Template placeholder with Chapter 156
Chapter 156:
With the child growing inside Layla now in the picture, Laura’s interest in the baby Dayna carried had faded to almost nothing. Without sparing another thought, she walked off with Jaxton by her side. Santos went his own way to the company, leaving Laura and Jaxton alone in the car.
Laura kept talking about Layla’s pregnancy, yet Jaxton’s mind was tangled with the thought of Amelia marrying Wyatt. The more it circled in his head, the harder it was for him to stomach.
Just then, the car jerked to a stop. Before Jaxton could even gather himself, the car door beside him was opened from outside, and reporters appeared. Countless microphones were thrust toward his face.
“Mr. Morrison, is there another reason you ended things with Miss Flynn p>
“Miss Flynn married Mr. Stewart right after you broke up. Was she involved with Mr. Stewart while she was still engaged to you p>
“Did you choose to announce the breakup yourself, or did Mr. Stewart pressure you into it p>
Back when he had ended his engagement to Amelia in public, Jaxton had taken the blame entirely on his shoulders, which had worked in his favor with the press. Now, with Amelia being torn apart by netizens, the reporters naturally leaned toward supporting him.
No one knew the truth better than Jaxton did. Still, remembering how Wyatt had backed him into a corner at the office, he chose to play along with the reporters’ words. “The matter is behind us now. I have no wish to tarnish anyone’s name. Amelia and I grew up together, and to me, she’s practically family p>
𝗜n𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗇t ac𝖼eѕs 𝗈𝘯 𝗀𝗮𝘭ոо𝘷𝘦𝗅𝗌.сo𝗺
His tone carried weight on that last remark, and the reporters traded loaded glances. Catching their reaction, he continued, “I’ve already said this before—it was my fault that Amelia and I broke up. At the end of the day, the Morrison family could never measure up to the Stewart family’s influence p>
The words were vague enough, but the message was clear to the reporters. They believed Jaxton was all but admitting that the Stewart Group had pressured him into ending his engagement with Amelia.
Just then, a sudden buzz swept through the crowd as phones lit up with fresh news alerts. Whatever the incoming news was, it lit a spark of excitement in the reporters’ eyes.
One reporter quickly asked Jaxton, “Mr. Morrison, is it true that Miss Flynn can’t have children? Was that part of the reason you broke up with her p>
“Has Mr. Stewart been informed about Miss Flynn’s inability to have children p>
The questions caught Jaxton and Laura off guard. Still, Jaxton quickly buried the flicker of satisfaction in his eyes and put on a look of wounded innocence. “This matter involves both Amelia’s and Mr. Stewart’s privacy. I expect you to keep this to yourselves p>
“So, it is true then?” one reporter asked.
Jaxton’s reply was vague, offering neither confirmation nor denial.
Since neither Wyatt nor Amelia had been reachable, the reporters had turned to Jaxton for answers. Now, armed with his statement, they rushed to the Stewart Group’s headquarters.
For a brief moment, triumph glimmered in Jaxton’s eyes. But beside him, Laura’s face drained of color. She glared at him. “Have you completely lost your senses, Jaxton p>
Jaxton’s eyes briefly showed alarm at her outburst, yet he forced himself to sound defiant. “Did I say something wrong? If Wyatt hadn’t cornered me into signing that contract, I would never have ended my engagement to Amelia. Mom, are you willing to just let them be together like this p>
Laura wanted to make Amelia and Wyatt have a hard time, which was exactly why she had let him speak earlier. Still, she recognized the damage they had just done to the Stewart Group.
Jaxton’s words sent the Stewart Group soaring to the top of the trending searches. By the next hour, accusations of the Stewart Group pressuring Jaxton were spreading like wildfire, now tangled with gossip about Amelia’s infertility. Public outrage soared, sending the company’s stock into a steep decline.
The next morning, Amelia woke to her phone overflowing with messages. When she saw the words “unable to conceive,” the panic she felt at first hollowed into a cold numbness. Just then, her screen lit up with a new message from an unknown number. Attached was a voice recording.
“Marrying Amelia was my only way to secure access to that crucial technology. Until I have it in my hands, I can’t divorce her…” Amelia recognized Wyatt’s voice in an instant.
Her face drained of color, and the phone slipped from her hand, landing with a dull thud on the floor.