Chapter 22: Chapter 22: She splashed water on my face!
Beads of water slid down my face, dripping down my neck and soaking through my dress. The cold fabric was now clinging stubbornly to my skin as my eyes fell on my ex-mother-in-law, who looked more than pleased with herself.
A smug look was plastered across her face, her features twisted into an ugly smirk that I couldn’t wait to wipe off. My fingers reached for the glass of water sitting on my table, but Rhys was faster than I was.
I watched in shock as he grabbed the cold glass within the next second and splashed it in my mother-in-law’s face without warning. A gasp rose from my lips as I watched the scene unfold before my eyes.
"What the hell!" My mother-in-law’s shrill screams echoed in the fancy Italian restaurant. If the people weren’t already looking at us since the beginning, they certainly were right now.
"Oh, I’m so sorry, it slipped right out of my fingers," Rhys explained, but anyone with ears could hear that there wasn’t a hint of apology in his tone as a smirk crept across his face.
And a soft chuckle broke free from my lips.
Cathy was glaring at Rhys with wide brown eyes that were swirling with fury. Of course, she didn’t see that coming, nor did I, honestly. Yet, there was this strange warmth that was starting to blossom in my chest as I looked at Rhys, who was standing next to me.
"What have you done! You ruined my makeup and dress!" Cathy’s sharp voice tore through the tension lingering in the air. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
Rhys seemed unfazed by everything. Instead, he only reached over to rest his hand on the curve of my waist, pulling me close until the side of my body was pressed up against his.
My breath hitched in my throat at the sudden proximity, and the firm grip he had on me was putting my heart into overdrive. I looked up at him, still feeling the water dripping down my dress.
What is he trying to do?
I watched as the corners of his lips tipped up into his charming smile. "I’m Evelyn’s new boyfriend. I’m terribly sorry about the accident, but it’s so nice to meet you," he said with a knowing look in his dark eyes as he extended his hand to her.
I froze. For a split second, the world seemed to stop moving at all. My heart hammered in my chest, threatening to burst out any second now.
What did he just say?
Cathy scoffed loudly, ignoring his hand.
"I knew it," she snarled, turning to meet my eyes this time. "Turns out I wasn’t wrong at all about you being a whore. You are still married to my son, yet you are out here gallivanting around with another boy toy of yours, how typical of you."
"You don’t get to call her that," Rhys warned. "Take it back."
"Why should I? Am I wrong about it?"
His hand slipped from my waist as he stepped towards her. "Don’t make me repeat myself, old lady."
Cathy gaped at him, clearly offended. But I held Rhys back, shaking my head. This was my own battle to fight.
"I’m a single woman now. Did you forget that I am divorcing him? He’s not my husband anymore, and what I do now is none of your business," I fought back, my eyes fixed on Cathy.
"It’s still not official yet, isn’t it? My son worked so hard to provide for you and the family, and this is what he got in return? His wife is running around with another man. How shameless can you be, Evelyn Hart?"
A cold chuckle left my parted lips as I kept my gaze steady. "Me? Shameless?" I echoed her words with an incredulous look plastered across my face. "I wasn’t the one cheating and getting someone else pregnant, am I?"
A look of surprise flashed across her face. "You...knew?" She took a step back as I pinned her with a glare. "You knew about—"
I cut her off. "That your precious son got my sister pregnant? Of course I know." She was still gaping at me, speechless, when I continued. "So, who’s the shameless one now, huh?"
The look of shock on her face vanished, now replaced with something else, something sharper and twisted. "So what?" She retorted, immediately changing her tune when her son wasn’t that perfect anymore. "You can’t even get pregnant and give birth to another child. Not only are you a disappointment to your husband, but you also can’t even give your daughter a sibling, as she wanted. It’s only natural that Lucas finds someone else who can actually conceive."
I almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the words that were spilling from her mouth. "How ironic that you called me a whore when you knew your son was doing all these things behind my back. I guess...it’s only right to say that he is the whore in this scenario, right, Cathy?"
Her cheeks flushed red with anger when she saw that her words didn’t affect me like they used to. In the past, her words would have cut me deeply, and I would have apologised even though I knew it wasn’t my fault. But now, things had changed. I was no longer the same woman as before.
"You!" She raised her hand to hit me.
But before I could even stop her myself, Rhys beat me to it. He was already in front of me, shielding me from her as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His broad, strong shoulders blocked part of my view, but I could still see the murderous glare my mother-in-law was aiming at me as his fingers wrapped tightly around her forearm.
"Have you lost your mind?" Cathy shrieked as more gasps rose from the crowd that was still watching everything unravel.
"I would if you lay a single finger on her."
Rhys released his clutch on her, letting her arm fall back to her side as she let out a disgruntled huff.
"I’m going to sue you..." Her voice trembled with rage as she jutted her finger in our direction. "I’m going to sue you for assault."
"Go ahead, I would like to see you try. Did you forget that you attacked her first?" His eyes swept across the place. "I’m sure the security cameras must have captured everything, and the people here saw what happened."
If the restaurant was quiet before, it had gone eerily quiet around us now. Cutlery had stopped clinking against plates, conversations had died down completely, and every pair of eyes in the room was fixed on our table.
Cathy noticed it too.
Humiliation and panic flashed across her face, making her expression twist even uglier.
"You think this woman is innocent?" she spat, pointing a trembling finger at me. "She destroyed my son’s family! She—"
"Your son destroyed it all by himself," I cut in sharply.
Her mouth snapped shut, and her eyes narrowed as the veins in her neck visibly tightened.
"You ungrateful little—"
"Careful," Rhys warned softly. "If I were you, I would think carefully before speaking."
