Chapter 36
“Ms. Marchand, I’m calling from Riverview Medical Center. There’s an unexpected situation here. You might want to get over here and see for yourself…”
The nurse left the sentence hanging. She was about to say something, but she held herself back.
Calista could just make out a commotion over the phone. She could hear a woman making a fuss in the background. She was momentarily stunned before she quickly said, “Alright. I’m coming over now.”
There was no time to think things over. She ran out the door, hailed a cab, and headed straight toward Riverview Medical Center.
The moment Calista arrived at the hospital, she saw the crowd huddled around the gate. They were all either pointing fingers at the center or teasing and chiding someone, delivering remarks that were more scornful than the last. Some even pulled out their phones, taking pleasure in someone else’s misery.
Calista made her way through the crowd and finally saw who was at the center of it. It was none other than her own family.
It had been days since Calista last saw Clarice, and the latter looked very miserable. With the dark circles beneath her eyes and her messy hair, she seemed somewhat disheveled.
Obviously, the unsavory rumors on the internet got to her. As she spoke, her tone was laced with a trace of madness.
“Just tell me, where the hell is the bitch? She’s such a freaking jinx. It’s bad enough that she’s filthy, but she just had to drag me down
with her.
“Anthony, is this how you protect me? There’s nothing between you and the bitch, is there?”
Clarice was utterly worked up, clawing at Anthony with her slender fingers as if she were trying to unload the full force of her rage on
him.
He was barely holding her off. They were husband and wife, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to hit her back. Other than letting her lash out at him, there was nothing he could do.
Flat out of options, Anthony started to explain himself. Before he could get a single word out, he spotted Calista standing in the crowd.
Clarice saw his lingering gaze and immediately noticed something amiss. When she whirled around and saw who it was, her eyes flared with anger. She looked so fierce that it seemed like she would’ve skinned Calista alive.
“You bitch. You’re the reason I’m in this mess, and you have the gall to show up here?
“The nerve of you. Countless men are standing up for you and criticizing me. Just how many men have you flirted with?” Clarice
snarled.
At that moment, all sense of reason had deserted her. The thing about caged beasts was that the moment their restraints fell away, they’d bare their fangs and lash out without hesitation.
Before Anthony could stop it, Clarice charged at Calista and slapped her hard. The sharp sound drew gasps from the onlookers standing behind her.
“What the hell are you doing?” Anthony, who was protective of Calista, felt a sudden surge of anger within his chest. He had always been honest and straightforward, but his expression now carried a subtle undertone of threat.
elder
Clarice’s face darkened when she saw how he shielded Calista. “Did you just shove me? You actually pushed me aside for this bitch’s sake?
“Anthony, your family was poor when I married you. Now that you guys are well–off, is this how you treat me?
“Fine, then. If I’m going to spend my days in misery, you won’t know peace either. You’re all going to pay for this!” Blinded by rage, Clarice reached past Anthony and clawed at Calista. Her eyes turned red from anger. Clearly, she was out to harm Calista.
Rebecca heard about what happened and rushed over. She had to use all her strength to force herself between them. However, she underestimated how vicious Clarice was.
She didn’t even get the chance to utter a single word when she was mercilessly slapped, the force knocking her off her feet and into the wall.
“Mom!” Anthony screamed at the top of his lungs when he saw the blood on it. Calista followed him and rushed toward Rebecca.
Clarice reacted swiftly. She reached through the crowd and grabbed Calista’s hair.
“You bitch, how dare you hide behind my husband’s back! I should’ve known when I saw your face. You’re a born homewrecker. Say
goodbye to your pretty face!” Blinded by rage, Clarice raised her hand, every inch of her face laced with anger.
“Stop it!”
Someone had called the hospital’s security guards over. The men in uniforms rushed over and took control of the situation.
The nosy onlookers weren’t willing to leave. The earlier mess quickly became their topic of gossip. Some of the middle–aged, sleazy men couldn’t stop themselves from recklessly talking about the commotion, their words riddled with profanity.
Clarice’s insults and their vulgar remarks stabbed right into Calista’s heart over and over again. Her frail body curled up in the corner, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
“I want the charge nurses to take their respective patients back to the hospital rooms. As for the others, please do not linger here if you’re not related to the incident.”
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