"Sheryl, don't worry. We trust you," one of the employees of Cloud Advertising Company comforted Sheryl. She felt very sorry for her boss to be humiliated in public.
Working together with Sheryl for such a long time made some of the employees understand her nature very well, so they were willing to console her and offer words of encouragement at such a crucial moment.
But their moral support and words of consolation did nothing in helping her in that dire situation. The majority of people barely knew her or didn't know her at all. What was worse, some of her employees began looking at her with skeptical eyes—doubting her.
To most of them, "women in power" who were getting involved with different men were considered leading a dissolute life. However, one of these so-called "women in power" was Sheryl, who was the CEO's wife, so naturally, certain people would blame her out of jealousy.
Sheryl felt hurt catching the accusation from her colleagues, but she maintained her calm demeanor. "She is responsible for this design and knows every detail about it. It must be an accident that she put her own naked picture in and exposed her secrets. Oh, what a shameless woman!"
They spoke of her in a hushed tone. Though they were fully aware that their accusation was just a devious suspicion without any proof, they pretended to have seen through everything—clearly revealing their jealousy.
It seemed to be of human nature that nobody cared whether the photos were real or not. Envious people only wanted to see those exceptional and extraordinary women lose face in public.
With deep animosity, they hoped Sheryl to lose everything in this event.
"Ms. Xia, can you explain for the photos displayed on the screen?" Reporters made their way towards Sheryl, who was already out of the stage, and surrounded her immediately. But Sheryl could only notice that they were all aiming at her direction to film her and capture photos of her. Confused as she was, she managed to look composed and collected. She was utterly undisturbed.
"Who is the man in the photos?" "When did you begin dating this man?"
"Ms. Xia, please tell us which man you feel happier with. Is it Mr. Lu or this guy?"
With the intent of exaggerating the whole situation, reporters deliberately raised questions which were too oppressive. They wanted to create malicious gossips that would haunt her in the long run.
"What are you doing? Get away! The photos are falsified. Ms. Xia has never done that!" Isla defended Sheryl and at the same time sheltered her.
But Isla's words didn't draw at all the attention of all the reporters circling them. They completely ignored her. They crowded around Sheryl, and Isla was forced to move aside soon later.
"Ms. Xia, please explain now that those photos are revealed." The reporters unrelentingly kept bombarding her with a series of questions.
"There is no need to explain it. The woman in the photos is not me." Refraining her anger, she forced herself to maintain her calmness.
"But the photos presented are clear. Are you kidding us by denying it?" Unmistakably, the reporters were dissatisfied with her explanation.
"I..." Sheryl wanted to defend herself, but couldn't utter any words with so many people around her.
"Enough!" Charles had stepped out of the stage and walked towards Sheryl, sheltering her with his hands and pushing the reporters out. They were stunned by Charles's cold face and walked backside instinctively.
"Sher has explained to you that the photos are falsified. Is it not enough? What else do you want to hear? Do you want to force her to admit what she didn't do?" Charles exclaimed in a loud and clear tone that all the reporters got mute out of fear.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Real Wedded Bride