grant.
"Hmph, he’s really not worth—" Before Catherine Grant could finish, a tall, slender man walked into the bar.
He was dressed sharply in a suit, one hand casually tucked in his pocket. The mont he entered, he drew the attention of the entire crowd.
Even the assistant behind him was more distinguished than the average man.
Catherine Grant’s eyes lit up instantly. "Zachary Hawthorne, so you decided to show up after all! Nina’s face is all swollen from being hit!"
Zachary Hawthorne’s gaze fell on Nina Wainwright’s face.
Nina Wainwright looked away, unconsciously biting her lower lip.
Many people in the bar gasped.
Zachary Hawthorne walked up to Nina Wainwright, reached out to lift her chin, and saw the red mark on her left cheek. He turned to Catherine Grant. "Who did it?"
"That woman. She even deliberately dragged Nina to the entrance of the bar and hit her in front of a bunch of passersby," Catherine Grant said, pointing at Chloe Chapman with a look of pure vindication.
Seeing Chloe Chapman’s face turn deathly pale, Nina Wainwright still spoke up, "Zachary, that’s enough."
"What do you an, ’enough’? This is the kind of person who’s used to bullying ordinary working people. If we let her off today, she’ll just go on to bully soone else at the next place tomorrow," Zachary Hawthorne said coolly.
Silas Sinclair stepped forward, his expression calm. "I’ll handle it from here."
Chloe Chapman tumbled from her chair to the floor, all of her previous arrogance gone. She begged, "I’m sorry... I was wrong."
Zachary Hawthorne could destroy the Chapman Family with the lift of a finger.
She never imagined that the random bartender she decided to slap was soone she couldn’t afford to provoke.
"Where’s all that arrogance from before? I told you earlier, all you had to do was apologize to Nina. You didn’t take your chance. Now that Mr. Hawthorne is here, that kind of apology just won’t cut it," Catherine Grant said, her voice filled with unconcealed glee.
Without another word, Silas Sinclair grabbed Chloe Chapman and dragged her out of the bar.
It was no use no matter how much Chloe Chapman pleaded.
Nina Wainwright was a little worried.
She knew that with Zachary Hawthorne’s arrival, the matter wouldn’t be resolved peacefully, but she was afraid it would negatively affect the bar.
"Why didn’t you call yourself?" Zachary Hawthorne asked Nina Wainwright.
Nina Wainwright kept her eyes downcast. "There was no need. Who doesn’t run into a difficult custor or two at work?"
Zachary Hawthorne watched her with a cold expression for a mont before speaking. "Next ti sothing happens, call yourself. Don’t always trouble your friends."
Nina Wainwright murmured in agreent.
Zachary Hawthorne’s expression softened slightly. "Are you getting used to it here?"
"It’s alright." ’He’s surprisingly good at keeping up appearances,’ Nina Wainwright thought. But the fact that he wasn’t imdiately trying to drag her ho was already a good outco.
"If you’re busy, you can go back to your work. I’m just mixing drinks, it’s not tiring," Nina Wainwright said, glancing up at him.
This habit of hers—using him and then casting him aside—truly annoyed Zachary Hawthorne.
*****
User Comments
0 comments from readers