Chapter 51
Chapter 51: For a moment, Belinda was taken aback. She then shot Maggie a cold look. “Why should I apologize? I didn’t lay a finger on her.”’ “Then who did?”’ Rosie’s glare intensified as she faced Belinda. “Are you accusing me?”’ Belinda quirked an eyebrow. “Was it not you?”’ Despite the previous night’s chaos, Belinda was certain it had been Rosie who had slapped Cathy. “You”¦”’ Rosie’s eyes grew even wider. “You’re lying! Why would I hit Cathy?”’ She turned to Cathy, pleading, “Cathy, please tell them. Was it me or Belinda who struck you?”’ Cathy’s gaze shifted to Belinda, filled with sorrow and accusation. “Since Belinda insists it wasn’t her”¦ let’s drop it. Belinda’s already got the wrong idea about my friendship with Kristopher. I wouldn’t want to distress her further.”’ Without explicitly saying it, Cathy subtly shifted the blame onto Belinda. Belinda’s face contorted with anger. “Was there no surveillance in the banquet hall last night?”’ “No.”’ Carol, who had been observing silently, chimed in with a sly grin. “Last night’s banquet drew a crowd that included close friends of the Cox family and business associates who value their privacy. To ensure their anonymity, the surveillance in the banquet hall was disabled for the evening.”’ With that, Belinda’s expression softened. “Thank you for explaining, Carol.”’ Your story source Carol and Rosie had coordinated much of the previous evening’s arrangements. If Carol knew the surveillance had been off, Rosie probably did as well. It made sense why Rosie had so boldly accused Belinda of assaulting Cathy. However”¦ Belinda shot a cool look first at Rosie and then at Cathy. “Do you two really think you can pin this on me just because there’s no footage?”’ “Pin this on you?”’ Maggie laughed dismissively. “Cathy has always been a peacemaker. She doesn’t provoke trouble. Everyone there last night adored her, except you. Who else could have struck her?”’ “Exactly,”’ Rosie said sharply. “Don’t think you can escape the consequences of hitting Cathy just because last night was chaotic. Since you’re still a member of the Cox family, an apology to Cathy would settle this.”’ Belinda raised an eyebrow and turned to Kristopher, who had remained quiet. “Do you think I owe her an apology too?”’ Kristopher sighed, his frown deepening. “Cathy’s not well, and that slap last night caused her gums to bleed.”’ He faced Belinda, his gaze unreadable. “Just apologize to her.”’ Belinda met his gaze, a taunting smile playing on her lips. “So, you’re bending the truth for your dear Miss Miller, are you?”’ She was convinced that if Kristopher had actually witnessed her hitting Cathy, he would have been the first to insist on an apology. Neither Maggie nor Rosie would have had to intervene. His current demeanor clearly indicated that he knew who was responsible for hitting Cathy but was reluctant to confess it. He didn’t want to upset his mother, his sister, or Cathy, so he was pressing her to apologize instead. Given his predictable behavior, Belinda felt less hurt than she might have expected. A strange sense of calm washed over her, born from repeated disappointments. She smirked and approached Cathy confidently. “If I had been the one to hit her, I’d apologize without anyone telling me to. But since I wasn’t, don’t try to pin this on me!”’ With those words, she briskly removed the bandage from Cathy’s face, exposing the swollen mark of the slap. Amid the ensuing shocked silence, she placed her hand beside the mark. “See? This slap mark is big and wide. It wasn’t me!”’…