Chapter 429

The trio was stunned by Nathaniel's apology post. It wasn't an apology; it was a blatant attempt to shift blame. Nathaniel's lengthy statement could be summarized as follows:

First, he claimed to have spent days verifying the experiential records, proving that previous products were Lily's work, not Melanie's. He attributed the earlier misunderstanding to Melanie's deception, stating he was also deceived and deeply regretted his actions. He concluded this section with a professed apology to Lily.

Second, he declared his relationship with Melanie and Lily a private matter, but, due to public concern, clarified that he stood by his romantic choices.

Nathaniel's lengthy statement concluded with a profuse apology to Lily, stating his willingness to accept any consequences and make amends for his mistakes. He vowed to cooperate fully and satisfy Lily's demands, emphasizing his debt to her.

The statement, while seemingly sincere, reeked of lies. The public was left uncertain about its veracity. While it was true the products were Lily's, was Melanie's deception of Nathaniel also true?

"F*ck!" Olivia exclaimed. That was her only response to Nathaniel's so-called apology.

"I'm starting to admire him!" Jenny said, laughing.

"Admire him?! Why? He's shameless and a liar!" Olivia fumed.

"He's a master of deception, quick to act, and adept at feigning weakness against stronger opponents," Jenny countered. "He knows he can no longer hide the truth, so he's mixing it with lies."

"The hardest thing to discern is truth from half-truths and lies interwoven with truth," Lily observed, nodding in agreement.

"I'll expose his lies!" Olivia declared, heading towards her computer to retaliate on Twitter. "We need to expose this shameless person so he can no longer deceive others!"

"There's no need," Lily stopped her. "What will you expose? He claims ignorance, saying he was deceived by Melanie. If you accuse him of knowing the truth, who would believe you? Melanie's imprisoned and can't defend herself. Accusing him now only strengthens his claim that she deceived him; she has no way to prove otherwise."

Lily shook her head, explaining that she'd considered this already. "Even if we went to Westwood to find Melanie—and there's no guarantee of that—would she testify for us? Would she turn against Nate? She wouldn't." Melanie, though angry at Nathaniel's slander, hated Lily even more.

"We should at least tell everyone the truth. Let the public decide what to believe," Olivia insisted, unwilling to let this go.

"No rush. We'll wait and see," Lily replied calmly.

Olivia's anger flared. "Wait? Again?"

"Why haven't you learned patience? We often need time to refine essential oils and distill fragrances. If I'm going to fight back, I need one decisive blow. Rushing will only give him time to recover."

"So Lily's treating this like a project," Jenny mused.

Olivia paused, then, touching her eye, said, "In that case, I'll pretend I didn't see it."