CHAPTER 85: CHAPTER 85: SPLASHING WATER ON JENSON FORREST’S FACE IN PUBLIC

Crystal Sutton felt Jenson Forrest’s gaze on her, as sharp and cold as if he were looking at an enemy.

Her face went pale with shock, and she stumbled two steps back in fear.

At a glance from Jenson, two bodyguards stepped forward and seized Crystal by the arms.

Tears of grievance and fear rolled down Crystal’s face.

She couldn’t bear being slapped. If Zinnia Lawrence struck her five times for no reason, how could she ever show her face in public again?

"Jenson, I didn’t do it! *Sob*, I really didn’t! You can’t let my sister treat me like this..."

She cried out pitifully, but when Jenson ignored her, she turned her tear-filled eyes to Finn Quinn.

"Finn, this is your event, the party you organized! Aren’t you going to do anything either?"

Finn’s expression darkened. He thought Zinnia was being far too unreasonable. She had stormed in to crash his party without a shred of evidence, and Jenson was just letting it happen, even allowing Crystal to be struck.

He stepped forward. "Third Brother, you—"

Jenson cut him off with a cold glare. "This is none of your business."

Finn furrowed his brows. Just then, Yara Fairchild let out a derisive laugh.

Already fuming with nowhere to vent his anger, Finn glared at her when he heard the blatant mockery.

Yara rolled her eyes and mouthed the word, "Idiot."

Finn deciphered her lips. He had the sudden urge to strangle the woman right then and there.

"Zinnia, you rest. I’ll do it. No need to hurt your hands."

Yara rolled up her sleeves, but Zinnia stopped her.

Zinnia looked at Jenson, her gaze quiet but unyielding.

"What if all I want is for her to drink this bottle of water?"

If she were the only one to suffer, she could endure anything. But today, all I want is justice for the baby in my womb.

Jenson’s brows furrowed so deeply they almost formed a ridge. "I told you," he said, his tone heavy and slow, "that’s impossible!"

A wave of profound disappointment washed over Zinnia. She suddenly let out a desolate laugh, nodded, and released Yara’s arm.

"Yara, go ahead."

Looking at the smile on Zinnia’s face, Yara felt as if she were watching her cry.

She walked over to Crystal and swung her hand.

SLAP!

Crystal’s head whipped to the side, and she immediately spat out a mouthful of blood containing a dislodged tooth.

Crystal gasped, her face contorted in pain, unable to form words as she broke down into hopeless sobs.

"Holy shit! Are you a monster? That’s enough!" Finn had always seen Crystal as a younger sister from a family friend. Seeing Yara strike her so viciously, he lunged forward and grabbed her arm.

Yara glared at him. "Let go, or I’ll hit you too!"

"You dare!" Finn sneered.

Yara scoffed. "That dog Forrest doesn’t care about his own woman, so why are you so concerned, Young Master Quinn? Are you trying to steal what’s his?"

"Say one more word of that nonsense!" Finn gritted his teeth.

Unwilling to waste time arguing, Yara retaliated with a sweeping knee kick.

Finn had seen her fight scenes on set. He knew her moves were fluid and demonstrated real skill, so he was prepared and dodged backward.

Free again, Yara delivered four more resounding slaps to Crystal’s face. After the assault, Crystal hung limply in the bodyguards’ grip, barely conscious.

Finn’s face was black as thunder as Yara returned to Zinnia’s side.

"Satisfied?" Jenson asked, his gaze landing on Zinnia, his expression cold.

Zinnia said nothing. She walked to the table, picked up an empty wine glass, and poured the water she had brought into it.

Then, she turned and abruptly flung the water directly at the man’s incomparably handsome face.

"Her debt is settled. This is for you!"

She was returning the favor, for her baby.

"Third Brother!"

"Zinnia, are you crazy?"

Miles Chase and Finn both cried out and rushed forward, only to be met by a long, stunned silence.

The only sound was water dripping from Jenson’s brow, past his deep-set eyes and down his straight nose, before falling from the sharp line of his jaw to the floor below.

When had the man—always so dignified and composed, as lofty and untouchable as a god—ever looked so disheveled?

It wasn’t just Miles Chase and Finn; even Yara Fairchild was frozen in shock.

A dense, baleful aura seemed to gather around Jenson. Zinnia turned and walked away.

But she had barely taken two steps before he caught up from behind. The world spun, and Zinnia’s feet left the ground.

Jenson had hoisted her up and thrown her over his shoulder. With her head hanging down, blood rushed to her brain, and she began to struggle, punching and kicking wildly.

"Jenson Forrest, what are you doing! Put me down!"

The man paid her no mind, delivering a sharp smack to her backside before carrying her straight into the elevator.

"Zinnia!"

Realizing what was happening, Yara tried to give chase, but Finn blocked her path, infuriating her.

"A good dog doesn’t block the path!"

Finn sneered. "Yara Fairchild, you had Third Brother to protect you just now. Now that they’re gone, it’s time for us to settle our score."

"I have no score to settle with you!" Yara retorted, heading for the exit.

Finn grabbed her shoulder. "Oh, we have plenty to settle. There’s the matter at the studio, and then there’s you crashing the party today."

Leaning against the table, Miles leisurely poured himself a drink. He acted as if the surrounding mess had nothing to do with him, elegantly sipping his wine as he enjoyed the show.

"Little beauty, what’s the real story between you and our Finn? Do tell." Seeing Finn squirm as if he’d been caught by the neck was quite interesting to Miles.

"Yara Fairchild, you dare!" Finn moved instantly, pulling her into his arms and clamping a hand over her mouth.

But the sensation against his arm wasn’t right. He glanced down and realized he had clamped his hand over her chest. It felt... surprisingly soft. His mind flashed back to the incident on set. This woman is so headstrong, so why is she so soft everywhere?

"Mmph!"

While Finn was momentarily stunned, Yara’s rage surged. She drove an elbow into his chest, making him grunt in pain and release her.

Yara burst out cursing, "Pervert! Where do you think you’re putting your hands? I already apologized for not seeing you lying there and accidentally sitting on your face! It was a tiny mistake, but you’re still holding a grudge? You’re so petty! Are you even a man?"

PFFT!

Miles was so stunned by Yara’s "sitting on your face" comment that he sprayed the wine he had just sipped.

Finn’s face grew even darker. He was the infamous Young Master Quinn of Veridia. Was his face something anyone could just sit on? Besides, it wasn’t just a simple sit-down! She had even wiggled a few times, almost knocking his nose crooked!

"Shut up! How can you go around saying things like that? Have you no shame as a woman?"

"What do you mean, ’things like that’? My conscience is clear! Stop projecting your filthy thoughts onto me and trying to ruin my reputation!"

"You think I’m interested in you? If you were the last woman in Veridia, I still wouldn’t look your way."

"Even if you were the last man on Earth, I’d choose a dog over you!"

Fueled by fury, Finn lunged at her, and Yara met him head-on. Tables and chairs were overturned as they fought, sending dishes and glasses crashing to the floor.

Miles retreated to a safe distance, laughing. "Finn, it’s not a big deal. Consider it a romantic encounter. You got lucky, so stop complaining."

"What luck? Does she even count as a woman? She smelled of sweat! I nearly suffocated, it made me want to throw up last night’s dinner!"

Yara remembered Finn shoving her away and actually running over to a flowerbed to vomit. The memory was utterly humiliating, and it made her want to kick him into orbit.

"You’re just overly dramatic! You look like a man on the outside, but you’re more sensitive than any woman on the inside! Petty, narrow-minded, blind, and graceless! Forget acting in dramas; they should cast you in a ghost story. Not even a female ghost is as gloomy as you!"

"Yara... Fairchild!"