"I understand what you mean, but you still should tell Stuart. Heāll teach them a lesson, and theyāll never repeat another word about you," Cecil said. He was clenching his fists to show how angry he was.
Edie smiled. She knew how much Cecil cared about her. She gently rubbed his face and said, "No, this is a secret between you and me. If I told Stuart, you know what heāll do." She said with a serious look on her face.
"They were awful to you. They deserve it!" Cecil looked at her with disappointment in his eyes. "Jealousy is no reason for people to be so mean. Please let me tell Stuart....." he asked.
Before he could finish, Edie interrupted him. "You told me that I should fight back, and I did. Arenāt you proud of me? Itās not Stuartās fight, and itās mine. I donāt want to involve him, and heās busy working, and heās still healing from his injury." Edie paused for a moment. She put her hand on her throbbing heart with a deep sigh of relief and said, "I donāt think theyāll bother me anymore after today."
Cecil shook his head. "Why does it matter if Stuart finds out? He wonāt do anything to them if you ask him not to. Besides, keeping secrets isnāt good." Cecil said, gazing up at her with a concerned look over his face.
Cecil didnāt know what Edie was trying to do. Stuart was always helping her, and this time she wanted to deal with it on her own. She wanted Stuart to be proud of her. She wanted to be able to protect the ones she loved.
***
At the same time, back at the L. N. In The Groupās Empire building, there were three other men in the room standing in complete silence. Ivan looked at Stuart with a confused expression on his face wondering what was going on. Stuartās eyes were glued to the screen of the computer. "What the hell is this?" Stuart asked them as he watched the video from Edieās encounter at the college.
Karl and Jon were from the British Headquarters. They were also two of the men, besides Mr. Bates and Ivan, that drove Edie and Cecil to the college. The video was brought to Jon, who was well aware of the incident. As soon as he received the video, he quickly took it to the top floor to give it to Stuart.
"Tell me what happened!" Stuart said, looking at them with the same cold expression on his face. He slams his fists against the desk and stands up. The noise echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls and reverberating in an almost eerie way.
"Theyāve been gossiping about your wife for the past three days," Jon responded. His voice trembled with strong emotion.
"Why?" Stuart asked in a cold tone.
"Itās because Mrs. Yates isnāt wearing a wedding ring," Jon replied.
"This is about a wedding ring?" Stuart didnāt understand. "Why would they gossip about her because she doesnāt have a ring on her finger?" he asked, sounding confused.
Ivan saw the expression on Stuartās face, and he hurried to explain. "Marriage is usually formalized by a ceremony attended by family and friends. In marriage, first comes the engagement ring, and then comes the wedding ring. A wedding is announcing your eternal love for your partner to the world." He looked at Stuart and could see he was thinking seriously about what he was saying.
"Thatās not the only reason everyone is gossiping about her," Jon said.
"Go on. Tell me," Stuart said in an even colder tone.
"Cecil comes to school every day with your wife, and they believe heās her son. They call him her illegitimate son." Jon looked as though he had made a great mistake, but swallowed hard before he continued to speak. "Theyāve been calling her a tramp because every day thereās a different man driving them to school. Edie tried to explain, but they donāt believe her."
As soon as they were finished talking, the pen in Stuartās hand snapped in half. His eyebrows tightened as he looked at Ivan. "Does everyone wear a ring when they get married?" he asked. His expression was unreadable.
Ivan was a little nervous but quickly replied, "Yes.....as far as I know they do.".
Then Stuart recalled the evening when he gave Edie the gift from Brittany. The look of disappointment on her face. "She thought it was.....Damn it...How could I be so stupid?" he mumbled under his breath. "She mustāve been humiliated!" Stuart felt like his heart had broken into a million pieces. He finally understood why Edie was so upset that night.
Ivan raised his voice slightly and asked, "Mr. Yates, would you like me to teach those women a lesson? I can....."
"No!" Stuart quickly answered before Ivan could finish his sentence.
Ivan took a step back with a startled look on his face. "I donāt understand? Youāve always had me deal with these matters. Are you not going to do anything about it?"
A blue vein pulsed in Stuartās forehead, and his fists clenched tight. "I will deal with this on my own. Donāt say a word about this to Mrs. Yates." Then he turned to Ivan. "I donāt want to be disturbed. When the members of the board show up, tell them Iām busy. Make up some kind of excuse to stall them," he ordered.
"Theyāre going to be very upset. Youāve just returned after being hurt. If they think youāre putting off your work because of...." Stuart interrupted Ivan before he could finish his sentence.
Stuart shouted, slamming his fists down on the desk. "Am I not the boss?" He shot Ivan a furious look. "Iāve been working overtime the past few days. If someone gives me a problem with me taking care of my wife, let me know, and Iāll take care of them," he ended the sentence coldly.
Ivan was nervously chewing his lip. "Will you be picking up Mrs. Yates this afternoon?" he asked.
"Yes! I want you to make arrangements for the instructor from Edieās class to meet with me. I want to know every single detail. I want the womenās names, where they live, everything!" he said in a demanding tone.
Ivan sighed, knowing how easily this could have been prevented.
***
Back at the hospital after the nurse gently rubbed the ointment on Edieās back, almost immediately, she felt the pain begin to dissipate. Leaning forward, she reached for her purse, and a sudden pain shot through her back. Fighting back the tears with a phony smile on her face, she said, "Are you ready to go?"
"Where are we going? Home?" Cecil asked.
Edie quickly nodded her head. "No! We have to go back to school. The driver will be waiting for us, and if weāre not there, Stuart will find out what happened," she explained.
Arriving at the school, they looked for the driver. "Whereās the driver? I donāt see him," Cecil said in a worried tone.
"Maybe heās....." While Edie was in the middle of her sentence, her telephone rang. Staring at the screen, she said, "Itās Stuart."
"Where are you?" he asked, trying to hide his emotions.
"Iām outside waiting for the driver," she answered.
"Can you come to your classroom? Iām inside waiting for you," he replied.
Edieās mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened in surprise. āWhy is he here?ā she wondered. She was shaking so hard, and she almost dropped the phone. "What.....are you....doing in.....my classroom?" she said, her voice quivering with emotion.
"I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing," he said in a mysterious tone.