Chapter 523 The Price of a Splash
The woman lunged forward, trying to shove Wyatt aside to drag Yunice out.
Yunice ducked behind Wyatt, who stood in front of her like a wall, looking down at the woman with a cold, mountainous stillness.
The woman hesitated, intimidated. She turned and muttered something to a man and an elderly woman nearby.
The man – looking like the kid’s uncle – and the elderly woman – probably his grandmother – stepped forward and addressed Wyatt, trying to sound reasonable. “Sir, could you ask the lady behind you to come out? We need to ask why she tried to drown my nephew.”
Wyatt curved his lips into a dangerous, mocking smile. “So you’re certain it was her who pushed your nephew?”
The man replied, “There’s no surveillance in this area, and only you two were here. Her hair’s wet – it must’ve splashed up when she shoved him in.”
Wyatt said calmly, “Your nephew weighs a ton. You think my wife could lift him?”
The man, sensing Wyatt wouldn’t admit to anything, grew aggressive. “She’s wet, so it had to be her–”
Before he could finish, Wyatt kicked him straight into the fountain.
Splash.
“Now you’re wet too,” Wyatt said coolly.
The boy’s mother and grandmother screamed in panic. “You’re not even trying to reason with us!”
“Help! Someone’s trying to murder us!”
Wyatt stood there with his hands in his pockets, completely unfazed.
From behind him, Yunice called out, “It was your kid who sprayed me with makeup remover and threw a raw egg at me. The floor was slick from all that – he slipped and fell in on his own.”
She poked her head out from behind Wyatt. “And you still owe me for the dress.”
The grandmother snapped, rushing to defend her grandson. “You little girl, come out here! Don’t lie through your teeth. If you hadn’t provoked my grandson, would he have done anything? He must’ve been bullied first! If his brain’s damaged from choking, I’ll make sure you’re ruined!”
No matter how much they screamed and cursed, Yunice stayed hidden behind Wyatt. “Go ahead and call the police. His water gun only has his prints on it – they’ll know exactly who it belongs to.”
The grandmother’s face flickered with guilt. She knew full well what kind of child she was raising.
If the police tested the water gun, maybe they’d find Yunice’s prints too – but that’d only prove she took it from him, not that she used it first.
Instead, the grandmother stomped over and smashed the water gun with her heel. “There. Now the evidence is gone!”
Yunice nearly laughed. Brilliant. The only shred of leverage they had, and they destroyed it themselves.
Just then, another man arrived, rushing to the scene. Before he could assess what had happened, the boy’s mother cried out dramatically, “Honey! They tried to kill our son! Call the cops! Get them locked up!”
The man turned – and froze.
He recognized Wyatt immediately.
His whole body stiffened. Then, without warning, he slapped his wife across the face. “Are you blind? That’s Mr. Cooper!”
The woman clutched her cheek, refusing to back down. “You coward! He tried to drown our son and you’re defending him?!”
The man looked like he could explode. “Mr. Cooper taught our son a lesson – that’s a blessing! We raised this brat ourselves, and you have the nerve to make a scene?”
Then he quickly turned to Wyatt and bowed his head, “Mr. Cooper, I’m so sorry. I’ll make sure this stupid kid is properly disciplined!”
Wyatt replied evenly, “He’s a kid – doesn’t know better. We adults shouldn’t stoop to his level. But take him home and put him on a diet before my wife ends up straining her wrist next time.”
“Diet?” the man echoed blankly. Then quickly nodded. “Of course! We’ll make him drop ten pounds!”
Seeing Wyatt’s expression darken, he blurted again, “Thirty pounds! He’ll lose thirty!”
The mother’s jaw dropped. Their kid only weighed sixty to begin with. Losing half his weight? Was he supposed to starve?
But the man couldn’t care less about her meltdown. Instead, he noticed Yunice’s ruined dress and apologized profusely. “About your gown – we’ll cover it, of course!”
Yunice sighed. “Forget it.”
No matter how expensive a replacement was, it couldn’t match the one Wyatt made by hand.
It was a shame, though. The dress had nearly a thousand diamonds, each sewn on one by one. Who knew how much effort Wyatt had poured into it?
Cashmere was so delicate – and now it was drenched in raw egg.
Yunice sighed again. “I’m going to go change.”
The man bowed low, sweating as he watched the two of them walk away.
Only once he was sure they were out of sight did he round on his son – who had just barely finished coughing up water – and slapped him hard across the face.
“You little disaster! Of all the people to mess with, you pick that one? You almost cost me everything!"
The chubby boy burst into tears, unable to say a word in his defense.
None of them noticed the woman lurking in the corner, slipping away with a cold, impatient look on her face.
Back at the hotel, Yunice took a long shower.
Her makeup and hairstyle were completely ruined. Getting them redone would take too long.
She really didn’t feel like going back to the auction.