Chapter 324: Chapter 324: You Think I’m Blind?
Zoe Hayes looked utterly incredulous.
"How is this possible... Actor Sinclair, doesn’t he have a wife?"
Owen Sinclair said coldly, "Are you talking about my current ex-wife? She was my second marriage. Ashley’s mother was my first spouse. So, it’s not her mother who was the other woman, but rather I wronged them both. Do you understand?"
The Hayes Family were shocked, their eyelids twitching uncontrollably.
Zoe Hayes’ face turned as pale as a knocked-over palette, oscillating between shades of blue and white.
It was Hank Hayes who first broke the silence.
"Zoe, apologize!"
Mrs. Hayes also urged Zoe to apologize.
Zoe Hayes was livid, on the verge of losing her mind.
Tonight, she lost both love and her parents’ trust, and it was all Ashley Shaw’s fault!
Apologize? Over her dead body!
"I will not apologize! I hate her!"
With that, Zoe turned and ran off.
Mrs. Hayes instinctively chased after her.
"Zoe Hayes, come back here!"
The mother and daughter’s figures quickly disappeared from everyone’s sight.
Hank Hayes’ face showed helpless anger toward Zoe and sincere apology toward Ashley Shaw.
Thickening his old skin, he looked at Ashley Shaw with utmost seriousness and shame, and spoke.
"Miss Shaw, I apologize on behalf of my disappointing daughter!"
"I don’t expect your forgiveness. I also know that apologies can’t change anything, but this is what I must do as Zoe’s father."
"I’m sorry!"
With that, he gave Ashley Shaw a deep bow.
Ashley Shaw was caught off guard, instinctively stepping back.
But she soon came to her senses, stepped forward again, and helped Hank Hayes up from his bow.
Though Zoe Hayes was younger than her, Hank Hayes was actually over ten years older than Owen Sinclair.
Nearly at the age of retirement, with gray hair at his temples, Ashley Shaw didn’t want to make things difficult for him.
She said, "Uncle Hayes, one thing is separate from another. Zoe’s mistakes are her own, you don’t have to do this."
"Although I’m not generous enough to tell you to let the past be in the past, I won’t blame you and Mrs. Hayes. You two are good people."
"You should go find Zoe, educate her well to be a good person. Once she goes to college, she shouldn’t isolate innocent people for no reason anymore."
Hank Hayes felt even more self-conscious upon hearing these words.
He nodded at Ashley Shaw and then turned to Warren Prescott, "Mr. Prescott Jr., Miss Shaw is your friend, right?"
Warren Prescott nodded.
Hank Hayes said, "In that case, for any related compensation later, I’ll go through you to compensate Miss Shaw. I’ll also properly educate Zoe. I’m sorry for putting you in a difficult position today."
Warren Prescott glanced at Ashley Shaw.
Seeing that Ashley Shaw had no intention of making things difficult for Hank Hayes, he nodded, "Alright. Just contact me."
"Then I will take my leave now."
Hank Hayes said this, bowed once more to Ashley Shaw, and then turned away.
His steps were somewhat faltering, showing just how much seeing Zoe’s true colors today had affected him.
After the Hayes Family left, Xavier Quincy was the first to break the silence.
"Warren, was it you who arranged for us to go upstairs?"
Warren Prescott felt a hint of regret; if Ashley Shaw hadn’t gone upstairs, she might not have encountered Zoe Hayes at all.
But he showed no signs of this, saying, "Yes. You get a clearer view of the performance from up there."
"When did you notice us?"
"Also not too long ago. As soon as I saw you, I asked the manager to arrange for you to come up."
Xavier Quincy dryly smiled, "Well, you really turned good intentions into a bad situation."
Warren Prescott did not respond to that but instead suggested to Ashley Shaw, "Let me take you to get that wound treated."
Ashley Shaw waved it off, "No need, it’s just a small wound."
In that brief time, her wound had already started to scab over, with nothing much left to deal with.
"At least disinfect it," Owen Sinclair said. "Fingernails have a lot of bacteria, and a potential infection isn’t worth it. To be safe, better treat it."
Ariana Grant chimed in, "Yes, hurry along, just to check if you need a tetanus shot or anything."
Ashley Shaw was helpless.
"Such a small injury, it’s really not necessary..."
But with even Xavier Quincy and Shane Coleman persuading her, she didn’t want everyone to worry needlessly, so she agreed.
"I’ll just be away for a moment."
Just then, the staff from The Nocturne came in to serve food.
The others returned to their booth, leaving Warren Prescott to escort Ashley Shaw out.
Walking one ahead of the other, neither spoke a word.
Warren Prescott wasn’t sure what to say.
Sometimes it felt like his mouth didn’t belong to him, and the words that came out were never what he intended.
Since speaking wasn’t his forte, he chose simply not to speak.
Ashley Shaw, on the other hand, was contemplating how to thank Warren Prescott.
Finally, as they descended the stairs, Ashley Shaw spoke up, "Thank you."
The first step is always the hardest; once she expressed gratitude, she realized that "thank you" is merely two words, nothing more to it.
Moreover, she became aware—
What truly troubled her wasn’t the act of saying thanks; it was not knowing what to do next.
How should she treat Warren Prescott?
She’s always tried to distance herself from Warren Prescott, yet he had saved her from danger time and time again...
She wasn’t made of stone; her heart was flesh and blood, and it was impossible to say she wasn’t moved.
But for her to completely let go and treat him like anyone else—she couldn’t do it.
The pains of her past life existed vividly, engraved into her memory, ultimately costing her life...
So she couldn’t get past that barrier in her heart.
Therefore, even a simple "thank you" became an arduous task for her.
Up ahead, Warren Prescott’s stride subtly halted, turning Ashley Shaw from following behind to walking side by side with him.
He glanced at her sideways, neither taking credit nor saying, "I didn’t do anything. Just let you clear things up on your own."
Ashley Shaw restrained her complicated emotions and said, "No matter what, thank you for trusting me."
Believing that she wouldn’t hit someone without reason.
She now understood that things should be addressed one by one, and whenever gratitude was due, it must be expressed sincerely.
Warren Prescott shrugged.
"It’s not about trust, but understanding. Compared to strangers, of course, I believe someone I’ve known for five or six years in terms of who they are."
Ashley Shaw instinctively asked, "Then why didn’t you believe me back then?"
She was referring to when Rosalind Lynch falsely accused her of pushing her into the swimming pool a few years ago.
But as soon as the words left her mouth, Ashley Shaw regretted them.
Why bring that up out of nowhere?
Just making herself uncomfortable?
Yet, to Ashley Shaw’s surprise, after a moment of silence, Warren Prescott suddenly spoke, "I’m sorry."
Ashley Shaw’s mind went blank.
"Huh?"
"I said, I’m sorry. Back then, I didn’t get the facts straight and assumed you pushed Rosalind Lynch into the pool... and let that misunderstanding go on for years."
Ashley Shaw almost couldn’t believe her ears.
Warren Prescott was apologizing to her?
Her ears weren’t deceiving her, were they?
Ashley Shaw instinctively touched her own face.
Noticing this gesture, Warren Prescott managed a slight smile and said, "You didn’t mishear. I’m apologizing for misunderstanding you back then. Just assume I was blind before; I won’t be in the future."