Chapter 20
Aidan's deep voice became significantly colder. "For you, would you accept any woman to marry into the family as long as they
carry my child?"
"I'm doing this for your own good. Otherwise, do you intend for your child to be born out of wedlock? In the past, you—"
"I don't need your reminder. I won't let this happen again." After Aidan said that, he hung up the phone instantly.
His eyes remained glued to the divorce papers on the table for quite some time before he suddenly stood up and placed them in
his pocket. Subsequently, he took large strides and left the office.
...
Meanwhile at Lux Jewelry, during the entire press conference, Leanna behaved very calmly the whole time and did not flinch
from the stinging, barbed questions from the press members.
She was not a celebrity nor did she need the publicity. Besides, she did not have any public image to maintain. Her main goal
was to prove her innocence and restore the reputation for herself and Lux Jewelry before any irrevocable damage was done.
One of the reporters asked, "Miss McK, since you've just mentioned that the post on the Internet calling you a homewrecker is
just a rumor, then could you explain why you disappeared from the public eye all of a sudden three years ago?"
"I got married."
"Then, is your husband the wealthy man mentioned in the post?"
Leanna replied, "I'm very sorry, but I can't disclose any information regarding my ex-husband. All I have to say is that both my ex-
husband and I were single from the moment we met each other and until we wedded."
Several reporters perceptively picked up the word 'ex-husband' from her statement and they continued to ask her questions
related to her marriage.
However, she smiled and responded indifferently, "I think that we're all seated here at the moment for me to clarify the untruth
rumors on the internet, so forgive me, but I'm not prepared to disclose anything further regarding my personal life."
Her words rendered the reporters speechless. Nonetheless, her words made perfect sense.
She was not in fact a public figure, hence, there was no need for her to front up to the public about her personal life. As for right
now, the reason there was such a huge fuss about this matter was mainly because everyone reckoned that she was a
shameless homewrecker who had succeeded in advancing her social status. Therefore, it essentially became a boycott
campaign toward her as a designer.
Currently, she came forward to face the media to clarify things while Lux Jewelry backed her words too. As for the reporters in
attendance today, they were generally on good terms with Lux Jewelry and hence, no one was planning to offend them.
After the press conference ended, there were various articles published soon after that.
Lux Jewelry also issued a statement at the same time, debunking the rumors on the Internet. Lux Jewelry would be acting on
behalf of their designer to seek criminal charges against the parties who slandered their employee. They would also accept
every request of a refund and hopefully, they would be able to come up with further designs that were to the public's liking.
After the release of this statement, there was a barrage of fashion bloggers and celebrities who came forward to indicate their
support for Lux Jewelry.
Soon enough, the sales of the three pieces in the First Love series soared significantly instead of dropping. The increase in sales
was three times higher than before the incident occurred and it was sufficient to cover the entire loss from the refund process.
As soon as the press conference ended, Leanna rushed to the toilet instantly.
Zoe waited worriedly by the entrance for ten minutes before Leanna finally came out. "Nana, are you alright?"
Leanna shook her head with her pale face. "Could you help me let Mr. Mancini know that the incident today is entirely my fault
and that I'm very sorry for everything? If the magazine intends to terminate our contract, then I don't mind signing the termination
letter right now."
"What are you on about? Everyone can clearly see that this was a plot to sabotage you. There is no way that Mr. Mancini would
terminate your contract because of this! Besides, if he intended to terminate your contract, then what's the point of him going
through all this hassle to organize a press conference to clarify things? He could have just released a statement and pushed the
blame on you."
"I..."
Leanna had just spoken one word when she suddenly felt a nauseous sensation. However, she did not end up vomiting despite
her discomfort. She rubbed her stomach resignedly and thought, You're such a bad-tempered naughty little thing.
Zoe handed over a glass of warm water to Leanna. "Nana, I'll send you home first."
At that moment, some staff from Lux Jewelry walked past them and whispered amongst themselves.
"Hey guys, why do you think Pearson Group offered to help us this time? They actually sent their renowned public relations team
to us. Not even Daphne has received such help."
"Yeah. Daphne's actually one of the most popular actresses. She's the top star of Pearson Group; back then, her scandals
spread like wildfire, but the PR department of Pearson Group did not even step in."
"I heard from a friend that Daphne's team sought help from the president of Pearson Group and requested to use the resources
of the PR department, but guess what the president said? He responded by saying, 'Sort out your own mess. If you can't resolve
the issue, then leave the industry'."
"That's quite harsh of him."
"Hey, your news is outdated. The issue with Daphne happened two years ago. Right now, the president of Pearson Group is
quite protective of her."
Instantly, the others were quite keen to find out more gossip.
Even Leanna and Zoe could not help being drawn into the topic.
The person who was busy revealing the secrets continued, "You guys must know Mia Clark, right? She's the young model that
Pearson Group is currently focused on grooming. She's actually President Pearson's beloved one. Previously, her team was
quite keen to be on our cover page, but Mr. Mancini found her unsuitable, therefore rejecting their request. However, I heard that
when we were preparing for the First Love series, Mia got wind of this and wanted to work with us to promote the series as the
cover girl."
"Yes, that's right. I heard of this too. In the end, Mr. Mancini rejected her request. However, President Pearson turned up at the
press conference yesterday, right? I heard that he was there to buy the pieces in the First Love series as a gift for someone.
Could it be for Mia? He must be doing that to help her gain the chance of being on the cover page."
"If that's the case, then the reason why Pearson Group sent their PR department over to help us this time must be because they
wanted Lux Jewelry to owe them a favor. As such, it would be easier to pave the way for Mia. President Pearson has done so
much to help her."
The people walked off further as they continued the conversation.
Zoe could not hold in and complained, "How dare that nasty couple show their affections for each other so blatantly! Darn it!"
Meanwhile, Leanna merely reached out to touch the divorce papers in her bag as she thought, There are two sentences that
really are such an apt description. The words spoken by males can't be trusted; you'd be much better to depend on yourself than
to rely on a man. I definitely don't believe that there's nothing going on between him and Mia!
Finally, Leanna came back to her senses and mentioned, "Zoe, you should go and deal with your work. I've got something else
to do, so I'll be leaving somewhere now."
Although this incident was resolved successfully and the crisis had been averted, there were some scores that she had to settle
regardless.
However, as soon as she left the company, her cell phone went off.
She glanced at the flickering screen silently, but she did not end up answering the call.
After quite some time, her phone finally stopped ringing.
Leanna had already made things clear; regardless of the reason, there was no longer any point for her to be in contact with
Zayn.
She was just about to hail a cab when her phone went off again.
She took a look at her phone and was even more reluctant to take this call.
He's such an inconsistent man! This is annoying!
With that, she instantly pressed the 'block contact' option.