The girls standing around them were avid fans of Emma. All of them thought Emma had a conflicted look on her face because she was embarrassed.
“See? Everyone thinks you’re feeling guilty,” Elspeth said, smiling brightly at Emma. “Oh, wait. They think you’re humble. It is only a phone call, Miss Walker. It’s nothing big.”
Emma gritted her teeth and kept quiet, too scared to speak.
The call went through. Harper was sleeping when Elspeth called, so he answered the call with messy hair and a sleepy look in his eyes. Even so, his attractiveness could not be hidden.
“What is it, Elsie?” he asked.
Emma had been hoping Harper would actually be the seller she had contacted, but her heart sank when she saw his face.
“Is the Heart of Rupert still with you?” Elspeth asked.
Harper took a sip of water to wake himself up. “Yes. Why?”
“A woman here says you sold her the watch. Can you see if it’s her?”
When Harper spotted the awkward smile on Emma’s face, he frowned. “Who is this? Why would I sell off the watch? You know I only buy watches, and I never sell anything.”
“Forget about her. Can you show everyone here the watch?” Elspeth asked.
She was afraid the crowd would think she was lying. If Emma seized the chance to pull the wool over their eyes, her reputation would be smeared again.
However, Harper was confused but still brought out the watch from his collection. The moment the box opened, everyone’s eyes were glued to it. It was gleaming with a faint blue glow surrounding it. A red diamond heart was embedded in the center of the watch. It looked so much more dazzling than the watch Emma gave Mr. Winthrop.
“If that’s all, I’m going back to bed.” He shrugged and hung up right after saying that.
Elspeth looked at Emma’s pale face and doubtfully asked, “Why don’t you explain where you got that watch from, Miss Walker?”
“I-I assigned the task to someone else,” Emma replied, stuttering. “I spent quite a few million on it. I didn’t think—”
“Yes, it doesn’t matter if you bought an imitation product,” Elspeth interrupted. “The most revolting people are those who intentionally buy imitation products.” The smirk on her face was so menacing that Emma nearly fainted.
“You don’t look well, Miss Walker,” she continued. “Do you feel dizzy? If you do, feel free to pass out right now. If you’re unconscious, you don’t care how others see you.”
Emma was prepared to pretend to faint, but when she heard that, she froze, unsure what to do. If she had passed out at that moment, she would have fallen into Elspeth’s trap.
“Of course not. Naturally, I am willing to—” Emma said.
“You’re willing to apologize?” Elspeth interrupted once more. “You’re a public figure, though. It would be bad if the media found out what you did.”
She spoke as if she was merely reminding Emma, but her words were meant for the journalists standing around them that it was also major news. The journalists swiftly understood Elspeth’s words and began taking photos while their pens raced across their notepads.
“Hurry and apologize now, Miss Walker. Otherwise, your reputation will suffer when they break the news,” she continued.
Elspeth beamed a smile at Emma, but her cheeks and lips were left uncharacteristically unsmiling.
“I’m sorry,” Emma declared to the crowd. “I did not mean to buy an imitation product. I only wanted to surprise Mr. Winthrop—”
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