Their Punching Bag Became The Storm novel Chapter 31

Chapter 31 A Country Bumpkin

‘Does Whitney really not care that this might make Chase hate her even more?‘ Emily thought. ‘Isn’t she afraid of blowing her chance to get Chase on her side?

‘And most importantly, if Whitney won’t lift a finger to help Chase, she’s definitely not going to save me.‘

Emily clenched her fists, trying to hold back the sick feeling in her stomach.

Her eyes were red with tears as she looked at Whitney, her voice low and full of grievance. “Whitney, Chase has been begging you so much. Please, help him out. I’m begging you too. I’ll give you whatever you want.”

Her voice trembled, weak and helpless, pitiful to hear. She tried to push herself up from the stretcher, looking completely humiliated, ready to beg in front of Whitney.

As she struggled, the doctor rushed over to hold her down, telling her she couldn’t

move.

Emily didn’t dare move again, but she kept whining, “Let me up. I’ll beg Whitney for Chase’s sake.”

Whitney stayed silent. She didn’t even spare Emily a glance. Another one of Emily’s dramatic performances. No big deal.

Emily pretended it was all for Chase, but deep down, it was really about herself. Still, she kept insisting it was all for Chase.

She was not really talking to Whitney. She was trying to mess with Chase’s head.

The Andersons always tried to mess with Whitney, but honestly, Emily was the one playing them all.

Emily knew perfectly well that after yesterday, Chase, who had always been selfish, had gone through hell and gotten totally humiliated because of her. So it was only natural that he would be angry at her.

That was why Emily put on this whole dramatic act. She wanted to get back in Chase’s good graces.

Sure enough, Chase suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit, doubling over from the stabbing pain in his gut.

He gritted his teeth and snapped, “Enough! You don’t need to beg her.”

He lifted his head and tried to stare Whitney down, his eyes bloodshot. Every word came out sharp and full of blame. “Whitney, what do you want? Even if you’re angry, this isn’t the time to cause a scene.

“Are

you really going to stand there and watch me die from poison?”

Chapter 31 A Country Bumpkin

Whitney shrugged, completely unbothered. “Hey, I didn’t poison you. Whoever got you into this mess, go deal with them.”

As soon as Whitney finished speaking, Emily’s face went a little pale.

Whitney’s smirk grew wider. She had always known Chase’s poisoning had everything to do with Emily.

As for dropping dead from the poison right there? From the look on their faces, it was obvious they were not in any real danger.

The crew was not scrambling to get them off the island, so the poison clearly was not that serious. The doctors had probably already treated them.

Still, their stomachs were definitely in for some pain.

K

Darian, standing off to the side, said, “They must have been starving last night. They got up really early, picked a whole basket of mushrooms, grabbed some spices from the crew, and cooked up some mushroom soup.”

Whitney clicked her tongue. “That’s pretty hardcore.”

‘Eating wild mushrooms without a second thought? That is reckless,‘ she thought. Emily could tell Whitney wasn’t being sarcastic. She was dead serious. Emily’s face turned bright red, and she kept her head down, not daring to say a word. Chase was not as angry anymore after seeing Emily go all out to beg Whitney for him.

But when the poisoning came up again, he remembered what had happened.

Emily had been so hungry that she couldn’t take it anymore. Chase was starving as well, too exhausted to even deal with her.

Emily cried for a while, but when Chase did not react, she ran out of the shelter, stil sobbing, “I know you think I am not as capable as Whitney. But I will prove I can take care of you too.”

Γ

Chase was completely worn out, but he still dragged himself after her.

He followed Emily, and together they picked a whole basket of mushrooms.

Chase worried they might be poisonous, but Emily insisted she had taken a special course for this show and learned how to tell which mushrooms were safe.

“Trust me, these are all safe,” she promised.

Chase was not entirely convinced.

But when Emily cooked up some mushroom soup and brought it right to him. The smell was so good that his mouth started watering.

In the end, he finished the soup.

After that, they both started vomiting and had diarrhea. They were rolling around on

Chapter 31 A Country Bumpkin

the ground in pain, which finally got the crew’s attention.

If Emily had not pretended to be an expert and sworn those mushrooms were safe, he never would have gotten poisoned in the first place.

“Whitney,” Darian said, nudging her with his elbow. “You really know how to help him out?”

“Yeah, she can,” Chase blurted out, then winced in pain. “Darian, if you don’t want the filming to get screwed up, make Whitney help me.”

Whitney looked genuinely surprised. “Chase, I’m a country bumpkin. How could I possibly save you?”

Even though she was putting herself down, you could hear the teasing and sarcasm in her tone.

Whitney was throwing his own insults right back at him, mocking him to his face. Chase’s face went dark. The pain in his stomach twisted even harder.

“You’re lying,” Chase said, his eyes red with frustration. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” He never thought he’d be so desperate that he’d have to beg his own sister for help.

Whitney looked at him with wide, innocent eyes, as if she had no idea what he was talking about.

Even Nora could feel the weird tension between them. She leaned close to Whitney and whispered, “Hey, did you and Chase know each other before the show? What’s going on with you two?”

To be honest, she had felt that way since the first day of filming. She had seen it with her own eyes. Whitney was always fussing over Chase, looking out for him, making sure he didn’t get hurt.

Everyone kept saying Whitney was a nobody trying to suck up to Chase so she could use the show to get close to a celebrity and maybe even land a rich husband.

Kayla and the other girls were quietly forming cliques. They warned Nora not to get too close to a gold digger like Whitney.

But Nora always felt that Whitney’s care for Chase was never about scheming or having some hidden motive. It was genuine and straight from the heart, like she was looking after her own family.

Chase never appreciated it, though.

But every time he needed something, he would go straight to Whitney, acting like she owed him and expecting her to drop everything for him.

‘Seriously, he is the most low–down jerk I have ever seen, Nora thought.

Chapter 31 A Country Bumpkin

She had never liked Chase, that so–called top star, or Emily, his drama queen of a sister.

Whitney raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on her lips as she glanced sideways at Chase. Then she taughed in a lazy, teasing tone, “Yeah, we know each other. But that’s about it.”

Her indifferent tone made Chase burst out angrily, “That’s about it? You’re really saying we have nothing to do with each other?”

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