Chapter 124: Chapter 124: A Casual Remark Was Actually the Truth

At the end of the workday, Cecilia Croft clocked out right on time, telling the staff in her office area to leave as well.

For the time being, their task was to familiarize themselves with the company’s environment and get a clear picture of Vantage’s projects.

This wasn’t difficult for them at all.

They were just conserving their energy now. Once they drove Jude Sheridan out, that’s when they would truly be busy.

Cecilia Croft went straight to the underground garage. When she didn’t see her car in its usual spot, she remembered that she had taken a taxi today.

Her car was still parked in the underground garage at Sebastian Hawthorne’s place.

She went back to the ground floor, walked out of the lobby, and waited for a car at the entrance of Vantage Corp. While she was messaging Giselle Sullivan, Jude Sheridan’s car drove past her and then stopped.

"Get in the car."

He rolled down the window, his face dark as he stared at her, his voice tinged with anger.

Cecilia Croft didn’t even glance at him, simply moving to the side.

Seeing her walk away, Jude Sheridan drove the car in front of her again. With a cold expression, he got out of the driver’s seat, walked around the front of the car, and headed toward her.

"I’ll take you home."

He grabbed her arm, giving her no room to refuse. He opened the passenger-side door and tried to shove her into the car.

Furious, Cecilia Croft kicked and struggled against him.

"Let go of me! I’m not getting in your car."

She left several dusty footprints on his sharp, black suit trousers.

Jude Sheridan refused to let go of her hand, forcefully dragging her.

Cecilia Croft was beyond frustrated. As he bent down to stuff her into the car, she grabbed a handful of his hair with all her might, wishing she could rip it all out from his scalp.

Jude Sheridan cried out in pain, and his hand gripping Cecilia Croft’s arm tightened with equal force.

Jude Sheridan had already pushed her whole body onto the passenger seat, but Cecilia Croft refused to get in, keeping her feet planted on the ground and letting her body slide down.

Jude Sheridan had no other choice. He let go of her arm to grab her legs, trying to stuff her entirely into the car.

Cecilia Croft wouldn’t have it. She fought back fiercely, repeatedly striking Jude Sheridan’s injured forehead with her elbow.

The commotion was likely so great that it attracted some concerned passersby.

Someone grabbed Jude Sheridan’s arm and pulled him away.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

The person was very strong; Jude Sheridan staggered back a few steps.

Cecilia Croft took the opportunity to hide behind the good Samaritan.

Jude Sheridan’s face was grim. Just as he was about to lose his temper, he noticed a crowd had gathered, and some people were even recording with their phones.

He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to suppress his anger.

"It’s just a couple’s squabble. Are you going to stick your noses in our business?"

Cecilia Croft immediately refuted his claim. "We are not married. He offered me a ride, I refused, and now he’s trying to abduct me."

The crowd started murmuring, thinking he was some kind of pervert or a human trafficker trying to abduct a helpless woman.

Their insults became too vile to ignore. Jude Sheridan gritted his teeth and revealed his identity.

"I’m the president of Vantage, Jude Sheridan. We’re just having a personal dispute. It’s not as serious as you’re making it out to be."

As he spoke, he felt a wetness and a sharp pain on his forehead. He raised his hand to touch it and saw fresh blood on his fingers. He gave a bitter smile, his gaze turning to Cecilia Croft, a hint of hurt in his eyes.

"Cecilia, you’re really ruthless."

This was a business park, so most of the onlookers were people who worked nearby. Some recognized Jude Sheridan and, not daring to offend him, pulled their companions away.

Even the man who had just helped Cecilia by pulling Jude away showed a flicker of apprehension on his face after hearing his identity. He simply tossed out, "You two should talk things out peacefully, don’t get physical," and left.

Just as Cecilia Croft was about to leave, a surprised voice called out from a short distance away.

"Cecilia? Jude?"

Cecilia Croft looked toward the voice and saw Lynn Willowby jogging toward them.

Jude Sheridan’s gaze also shifted in that direction.

Cecilia clearly caught the tension in his eyes and even the subtle body language of avoidance as Lynn approached them.

Lynn walked over and looped her arm through Cecilia’s, speaking softly.

"Did you and Jude have a fight?"

"A fight? He was clearly trying to kidnap me." Cecilia didn’t pull her arm away from Lynn’s grasp, her gaze remaining locked in a cold, sharp confrontation with Jude Sheridan.

Only then did Lynn’s gaze fall upon Jude Sheridan. She couldn’t help but frown. "Jude, you..."

Her accusatory words died on her lips when she saw the blood-soaked gauze on Jude’s forehead. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes, and she immediately let go of Cecilia’s arm and walked toward Jude.

"How did you get hurt?"

Jude Sheridan dodged her touch, his brows furrowed tightly as he shot her a warning look.

Lynn froze, staring at his guarded posture. She bit her lip hard, a flicker of hurt in her eyes, but she quickly composed herself and turned back to Cecilia.

"Cecilia, Jude must have just been terrified of losing you. That’s why he lost his head."

"You two have been together for so many years. There’s no hurdle you can’t overcome. Let me treat you both to dinner today, so you can sort things out. Cecilia, do it for my sake, okay?"

Cecilia dodged Lynn’s attempt to take her arm again, her face mirroring Lynn’s with a fake smile.

"Lynn, it’s not that I don’t want to do you this favor, but I really do have plans today. There’s nothing for him and me to talk about. Why don’t you try to talk some sense into him for me? Tell him to stop pestering me."

"If he dares to try and force me again, it’ll be more than just a bleeding head next time."

A flash of surprise crossed Lynn’s eyes.

She had assumed Cecilia and Jude were just having a public argument. She didn’t expect that Jude had tried to use force on Cecilia, which provoked Cecilia to fight back.

A wave of sourness and sorrow washed over her. To keep Cecilia from noticing, Lynn turned her head to hide her reddening eyes.

Cecilia saw Lynn’s subtle movements and sneered inwardly.

’Feeling bad already?’

’The worst is yet to come.’

When Giselle Sullivan pulled up in front of Cecilia Croft, she saw Jude Sheridan looking at Cecilia with a hurt expression, while the woman beside Cecilia was staring at Jude with a pitiful, aggrieved look.

The whole scene was just bizarre, no matter how you looked at it.

Seeing Giselle’s car, Cecilia glanced at Lynn and said with a smile.

"Lynn, I’m leaving now. I’ll treat you to dinner another time."

Lynn nodded, her reply soft and sweet. "Okay."

Cecilia’s lips curved into a smile as she bent down and got into the car.

Giselle Sullivan raised an eyebrow, started the car, and said jokingly.

"If you weren’t being so nice to her, I’d think President Sheridan had another woman on the side and you just found out."

Cecilia snapped her fingers. "You actually hit the nail on the head."

Giselle froze, stunned that her casual remark had turned out to be the truth.

"Then why were you being so nice to her?"

Cecilia smiled. "Weren’t we just acting out a scene? A little performance. We’re old classmates, after all. I have to give her some face, don’t I?"

Hearing this, Giselle could only give Cecilia a thumbs-up.

"You’re something else."

When it came to being able to move on decisively, who could possibly compare to her?