Chapter 287
The on–site doctor at the golf course had arrived and was tending to Joyce’s injuries, cleaning up the blood.
But Joyce refused to cooperate.
“Get away. I don’t want you examining me,” she snapped.
“I want to go to the hospital. I want my injuries officially documented.”
65 vouchers
The doctor’s face froze for a moment at Joyce’s demand, and he turned his gaze to Marina, clearly waiting to see what she’d say next.
Marina wasn’t fazed one bit. She just put on an innocent face and said, “If Ms. Milner wants her injuries officially checked, I’m totally willing to cooperate.
“It wasn’t on purpose, but I did hurt her, so I’ll own up to it and take whatever comes my way.”
Joyce shot Marina a vicious glare and snapped, “How could you possibly say it wasn’t on purpose? I know you did it intentionally.
“You were holding a grudge, so you went and whacked me with that golf club on purpose!”
Joyce clutched her nose, and when she saw Daron and Howard coming over from the next fairway, her bravado melted away. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at Daron, her voice trembling as she choked out, “Daron, Ms. Finley did this
on purpose.
“She hit me with a golf club! I’m supposed to be at the Zamora Group’s anniversary event the day after tomorrow, and now she smashed me right in the face. How am I supposed to face everyone now?”
Daron’s brows knitted as he looked at Joyce’s swollen face, his face grim.
The doctor quickly handed an ice pack to Daron.
Daron gave it a quick look but didn’t take it.
Howard reached out instead, took the ice pack, and pressed it to Joyce’s swollen cheek. His voice was firm as he said, “Ms. Finley would never hit you on purpose. Don’t go making things up.”
Joyce looked all hurt and aggrieved. “The caddies saw everything! Why would I lie about this? She totally did it on purpose!”
As she said that, Joyce kept sneaking glances at Daron, watching his reaction. Seeing him just staring at Marina without saying a word, she nervously bit her lip, feeling a wave of panic rising inside.
“Daron, are you seriously going to cover for Ms. Finley?” Joyce demanded.
“Come on, did she hit me on purpose or not?” Joyce pressed.
Joyce changed the subject, fixing her eyes on the caddies.
The caddies looked awkward and caught in the middle, totally unsure what to say.
After all, they couldn’t afford to offend either side.
Marina looked up at Joyce, completely calm and unbothered. She let out a soft sigh and said, “Joyce, you know they can’t really speak the truth. Why put them in such a tough spot?
1/4
10:31 am
Chapter 287
55 vouchers
“Besides, there are security cameras here. If you want to know whether I did it on purpose, just check the footage.
“You say I’m trying to get back at you, but we’ve never had any bad blood. Why would I even want to?”
“You…” Joyce started to retort, but then it hit her that all the things she’d said to Marina weren’t exactly something she’d want Daron to hear. If he found out, she’d be the one left totally embarrassed.
“You’re just jealous that I’ve been close to Daron all these years, while the Finley family has been pushed to the fringes of Vrufield’s elite circles. That’s why you’re jealous of me and hold a grudge,” Joyce shot back.
Marina let out a soft sigh, looking genuinely exasperated by Joyce’s baseless accusations.
“Joyce, if that’s how you want to play it, then maybe I should suspect you walked behind me on purpose, just so you’d get hit by accident,” Marina replied coolly.
“Honestly, from the start, you were the one dragging me over here, pretending to teach me golf just to talk trash and push me away from Daron,” Marina added.
Joyce’s expression shifted, but since she genuinely hadn’t meant for Marina to hit her, she stood her ground and fired back without hesitation.
“Don’t give me that!” Joyce snapped.
“I’m going to the Zamora Group’s annual event the day after tomorrow, and the Zamora family is likely to announce my engagement to Daron. Why would I ruin my own face right before that?” Joyce shot back.
Joyce blurted it out without a second thought, and Marina paused, glancing up at Daron.
Daron’s face grew heavy as he fixed his gaze on Joyce, his voice low and serious.
‘Engaged to you? This is news to me,” Daron said, his tone icy.
Joyce bit her lip, a flash of panic in her eyes. She dropped her voice, almost whispering, “It was Daron’s father who said he wants to announce our engagement at the Zamora Group’s annual event.
‘He said our families have been discussing this forever, and now’s the time to make it official. The annual event is the best
chance.”
Daron gave a cold, mocking laugh. “That’s news to me.”
Joyce pressed her lips together, not daring to meet Daron’s eyes.
‘Mr. Zamora said the elders in the family will make the decisjon, and he’ll discuss it with you tomorrow,” Joyce murmured.
Daron’s lips curled into a cold, mocking smile.
“Since when does he get to call the shots about who I marry?” Daron scoffed.
Joyce lifted her head, stunned and humiliated, her voice trembling. “Daron, do you really hate the idea of being engaged to me that much?”
Howard frowned. He hadn’t heard anything about Howard announcing Daron and Joyce’s engagement at the annual event
either.
It was obvious Howard had made this decision on his own, without telling anyone else.
2/4
10:31 am P P P
ррра.
Chapter 287
55 vouchers
“Joyce, the elders from both families haven’t finalized anything yet. You must have misunderstood what Mr. Zamora meant,” Howard said.
Joyce didn’t even care about her aching cheek anymore. She was all fired up, desperate to prove she was right.
“Mr. Zamora told me himself! He even called me today. How could I possibly be wrong?” Joyce insisted.
As she spoke, Joyce quickly pulled out her phone, determined to prove her point by showing the call log from Leo’s call carlier that day.
She shoved her phone at Howard, her eyes blazing with anger.
“Howard! Why won’t you take my side?” Joyce protested.
Howard just took her phone and switched it off, not even bothering to check the call log.
“You’re rambling, Joyce. Come on, let’s get you to the hospital and have you checked out,” Howard said, his tone firm but still caring.
Joyce’s eyes darted around, panic written all over her face. She absolutely refused to go to the hospital for any kind of check-
- up.
“Daron…” she choked out.
Daron stared at Joyce, his face cold and completely unreadable, his voice flat and emotionless.
“Ms. Milner, even if Leo says he’s going to announce our engagement at the annual event, that doesn’t mean I’ll go along with it,” Daron said.
“Who I marry is up to me. No one else gets to decide,” he added.
Joyce clenched her jaw, her voice shaking with anger. “So what do I even mean to you? Is the Zamora family just playing
with me?”
As she spoke, she reached out, trying to hold onto Daron.
But Daron brushed her off, went straight to Marina, and took her hand in his.
‘Let’s go,” he said, his voice low and firm.
At that moment, Joyce snatched Marina’s arm, her voice sharp and urgent. “You’re not going anywhere! I need my injuries officially documented!”
Marina paused, her eyes steady and unfazed as she looked at Joyce. She gave a small nod, totally unbothered.
“Go ahead, get your injuries checked. I support it,” Marina said.
She glanced over at the caddie. “Can you pull up the security footage? If Ms. Milner wants everything official, we should probably get the police involved too.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt her, but I’ll pay for all her medical bills,” Marina continued, still calm. “Though honestly, I’d like to know if she walked behind me on purpose, just to make me take the fall for hurting her.”
Marina’s icy composure made Joyce’s whole meltdown look even more dramatic and out of control.
3/4
10:31 am P PPO
