Chapter 14: Don’t pursue this matter.
Tessa panicked, hearing her words. Things had spiraled out of her control. If she didn’t stop it, she would be doomed.
"Noah, I’m feeling uncomfortable," she acted pitifully, pressing a hand on her chest. "Please tell everyone to leave."
"Everyone, please calm down." Noah’s voice thundered through the hall, silencing the reporters. "Elena has already said what she had to say. I’ll look into this matter. The press conference is over. Now, please leave."
But the reporters hesitated. They continued to ask questions, thrusting the microphones toward them.
Tessa leaned into him, acting in discomfort. Seeing her pale face, Noah’s features hardened with irritation. He called someone.
"Send the guards immediately."
The guards rushed in and began escorting the reporters out.
The conference hall emptied gradually.
Tessa watched everything quietly, but her mind was in complete chaos. She had never expected things would turn out like this. She had thought Elena would have no choice but to apologize under Noah’s persuasion.
In her mind, she had even imagined everyone cursing Elena, shaming her online. But nothing had happened as she expected. Instead, Elena had turned the tables.
If Noah really investigated the matter, she would be exposed.
It was she who had faked that account and posted those photos. When she saw him stepping toward Elena, she panicked. She quickly moved toward him and tugged at his hand before he could reach Elena.
"Noah, the misunderstanding has already been cleared," she said quickly. "It’s not Elena. She cleared her name. Let’s not pursue this matter."
𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
Noah frowned. He couldn’t believe she wanted to let this matter go just like that. Wasn’t she disturbed by the whole incident?
"Are you sure?" he asked with confusion.
"Yes, I am sure," Tessa said. "Let’s forget it and move on."
"Move on?" Elena snapped, anger flashing in her eyes. "You no longer want to know who slandered you?"
"I..." Tessa faltered. "It has already drawn enough public attention. I don’t want to drag this matter on anymore."
"Is that so?" Elena sneered. "You held the press conference to make me issue a public apology. You didn’t want to let it go before. If I had not gathered the proof beforehand, you would have forced me to take the blame. Maybe even make me kneel again."
For a moment, silence fell into the hall, oppressive and tense.
"Why are you pulling back now?" Elena pressed. "What are you afraid of?"
Tessa’s face paled. Fake tears brimmed in her eyes. "I didn’t mean it like that," she said with her broken voice. "Noah, please believe me. I’m just an ordinary woman from a modest background. I don’t want so much attention on my private life. And this media and all—this is too much for me."
Elena snorted coldly. "You certainly didn’t think this way before arranging the press conference. You were all set to make me apologize. But the moment I proved that it wasn’t me who posted the photos, suddenly no one wants to investigate anymore? Why?"
She took a step closer to Tessa. "Was this whole press conference arranged just to humiliate me?"
Tessa shook her head with fake tears in her eyes.
"That’s enough," Noah interrupted, shielding Tessa with his arms as if he were afraid Elena would hurt her. "If she doesn’t want to pursue this matter, we won’t."
Elena stared at him. She wasn’t even surprised. She just let out a cold chuckle.
"You already proved your innocence. There is no point in dragging this matter."
How ironic.
Noah had blamed her without hesitation and slapped her, claiming she had slandered Tessa. He had been all set to humiliate her in front of the whole media, to make her take the blow of backlashes, and to let her become a laughingstock.
But now that the situation had turned against Tessa, he suddenly wanted to stop searching for the truth.
"Why do you want to stop looking into it?" Elena asked. "Don’t you want to know who exactly shamed Tessa online?"
Tessa’s insides burned with resentment. But she knew Noah would start suspecting her if she stopped him further. She looked up at Noah.
"I won’t stop you if you truly want to look into this matter," she said slowly.
Then she twisted her face and clutched her chest. "It hurts. I can’t breathe."
Noah’s face clouded with worry instantly. He hugged her. "Tessa, stay with me. I’ll take you to the hospital."
He carried her in his arms and strode over. After taking a few steps, he paused and looked back at Elena.
"You can see her condition now. Tessa is weak. She can’t handle stress. Stop pursuing this."
Elena said nothing. She simply stared at him, wondering how blind love would make a person.
Was his love for Tessa so deep that he could ignore every suspicious thing she did?
"Tomorrow, I have an important announcement to make," he added. His gaze softened slightly. "I’ll promote you. Come to the office on time."
Dropping those words, he walked out.
Elena remained standing there, her lips curling into a sneer.
Yes, she had worked tirelessly for this, for the position of vice president of the company. She knew this year she would be promoted.
Noah had promised her that. And finally, the position she once desperately wanted was within reach. Yet there was not a trace of excitement or happiness in her eyes.
"I no longer want it," she muttered.
The moment she had learned he had planned the accident that had killed their child, she had decided to leave him.
"I’m resigning, Noah. And in six days, I’ll leave you for good."
Her phone rang inside her bag, breaking the trail of her thoughts. She reached in and took it out to see Owen’s name.
"Hello."
"Miss Hart, how did the press conference go?"
Elena let out a small sigh. "I gave the proof and cleared my name. But... Noah refused to investigate the matter further."
She smiled, but that smile looked ugly on her face. "I expected that. He would never look into it seriously."
She shrugged, trying to suppress the heaviness in her chest. "Anyway, I don’t want to think about it anymore. Thanks, Owen, for helping me. It means a lot."
There was a brief silence before Owen spoke again. "I tracked the IP address connected to the fake account." His voice turned serious. "The photos were posted using Mr. Sinclair’s laptop."