Chapter 199: Not Being Ruthless Enough
Seeing Raquel momentarily at a loss for words, Caleb seized the opportunity to ask, “Did you just say you’re in love with Jesse? In that case, you should explain in front of everyone what Joseph said in the video. Otherwise, the groom won’t be able to let go of his doubts. Even if you get married, he won’t treat you well.”
Feeling somewhat uneasy, Raquel stole a glance at Jesse. To her surprise, she found his face unusually dark, seemingly displeased. She was taken aback. “I’m done for. Jesse is swayed by Caleb; he’s starting to doubt me!”
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably as she said in a trembling voice, “I’ve already explained this matter to Mr. and Mrs. Quixall. Jesse has forgiven me. Do you find it amusing to expose my scars in public?”
Caleb didn’t mince his words. “Of course. Compared to you, what I’m doing now is merely child’s play. If you’re truly innocent, why not take the opportunity to clear your name in front of all our guests?”
“I…” Raquel appeared utterly wronged, looking pitifully distraught.
In the end, Jesse couldn’t bear it any longer and slowly approached. “I’ve come to understand what happened here. The other guests are here just to attend the wedding, after all. Having Raquel explain everything from the beginning would only waste everyone’s time, wouldn’t it?”
Caleb flashed a sarcastic smile. “Jesse, no wonder Raquel likes you. After all, a devoted backup like you is indeed hard to find in this world.”
Overwhelmed with fury, Jesse coughed twice. “What did you say?”
After he finished coughing, he opened his palm, only to find a pool of blood in it.
Raquel shrieked, “Jesse is coughing up blood! We need to rush him to the hospital now!”
The entire Quixall family rushed over, and they all took turns berating Caleb.
“Caleb, you’re a jinx! Nothing good ever happens when you’re around. Now look what you’ve done. Jesse is coughing up blood. Are you happy now?”
“Caleb, Jesse is your little brother. Even if there’s no blood relation between you two, he sincerely sees you as his older brother. How could you do this?”
“Caleb, I used to feel guilty toward you, but now, it’s clear you had it coming! My only regret is not being ruthless enough to eliminate you, the disaster, in advance.”
Caleb’s expression remained composed, undeterred by these malicious words. Having been tormented by this family up until now, he had long since grown accustomed to it. Compared to what they had said before, these words were relatively mild. Perhaps it was due to the presence of many industry elites; the Quixall family members found it difficult to speak too harshly.
Chelsea, for instance, knew Caleb wasn’t well-received in the Quixall family. However, the extent of the Quixall family’s hostility toward Caleb greatly surpassed her expectations. From the moment Caleb stepped through the door, not a single one of them had spoken a word of concern to him. Not only that, they were even aggressively confrontational, clashing with him at every turn. This display could easily mislead an uninformed observer into thinking Caleb was the Quixall family’s sworn enemy.
The thought of all the injustices Caleb had suffered at the hands of the Quixall family propelled Chelsea forward. It was as if her feet had developed a mind of their own, taking strides autonomously. She rushed up to Caleb, her voice seething with anger. “When Caleb was hospitalized due to the car accident, how many times did you visit him? When he was lying in the hospital, his life hanging by a thread due to multiple stab wounds, how many words of concern did you even utter? Now, just because someone related to you by blood has coughed up some blood, you’re all worked up? How old are you? Can’t you differentiate what’s more important?”