Chapter 20

They all went quiet, eyes glued to Veda, who was turning red with embarrassment.

She balled up her fists, her lips pressed tight.

Then someone piped up, "Ms. Veda Johnson, don't you have a rich boyfriend? Why not hit him up for help?"

They couldn't cough up over a million bucks each.

The manager stood off to the side, frowning, his eyes getting colder.thinking they were all just pretending to be loaded.

Veda slowly pulled out her phone, staring at John's number, but couldn't bring herself to call.

Most of John's money was tied up in overseas investments. He was back because he needed the Williams family's help with some minor business issues.

But he couldn't just ask for money, so he joined the Williams Group to work. Now, Veda wasn't sure if he had that kind of cash on hand.

But with everyone staring at her, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and step outside to make the call. When John heard she had blown ten million dollars on a trip, he was furious. "Veda! What are you doing? That's ten million dollars, not a hundred!" John felt his heart ache. Veda couldn't tell her family about this, biting her lip, her voice soft and upset.

"I didn't mean to. I thought we had the deal with Mr. Smith in the bag.so I took them out to celebrate. I just didn't expect Emily to order so much out of spite."

Hearing Emily's name, John got even more irritated. "Wait for me; I'll be there in ten minutes."

John rushed over to pay the bill first. As the ten million dollars left his account, he felt like his heart was bleeding.

He stormed into the private room, and everyone inside was stunned to see him.

John's icy stare landed on Emily. "You, come with me."

Emily lazily got up and followed him out.

After they left, Nora looked at Veda, her eyes wide. "Ms. Johnson, is your boyfriend Mr.Williams?"

John was the heir to the Williams family, set to inherit the whole company.

Veda blushed. "Yes, but we're keeping it under wraps for now."

Someone else asked, "Does Mr. Williams know Emily too?" The employees invited to tonight's dinner were all new employees who had no idea about John's relationship with Emily and Veda. The way John had stormed in, it looked like he was ready to kill Emily. Veda tucked her hair behind her ear and said softly, "The three of us went to the same middle school. We grew up together."

Nora sneered. "Ms. Johnson, you can't fully understand Emily's thoughts and true intentions, so be careful."

Veda just smiled.

Meanwhile, John stopped Emily at the corner of the hallway. He took a deep breath and warned her, "Didn't I tell you not to mess with Veda?Why do you always forget? I let her work at the company. If you have a problem,come after me!"

Emily smirked. "You're upset over losing some money? What you did to me three years ago was way worse. Compared to you guys, what I did was just a little prank."

Originally, as long as they stayed out of each other's way, Emily wouldn't have bothered. But they kept pushing her buttons, and she couldn't take it anymore.

John took a deep breath, trying to keep his cool. "Emily! What right do you have to accuse us? Weren't you the one who betrayed me first?"

He looked at Emily's beautiful face, feeling nothing but disgust.

He grabbed her shoulders and pinned her against the wall,his voice icy."Why did you disappear six years ago? Why did you go to the gynecologist?Are you really a virgin? Why should I put up with this and accept you?Emily, do you dare to tell me what happened during those days?"

Emily's face went pale, her nails digging into her palms, drawing blood.John shouldn't know about that.

Seeing her trembling and scared, John smirked mockingly. "Do you dare tell me who you were with during those days? Who was that guy? Or how many guys were there?"

Emily's eyes turned cold. She slapped John hard, her hand shaking.

"John, shut up! You're the last person who should be accusing me!"

John touched his face, licked his teeth, and sneered. "Emily, you've been seducing men with your looks since you were a kid. You'rea born slut!"

He went on, "Your biological parents thought you were dirty and untamable, so they abandoned you. You stayed with the Williams family for three years because you had nowhere else to go."

Emily's eyes were bloodshot. "John, enough."

Her body was shaking uncontrollably.

She had a huge secret buried deep in her heart, one she couldn't forget.Now John was bringing it all up.

She had always thought John fell for Veda because she was obedient,but now she realized he had known her secret all along. This was why he suddenly stopped loving her.

Emily closed her eyes, unable to cry since her eyes were dry. Emily had tried to convince herself that what happened during those days was just a nightmare. Apart from some physical marks and the torture of being imprisoned, the rest was a blank in her mind. She pushed John away hard and turned to leave, just as Veda came out of the private room. Emily gave Veda a long look as she walked past her. Veda looked at John and asked, "John, it seems like Emily's about to cry.Did you scold her?"

John was annoyed. "No, just told her some truths."

Veda's face changed slightly, but she quickly hid it. There was a hint of reproach in her voice. "You promised me you'd keep it a secret forever.Emily's already been through a lot. Why did you do this?"

John frowned. "She needs to learn a lesson."

Veda lowered her head, her long hair falling to hide the unease in her eyes.