The Secret Obsession of the CEO-Chapter 226: Acting With Dignity

John McCullen was stunned to see the way Rory reacted. "Why are you..." he held himself back by pressing his lips. After explaining himself, he couldn’t believe he was being treated this way by a youngster.

"I am trying to be very polite with you Mrs. Roberts. I’ve been..." his voice cracked as he choked down his emotions. "I’ve been very open with you, baring my heart, yet you are mocking me. I am offended," he said fisting his hands on the table.

"Offended?" Rory scoffed. "Do you have any right to get offended?"

"Why not?" John raised his voice. "Why should I be mocked for showing my vulnerability?"

Rory scoffed seeing his eyes got filled with tears. "Oh, stop with your crocodile tears, John. No one’s recording here! And I am not upset with you showing your true colors."

John raised his voice. "Mrs. Roberts, I~"

Rory slapped the table. "Right! You!" she shouted back. John was stunned and his eyes widened in shock.

"It’s all about you, isn’t it? You are not here to apologize. You are here to talk about yourself. Oh, poor me! Oh, poor Jason! Oh, my poor granddaughter! Oh, my evil daughter-in-law... Well, guess what, John? I am not interested in hearing about you."

Rory stood up. Surely, people are selfish. She too was selfish, is selfish... But she never was this narcissistic to talk to her victims about herself.

No wonder everyone hates this guy! Nothing is ever his fault. He never will change. So, it is useless talking to him.

"Then should I talk about you?" John asked. He was exasperated. "What are you lacking? You are doing fine with your all-powerful grandmother by your side. It is I who suffer. It is my son who is rotting in prison for what he did in the past; stupid as it was, and it is my granddaughter who is fatherless because your grandmother went on a vindictive streak!"

"Stupid... your son did something "stupid"?" Rory scoffed. "He killed two people, John. It is not stupid. It’s cruel and wicked!"

"That’s not what I meant," John refuted. "He shouldn’t have gotten in the driver’s seat when he was drunk!"

"Or he shouldn’t have been drunk when he was 17! Isn’t the legal drinking age 18? I bet that was not the first time he drove drunk, was it, John? He’s not the stupid one, is he? You are!" Rory smirked.

"Yes, I agree. It was my fault. I should have been stricter with him and showed him more love. I should have been a better father. I realized it after the accident. Jason has changed a lot too. He is a good father. He’s nothing like how he was back then. You understand right, Mrs. Roberts. We all are different people than when we were in our teenage years..." John’s voice turned soft considerably.

Rory silently let out a deep breath. He makes a good point. His son might have changed. But...

"He should show his daughter the right way by paying for what he did in the past, then, right? That should be a valuable lesson for his daughter. She won’t do the same mistake as her father now, will she?" Rory smiled calmly.

She found that her heart was already getting moved thinking of the little girl. But she cannot let the one who killed her parents go free without any consequences. There is a reason laws are written. Justice has to be maintained.

John sat with his head bowed for some time. He could sense that Rory is not going to change her mind no matter what trick he uses. He decided to use his biggest weapon.

Being complaisant.

"You are right, Mrs. Roberts. I should have understood your side better... It’s..." he let out a deep breath. "I tried..." He nodded. "Yes..."

Rory looked at him rather skeptically. The change in his attitude was great.

At that time, his phone vibrated. He looked at his phone and smiled. "Sweet Dolly... she sends me everything..." he played a video. "This is Dolly-um-Daniella McCullen, my granddaughter. She loves ponies. She sent me a video... see..." he showed Rory the video.

Rory watched the little girl giggling and petting the pony. She tried to get on the pony but then chickened out at the last moment. It was a cute video. Her lips curved up unconsciously as she thought about Ellie.

John saw the smile on her face, and he knew his bait worked. He immediately video-called his granddaughter and the call was on speaker.

"Hi, pop-pops," the child spoke in a childish tone.

"Hi, Dolly! How are you doing? Did you return from the pony house already?" John asked.

"Just now! Mummy bought me ice cream..."

They started chatting. The child’s voice was so pleasant to hear as she tried to form long sentences with "big" words. Rory felt like she was intruding on a private moment and so she decided to leave. She had nothing much to say to him and she was sure she had heard enough from him.

There was silence for some time after Rory turned her back on John.

"Pop-pops, what did the lady say? When is daddy returning?" the child asked just as she reached the door.

Rory’s lips curved to a smirk. She decided it is not yet time for her to leave. She returned to her seat. She watched as John looked at her pitifully as he tried hard to answer his dear granddaughter.

What a piece of sh*t! He even uses his granddaughter to forward his agenda!

Rory showed no emotions on her face and waited for John to end the call.

"As I said..." he smiled at her awkwardly. "It’s hard to~"

"Enough with your bullsh*t, John," Rory interjected him. Her eyes were calm, and her voice went deep as she tried to control her anger.

"You worry so much for your granddaughter..." Rory leaned on the table supporting her hands. "Do you know who never got the chance to see their granddaughter? My parents! I was 12. Just 12. You think what happened to your son was unfair? How about this? My parents were not so much older than your son then... They were on a date! They were happily married, and they went on a date. I was at home, waiting for my parents to return. And do you know who came to my house? Cops... to inform me that they died!"

She took a deep breath to stop her tears. Her voice turned coarse, "Your son took them from me! And you... John...You misused your power and protected a murderer! I grew up without my parents because of you! And you dare to play games with me now?"

She slapped the table to stop John from speaking. "A four-year-old had no business knowing about your meeting with me. You, John, would go to any extent, won’t you? What are you truly worried about? Your granddaughter? Or your lost status? Heh... You know what, John? Your daughter-in-law is right! You are a bad influence on your granddaughter. Just like you were on your son..." Rory stood up.

She smiled controlling her anger. If she was Rory Roberts, she would have punched that old pig on the face to take out her anger. But she is not just Rory Roberts. She is Lady Aurora Roberts, wife of the Lord of Sterling. She needs to maintain dignity and decorum that is to the level of her status.

Ugh! It’s hard being noble! Soooo hard!

She cried in her heart. But her face had a calm serenity like the surface of the deep ocean that hides the strong currents underneath.

"I’ll have a chat with your daughter-in-law soon. Your granddaughter is a darling but needs saving from a villain like you. She will need good influences around her. So..." Rory smiled and stood up.

John’s face went pale. He understood what Rory implies. She is saying that she is going to help his daughter-in-law in her custody case. How could she do that?

"And... isn’t what you did aiding and abetting your son’s crime? And you even misused your power. What kind of deals did you make to stay out? Why did you sell out your son to prison when you could have saved him too?" she asked.

John went pale as a sheet.

"You know what I think..." Rory rubbed her chin. "It must have been good, right? To have that sort of power... Maybe... No... Surely, my husband deserves that kind of power, don’t you think, John? Which party are you from?" she smiled. "I’ll talk to them. I suddenly feel like I’d love to be the Minster’s wife! Getting salutes everywhere, not having to pay for anything, having tax exemption, getting a salary for doing nothing... I am pretty, so I will be more popular. I’ll definitely get designer clothes to wear for free... Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I love the prospect," she smirked with her chin up.

She definitely wouldn’t like to be the wife of a politician. But that was a threat. He is out because he made some deals. She just threatened him that she will out everything if he dares to even move against her wish.

And judging by how John’s face was twitching with anger, she knew that he got her threat.

That’s all she needed.