Chapter 159: Seeing Marilyn’s True Colors
Marilyn was furious. She went through so much trouble to have some alone time with Zachary, but Yvonne showed up again.
And she was walking out of a high end boutique. Any product of that brand could cost a fortune.
Even as the "Best Actress", she could only have one or two gowns sponsored by that brand every year.
"How can she afford to shop that highly expensive brand at such a young age?" Marilyn asked herself.
Subconsciously, Marilyn turned to Zachary and found his countenance darkened. He ignored her previous questions and strode toward Yvonne. "Wait!"
According to Simon’s photo, Yvonne knew they were at a mall, but didn’t expect it to be this mall.
After a brief moment of surprise, Yvonne turned around with her head held high. "What’s wrong? Why don’t you stay around your lady friend? She might be upset."
He ignored the sarcasm in her words and held her hands. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
She frowned and shook off his hand. "None of your business."
The next second, Zachary’s phone rang, and they both saw the new message.
"Following the return of the products, the amount paid has been returned to your bank account..."
Yvonne was rendered speechless. She thought the money would be returned within two weeks, but it had only been ten minutes...
Seeing the message, Zachary immediately understood why she was here. He spoke through clenched teeth, "YVONNE!"
All of a sudden, Yvonne felt a trace of guilt, but the next second, she remembered why she was here. "If he can shop with another woman, why can’t I do whatever I want?" she thought.
"Why did you raise your voice? I don’t want your gifts! Stop bothering me!"
Marilyn didn’t hear their conversation, but could tell they were quarreling about something. She hurriedly went over.
"Alas, Miss Taylor, Mr. Leinster. What’s going on?
"You must have misunderstood. I’m here with Mr. Leinster for a business occasion. Please don’t be mad at him. You will break his heart."
"How pretentious!" Yvonne thought to herself.
She shook off his hand and shot a glare at Marilyn.
"Even if we’re quarreling, it’s our own business. Who are you to tell me what to do?" she said with a sneer on her face.
Her words made Marilyn shut up immediately.
Zachary said, "Within three seconds, buy back all the things you’ve returned with this card!"
"Do you think the mall is yours? Or maybe all the shops are yours too. I’ve returned them and I will not have them back," said Yvonne.
She was open to persuasion, not coercion. "How could he be so harsh on me in front of that woman? I would never show a sign of weakness in front of Marilyn," she protested inwardly.
Marilyn finally figured out why they were arguing. He was mad because Yvonne had returned his gifts.
Suddenly, jealousy possessed Marilyn.
In this city, numerous women dreamed about having a gift from Zachary.
Even without any gifts, many were willing to throw themselves at him. They would consider offering him a gift as a great honor.
But Yvonne just returned his gifts!
Most men valued their dignity a lot in a relationship. A proud man like Zachary would especially hate to see his expressions of affection being rejected so cruelly.
"Miss Taylor, you shouldn’t have done that.
"Mr. Leinster offered gifts to you because he cares about you. If you don’t like it, you should say it at once. But instead, you chose to accept those gifts with pleasure and then return them secretly. You’re making him a laughing stick in front of the whole mall."
Marilyn’s words were impeccable. On the surface, she was persuading both sides to make peace; but in fact, she was provoking anger.
As she expected, Zachary’s countenance turned grim hearing her words.
...
"I’ll ask you again. Will you buy them back?"
Yvonne knew being stubborn wouldn’t do her any good.
This Marilyn was even sneakier than those women before.
Marilny wished to see them fighting, and Yvonne didn’t want to walk into her trap.
Yvonne pursed her lips, trying to figure out her next step. Zachary would only yield to soft approaches.
But Yvonne was too angry to coax him with sweet talks.
Even if she had decided to give Zachary a break this time, she must teach Marilyn a lesson.
"But I’ve already returned them. I’ll be embarrassed if I buy them back again! Just forget about it."
"I don’t like my things in other people’s hands. So, go buy them back."
Seeing that his attitude had softened a little, Yvonne said with a proud and cute voice, "They were just clothes. I haven’t even removed the tags yet. Since they were gifts to me, they should be at my disposal."
Then she continued to say, "Those material things do not matter. What matters is me and my happiness? You should pay more attention to your girl rather than a pile of clothes."
As expected, Zachary’s whole person became more gentle hearing these words.
He looked at Yvonne with surprise in his eyes.
When he first saw her today, she was still aggressive and impetuous. He didn’t know what had changed her.
"You told me to pay more attention to you, but have you cared about my feelings?" Yvonne cast a glance at Marilyn and adopted her technique to provoke anger.
"You are spending too much money on it. I’ve told you. Even a famous actress like Miss Zellweger can only receive one or two gowns of Serendipity from the sponsor company every year. But you bought me the whole season’s collection. I’m just debuted my career, and you are spoiling me."
Marilyn was dumbfounded upon hearing those words.
She thought Zachary only bought a couple of dresses for Yvonne, but never expected him to be so generous.
"What are you talking about? Mr. Leinster bought you Serendipity dresses?"
Serendipity’s haute couture line was one of the most inaccessible blue-chip brands.
It had been highly sought after in the show business.
Many top stars could only get sponsorship of it twice a year, while Zachary just bought Yvonne the whole collection of the season.
"Yes! I received not only clothes but also the whole collection of jewelry," said Yvonne, who was playing dumb. She was really getting on Marilyn’s nerves.
Marilyn was so furious that she almost fainted.
She could get sponsorship for Serendipity’s clothes a couple of times a year, but she never had the chance to wear its jewelry.
She never knew Yvonne was so important to Zachary.
Zachary didn’t pay attention to the sarcasm in their words. All he was thinking about was Yvonne.
"I enjoy buying you things. You should just accept them without any scruples.
"Not to mention a few pieces of clothes, in the future, you will become the hostess of the Leinster Family. Why are you so careful with these trivial matters?"
Both he and Yvonne were angry at each other recently.
He still couldn’t believe she took a Plan B pill without telling him.
He couldn’t just let it go.
Facing his reproach, she pouted and complained, "How can I not be careful when your little brother acts wildly?"
"Simon?" Zachary frowned as he asked.
He knew that Simon had abducted Yvonne, but didn’t have the chance to deal with it.
Simon fled the town right away that day. Zachary could only suspend all his credit cards. Thinking that Simon would show up by himself after a while, Zachary didn’t try to track him down.
Yvonne took out her phone and showed him the photo.
"See for yourself!"
...
The photo was taken by Simon. In the photo, Zachary and Marilyn stood side by side in the mall.
"How can you blame me? First, you gave me the ’silent treatment", and now you are shopping with another woman!
"In a fit of anger, I returned everything you bought me before.
"If other women can have them too, I no longer want them!"
Hearing her words, Zachary was rendered speechless.
He didn’t expect that she did it out of jealousy.
"So she does care about me, right?" he wondered inwardly.
He began to reflect over her words.
He was a very stubborn man, and had always been indifferent to ladies. But Yvonne was special to him. Every time she treated him with tenderness, his heart just melted in love.
After careful reflection, he became aware that he was the one to blame.
She was still so young. It was normal that she was scared of pregnancy and wanted to use contraception.
However, he was heartless enough to ignore her fear. He didn’t use condoms and wanted her to give him a child. She was still a child herself!
Moreover, he blamed her for taking the pill and treated her coldly. Now he even showed up with another woman in the mall.
"What have I done? I have really been a jerk!" he thought.
Overwhelmed by guilt, he wished he could punish himself. The few drops of tears Yvonne just squeezed out made him regret it even more.
"I’m sorry. I didn’t think about your feelings."
Marilyn’s face went pale when she heard this.
"What the heck? Is Mr. Leinster brainwashed by her? It was her who returned your gifts!" she screamed inwardly.
"You’ve wronged me, Miss Taylor. I didn’t ask Mr. Leinster to shop with me. We’re here for a business campaign. Why don’t you trust him a little more? You will break his heart by doubting his loyalty like that."
Zachary frowned after hearing Marilyn’s words.
Seeing that Zachary’s opinion was about to swing to the other side, Yvonne spared no efforts this time. She said dramatically, "Zachary, do you not understand my feelings for you?
"I turned down my teenage crush Jordan and never regret it because of you. I insist to be with you despite my father’s objection. I tried to cook for you, but you left with this woman without appreciating any of my efforts. During the banquet last time, she embarrassed me in front of everyone. The whole world knows she’s my enemy. The pill I took gives me serious belly aches, and even your brother bullies me. Now you shop at the mall with the person I hate the most! For God’s sake, are you going to trust her over me? I’m the one who sleeps in the same bed with you!"
The more she said, the more she got into the role. Those things did happen and she did feel aggrieved. Soon, she burst into tears. Zachary’s expression was more serious than ever. Feeling very protective of her, he went closer and took her into his arms.
"Sob..." Yvonne was still immersed in the story she just told, blubbering like a kid.
Marilyn was shocked by her. A few minutes ago, Yvonne was still cold and decisive, but now, her tears were so convincing.
"Isn’t she a singer? How can she have such refined acting skill?" Marilyn thought to herself.
"Miss Taylor, you misunderstood. Why do you misinterpret my words? "Mr. Leinster, I want nothing but happiness for you two, but Miss Taylor..." "Sobs... Dear, she’s still trying to sow discord between us!" Yvonne protested. "That’s enough!"
He wrapped his arms around Yvonne and shot a glare at Marilyn, his eyes full of disdain.
"Don’t ever cross my girlfriend again!"