However, the woman in the video was not Rose. Everyone's gazes turned on Shawn, their expressions varying between pity and mirth.
Shawn was gritting his teeth so hard that he felt like his molars were about to shatter. He bellowed, "What's going on? What the hell are the staff of this hotel doing? Do I have to ruin the lives of everyone working here before you're satisfied?"
The hotel manager rushed forward. He was sweating buckets as he ripped out the cable powering the projector from the socket.
The video finally disappeared from the screen. But it was much too late.
The guests had seen too much and were now criticizing Shawn. Any doubts they might have regarding his true character previously had been completely wiped out.
Shawn's reputation was in utter shambles. He was trembling all over and his expression was grim.
He forced himself to smile as he turned to plead with Rose, "Rose, I'm so sorry about all this. I don't know which prankster set me up, but you have to believe me when I say that the man in the video isn't me."
Rose stayed mute. The man in the video only had his back to the camera, but she already had an inkling that the man who was locked together with the woman was Shawn. Now that he was defending himself with such a forced expression, Rose became certain that the man was indeed him.
However, today was supposed to be Rose's big day. She couldn't lose her temper for now.
Throwing what little pride he still had left away, Shawn forced himself to accompany Rose as they continued to make their rounds to greet and toast to their friends and elders.
Some of the elders behaved awkwardly around the couple, with some even trying to subtly berate Shawn's actions with their words. It was especially prevalent once they got to Rose's side of the family. They were extremely disappointed in Shawn's disgusting behavior.
Not only had Shawn gotten another woman pregnant out of wedlock, but he had even broadcasted his salacious activities with another woman at his wedding with Rose. He had completely destroyed the reputation of the Cort family.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: A Life Beyond Limits