Chapter 227: A Public Spectacle
Witnessing this scene, Ellis and Maya exchanged puzzled looks. In the next moment, they no longer cared about their meal and immediately left the ill-fated restaurant. It was two against one: although they could handle Victoria and prevent her from gaining the upper hand, they didn’t want to be treated like a circus act by onlookers. Victoria might not care about her dignity, but they certainly did.
As Ellis and Maya disappeared, Victoria, pulled aside by Morty into a corner, tried to chase after them. Seeing through Victoria’s intentions, Morty tightened his grip on her hand even more. Her feet could move, but her hands could not. Frustrated, Victoria stomped her foot. “You won’t help me get revenge, and you’re stopping me too?”
She had planned to meet Morty there today, hoping to borrow some money from him. Before she could ask, she spotted Ellis and decided to settle a score with a slap first, but Morty intervened and prevented her from hitting Ellis. In her usual way of thinking, if Morty wasn’t going to help her, he shouldn’t be stopping her either. With Ellis having slipped away, who knew how long it would be before she’d get another chance to hit her!
“If you hit her, I hit you,” Morty said with utter seriousness, his face free of any other emotion. Victoria’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in disbelief. I hit Ellis, Morty hits me?
“We’ve grown up together since we were kids,” Victoria said angrily.
“So what if we’re childhood friends?” Morty interrupted her coldly. “Does being childhood friends mean I have to help you unconditionally and tolerate everything you do?”
“Then you shouldn’t be standing against me!” Victoria raised her voice unwillingly.
“We were on the same side, but you’re just too much,” Morty looked in the direction Ellis had left. “And you make a scene without considering the consequences, which is just foolish.”
“Ah!” Victoria couldn’t accept that Morty was siding with Ellis instead of her. Moreover, with Easton’s assistant pressuring her and her company for money, her financial chains were breaking, and she needed to gather funds urgently. She felt like she had plummeted from a privileged princess to a failing loser overnight, and she screamed softly in frustration.
“Easton told me not to hold a grudge against Ellis for hitting me, and now you’re saying if I hit Ellis, you’ll hit me; everyone’s helping Ellis,” she scratched at Morty’s hand in fury. “Has that woman bewitched you all? Why does everyone help her and not me?”
As pain spread across the back of his hand, Morty let go of Victoria’s hand. Ellis was no longer there; he didn’t need to worry about Victoria rushing up and attacking her again.
“Don’t just ask questions, use your brain and think about it, and maybe do some self-reflection,” he advised kindly.
Hearing this, Victoria’s anger reached its peak. If she could figure it out, she wouldn’t be asking Morty.
“Also, stop trying to find people to hit Ellis,” Morty said, hands in his pockets, looking down at Victoria’s contorted face. “Focus on sorting out your mess with Easton instead of ending up empty-handed.”
Morty’s words carried a warning, and it was as if lightning had struck Victoria’s mind. A lightbulb went off; she somewhat understood why Morty had agreed to meet her today and defended Ellis every step of the way, despite him always making excuses not to help her in the past.
“Are you trying to hook up with that wench?” Victoria asked, feeling out the situation but internally hoping Morty’s tastes weren’t that poor.
After hearing this, Morty’s expression changed slightly, and his gaze became sharp as he scanned her. “Aren’t you also a woman? Using such ugly words to insult your own gender, any other woman would slap you for that.”
Morty’s response confirmed her suspicions, making Victoria think he had lost his mind. His taste was unbelievably poor, she thought, unable to believe Morty would choose someone else’s leftovers over superior women. This leftover had even been worn by Easton!
“Deny it all you want, Ellis is attractive, but you’re messing with Easton’s ex-wife, you…” she started.
“Enough! Keep your mouth clean!” Morty cut her off, stuffing something into her mouth. “Remember, I’m serious, not just playing around.”
Now that Victoria had guessed his feelings for Ellis, there was no need for him to hide his long-restrained affection.
Victoria spat out the object in her mouth. “Taking over Ellis, aren’t you afraid of being ridiculed?”
“You stole her husband, and you’re not afraid of ridicule?” Morty laughed mockingly. “Besides, she’s single. I’m single; us being together is nothing shameful.”
“I didn’t steal; I took back what I deserved.” Victoria didn’t see herself as stealing Ellis’s husband. She and Easton had been childhood sweethearts with a long-standing engagement, perfectly matched in every way, a match made in heaven. Ellis was just a sudden interloper who shamelessly forced Easton into marriage!
“What position do you think you deserved? Forgot? It was your family who wanted to break off the engagement?” Morty casually dusted off his sleeve, his tone still mocking.