Chapter 6

Lexi never expected that she would be implicated in the incident of Yvonne being assaulted by a fan. She was eating lunch when one of Zachary's bodyguards came to the restaurant and brought her to Royaltree Estate.

This property belonged to Zachary as well. However, their marital home was Flowerhill Estate, which was a gift from Martha. That was why she rarely came over to this particular property.

As she entered Royaltree Estate, she saw that Yvonne was there too. Instantly, an ominous feeling washed over her.

Half an hour later, Lexi was standing in the same spot while Zachary fed Yvonne meticulously and tenderly at the dining table.

Yvonne had broken her right arm, and she was not used to using her left hand to hold the cutlery. So, Zachary fed her.

"I'm full, Zach. I can't eat anymore." Yvonne leaned in to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "Ms. Loyle arrived a while ago."

Zachary handed Yvonne a napkin to wipe her mouth.

Then, he looked at Lexi while ordering, "Bring him in."

Following his command, a bodyguard brought in a bald middle-aged man. Lexi looked on, feeling puzzled.

Zachary asked coldly, "Ms. Loyle, do you know this man?"

Lexi glanced at the man and shook her head. "I don't."

"What about you?" He turned to the middle-aged man. "Do you know her?"

The middle-aged man shook his head vigorously, "No, I don't."

Zachary sneered. The bodyguard holding the man kicked the back of his knee to make him kneel. Lexi pursed her lips and watched as the scene unfolded.

"Ms. Loyle, I've decided not to interfere between you and Zachary anymore. Yet, you got this man to harm me. You're so wicked!" Yvonne accused angrily, glaring at Lexi.

Lexi looked up and stared back at her. "Harm you? I don't even know this man."

Yvonne looked disappointed. "Are you still going to deny it?"

"Deny what? I don't even know what's going on," Lexi replied calmly.

Zachary stared at her frostily and ordered for a woman to be brought in.

As soon as she entered, Lexi recognized her. It was her classmate from college—Layla Zimmer.

Upon seeing the bodyguard bringing his daughter in, the middle-aged man suddenly cried out, "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done such a thing! This has nothing to do with my daughter. I'm sorry! I just wanted to help Ms. Loyle."

Lexi frowned and asked, "Help me with what?"

Yvonne sighed helplessly. Her voice was tinged with anger. She said, "Ms. Loyle, you instructed this man to pretend to be my fan and molest me in public. You made me the subject of ridicule in the entertainment industry. I can't believe how cruel you are!"

"I never did such a thing." Lexi finally understood what was going on. She looked at Zachary and stated, "I didn't do it. I would never do something like this."

Zachary retorted emotionlessly, "I only believe in evidence."

His words made Lexi feel stifled. It was clear he didn't believe her. She straightened her back and challenged, "What evidence?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the bodyguard grabbed Layla's hair roughly and started to drag her out to beat her up.

"No! Dad, help me! Lexi, please save me!" Layla cried out while holding her scalp in pain.

"It was Ms. Loyle who put me up to it! It has nothing to do with my daughter," Owen Zimmer whimpered as he tried to stop them from hurting Layla.

In a steady tone, Lexi said, "Just because you claim I put you up to it doesn't mean it's true."

"Ms. Loyle, you transferred 200 thousand dollars to my daughter previously. I was very grateful about that and agreed to do your bidding." Owen then apologized profusely, "I'm sorry, Ms. Loyle. I owe you one for this."

Lexi looked at the silent Layla, and then at Owen, who kept apologizing.

She said with a sneer, "You two owe me one indeed. Never did I imagine the fable of the Snake and the Farmer would resonate so strongly with me one day."

Lexi had never met Layla's father before, but his face would be etched in her mind after this. Some people could turn around and betray those who helped them before without conscience.

Half a year ago, Layla had been hospitalized and needed to undergo surgery. However, her family had no money, so they sought help on a crowdfunding platform and borrowed money from everyone they could reach out to.

Lexi came to know about it. Since they were roommates in college and were good friends, she lent Layla 200 thousand dollars. She never expected that she would be shooting herself in the foot by lending Layla that money.

Layla suddenly looked up and said, "Lexi, I'm very grateful for the money that you have lent me, but you shouldn't have asked my father to do something like this. I will repay your money."

"You can't just say whatever you please to slander me." Lexi turned around to look at Yvonne. "Ms. Xenos, I lent Layla 200 thousand dollars for her treatment, but that doesn't mean I instructed them to do anything."

"Well..." Yvonne looked at Zachary and said hesitantly, "Zach, Ms. Loyle has a point. I just broke an arm. So, let's leave it at that."

Hearing this, Lexi felt a lump in her throat that nearly suffocated her.

Zachary poured Yvonne a cup of water. He had a stern look in his eyes as he said, "Take good care of your hand. I won't let anyone who harms you get away. I'll handle this."

Yvonne blushed and smiled at those words. Lexi, on the other hand, felt a chill run down her spine.

The bodyguards took Layla and Owen away as Zachary went to the balcony to make a call.

Yvonne approached Lexi and said in a lowered voice, "Ms. Loyle, you may have a marriage certificate, but does it hold any value? Besides, Zachary told me your marriage is purely contractual."

Lexi couldn't believe that Zachary had told Yvonne about their contractual marriage!

Her expression turned glacial. "Even if we're in a contractual marriage, the marriage certificate is real. As long as we're not divorced, you'll always be the homewrecker."

Yvonne shook her head helplessly. "Ms. Loyle, Zachary doesn't love you. Why hold on to him? You should let go."

"Make him divorce me, then," Lexi replied with a smile. She didn't have enough money to pay the compensation for breaching the contract.

Yvonne responded to her smile with an amused smirk in return. "Ms. Loyle, feel free to come over and visit me here. This is where I'm living now."

Zachary had even let his ex-girlfriend move into Royaltree Estate. The next moment, he came back in and asked Lexi to go to the study with him after finishing his call.

Yvonne watched Lexi go upstairs with a gleeful grin. She was thinking of something else. She wondered if Lexi would go mad if she found out that she had slept with a stranger.

At that thought, her grin turned into a wide smile.

…

The silence was stifling inside the study. Lexi clenched her hands into fists while feeling slightly nervous.

"I didn't instruct Mr. Zimmer to harm Ms. Xenos. I will investigate this and give her a satisfactory explanation," Lexi said.

Investigating the matter would be difficult. The other party had set her up by accusing her of something hard to disprove. No matter what, she was in trouble.

Lexi suspected that Yvonne had framed her. After all, Yvonne was capable of killing a newborn kitten. She was not likely to be a kind person.

Four years ago, Lexi had seen Yvonne crush a kitten to death with her high heels. Martha had witnessed it too. Perhaps that was why she was so strongly opposed to Zachary marrying Yvonne.

In the silent study, Zachary walked up to Lexi. As he neared her, she could feel the pressure mounting on her.

Finally, he said, "I will have someone investigate this matter."

This showed that he didn't believe her at all.

He then asked, "Where have you moved to?"

He only realized she had moved out of Flowerhill Estate after she had been gone for a few days.

"A hotel."

"Why did you move out?"

After a moment of silence, Lexi took a deep breath. "You have gotten back together with Yvonne. I don't feel like staying there."

Flowerhill Estate was their marital home and a gift from Martha. Staying there was torture for her, and she didn't want to put up with it.

Zachary stared at her with his deep-set eyes. "Do you think you have the right to talk about this?"

When they signed the contract two years ago, she lost the right to do as she pleased.

Lexi laughed in exasperation. "I just want to live somewhere else for a change. Are you telling me I can't do that?"

"If Grandma finds out about you moving out, you won't be able to handle the consequences," he said with a cold smile. "Don't try to be clever with me, Lexi." He tapped her head lightly with his cool fingers. "Don't play with fire."