Chapter 123: Every single one of you believed her.
Watching the scene unfold, cold sweat broke out across Tessa’s back. If Ryan could dismiss the hotel manager without a second thought, what would he do to her?
The mere thought made it difficult for her to breathe.
Ryan slowly turned toward the two security guards.
"And you two..."
The guards instantly dropped to their knees.
Both men trembled uncontrollably, their faces as pale as paper.
"Mr. Ryan, we are sorry," one of them stammered. "We didn’t recognize Mr. Rowan."
"I warned you," Elena finally spoke. "I told you the truth. But neither of you believed me."
Her gaze shifted from the guards to the crowd surrounding them.
"You all chose to believe Tessa instead. You believed every word she said without questioning it."
Her chest tightened painfully.
Why was it always like this?
It had happened before.
Noah had trusted Tessa without question. And today, history had repeated itself.
Unable to hold back any longer, Elena stood. Her eyes were red with unshed tears.
"Every single one of you believed her. Not one person bothered to verify whether I was telling the truth. You judged me without giving me a chance to explain."
Seeing the hurt in her eyes, Elias’ heart ached. He immediately stood and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Elena. Calm down."
She leaned against him, her body trembling. "Why is it always like this? Why does no one ever believe me?"
Elias gently stroked her hair. "I believe you."
He tilted her chin upward until their eyes met. "Isn’t that enough?"
Elena looked into his eyes for a long moment. Then a faint smile appeared through her tears.
"It’s more than enough."
Watching them embrace so naturally, Noah felt as though his heart were being ripped apart. That should have been him.
Elena should have been standing beside him, smiling at him, and leaning on him. Instead, he had pushed her into another man’s arms with his own hands.
If only he had trusted her instead of blindly believing Tessa, if only he had listened to her, she would still be his wife.
’I won’t give up,’ he silently vowed. ’I promised your father I’d protect you. No matter what it takes, I’ll keep that promise.
"Madam doesn’t need to explain herself to a group of fools." Ryan’s cold voice snapped Noah out of his thoughts.
He looked up to find Ryan standing directly in front of Tessa. A knot formed in Noah’s stomach. Instinctively, he stepped in front of her.
Ryan looked at Tessa with icy contempt. "You are the real troublemaker. You came here to attend a charity gala. But instead, you let your jealousy consume you. You repeatedly humiliated Madam Elena. You questioned her identity. And you even called Mr. Rowan an imposter."
Tessa was trembling so badly that she couldn’t utter a single word. She wanted to defend herself. But fear had stolen her voice.
Ryan’s gaze grew colder. "You were so desperate to cooperate with Novacrest Global. And this is how you treated our boss."
He took one step back before making his announcement. "Effective immediately... All partnership agreements between Novacrest Global and Sinclair Group are canceled."
Tessa gasped.
"No," Noah stepped forward anxiously. "You can’t do that."
He had waited years for the opportunity to work with the country’s largest business empire. After countless efforts, he had finally secured the contract. He couldn’t lose it now.
"I offered Novacrest a thirty percent profit share," he said hurriedly. "It’s the highest percentage I’ve ever offered any partner. If that’s not enough, I’ll increase it to forty percent. Just don’t cancel the partnership."
Ryan let out a cold snort. "Do you really think we are interested in your profits?"
He looked at Noah as though he were looking at a fool. "The profit from one of our small subsidiaries exceeds what your company could ever offer. We agreed to work with Sinclair Group for one reason only."
He glanced respectfully at Elias. "Because Mr. Rowan wanted to give you a chance."
"What?" Noah stared at Elias in disbelief.
Ryan sneered. "Surprised? It was Mr. Rowan who persuaded me to sign the contract. And how did you repay his kindness? You humiliated him. You spread false rumors about him. You tried to ruin his reputation."
Noah’s mind went blank. He slowly walked toward Elias.
"Why?" he asked, his voice trembling. "I thought you hated me. You could’ve stopped Mr. Ryan from signing the contract. So why? What were you trying to do?"
Elias looked at him calmly.
Even now, Noah still believed everything had been part of some elaborate scheme.
"I wasn’t planning anything. I simply wanted to repay you for raising my wife and taking care of her all those years."
Those words only bruised Noah’s pride further. He didn’t need charity, especially not from Elias.
"Unfortunately..." Elias continued. "You never stopped targeting me. You spread rumors that I stole your fiancée."
His eyes turned cold. "Aren’t you ashamed of twisting the truth?"
"What did you say?" Elena frowned in confusion. "He really spread those rumors about you?"
Then she slowly turned toward Noah. Her eyes were filled with anger.
Noah panicked. "Elena, listen to me—"
"No." Her voice cut him off sharply. "You listen to me."
She took a step toward him. "It was you who cheated on me. You slept with your mistress while we were still married. We were already divorced when I met Elias."
She looked him straight in the eye. "So tell me, when exactly did he steal me from you?"
The guests erupted into shocked whispers.
"Oh my God... So Noah Sinclair lied to everyone?"
"Not only is he a cheater, but he is a liar too."
"Wait, I didn’t even know Mrs. Rowan had been married before."
The entire banquet hall buzzed with gossip.
Noah’s face turned deathly pale.
"I..." His lips trembled. "I only did it because I wanted to drive him away from you. I wanted you back. I thought..."
"You thought you could force him to leave me." Elena finished the sentence for him. "You spread false rumors to pressure him into divorcing me. How much lower could you possibly sink?"
She looked at him with complete disappointment. "Do I really have to remind you of everything you did to me?"
Noah lowered his head. He had indeed planned to use public opinion to pressure Elias. He had attacked his reputation, threatened his business, and convinced himself that an ordinary CEO could never stand against the Sinclair family.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Elias was actually the heir to the Rowan family, the very man he should never have provoked.
"I’m sorry..." His voice was barely audible. "I didn’t know..."
"You didn’t know he was the owner of Novacrest Global," Elena interrupted him before he could continue. "You didn’t know he was the heir to the Rowan family."
She laughed bitterly. "So the moment you realized who you had offended, you suddenly became sorry."
Her eyes reddened again. "But when Tessa falsely accused me, when those guards dragged me toward the door, you weren’t sorry. You didn’t stop them. You stood there and watched."
Noah slowly closed his eyes. Shame and guilt twisted painfully inside him.
Elena’s voice remained calm. "But now you are only apologizing because you are afraid of the consequences. If Elias hadn’t been the heir to the Rowan family, you would never have regretted any of it."