Caleb Ford pondered for a moment before agreeing, "Tell me what happened."
Zoe Lancaster let out a sigh of relief. She knew he was only doing this as a favor to Simon Hawthorne. Otherwise, how could someone like her ever hire a top-tier lawyer like Caleb Ford?
"My stepsister attempted to assault me today. She tried to ruin my face, but Simon took the knife for me," she explained. "He’s injured now. It’s not life-threatening, but since she’s a member of the Lancaster family, I’m afraid that if I just call the police, they’ll end up settling it through mediation. I want to press charges directly."
By doing this, she was showing that she no longer cared about completely falling out with the Lancaster family.
Caleb paused slightly. "Did you say Simon took a knife for you?" he asked slowly.
He had caught the most important detail.
Zoe’s throat felt dry and achy. Staring at the pitch-black sky outside the window, she murmured, "Yeah..."
"Then you’re unexpectedly important to him," Caleb said, his tone unreadable.
Zoe froze. She could hardly believe his assessment.
Caleb didn’t elaborate further. Instead, he instructed, "Give me the exact details. I need everything. Then, we’ll file the lawsuit."
Zoe nodded, her expression numb. "Thank you for your hard work, Leo Ford."
Caleb was still handling her aunt’s divorce case. They had already notified Leo Linden, and the trial was scheduled to begin soon. And now, she had to bother him again.
"It’s fine," Caleb said nonchalantly. "Simon is my friend too. Don’t feel any pressure about it. The clients he refers to me every year are more than enough to cover your fees many times over."
Where there was money, there was naturally a source of clients. Simon’s network was undoubtedly top-tier. Legal fees started in the millions, and for corporate cases, they could easily reach tens of millions. With those resources distributed among the lawyers at his firm, the sheer volume was substantial. Caleb wasn’t exaggerating.
Zoe’s feelings, however, remained complicated. She had originally intended to use her own money to solve this, but in the end, she was still relying on Simon’s favor.
"Thank you, Leo Ford."
She hung up the phone.
Only then did Miles Yates step forward to close the window. His deep, striking eyes gazed at her intently. "It’s cold out. Don’t catch a chill from the draft."
Zoe finally turned to look at him, forcing herself to stay rational. "I’m sorry for troubling you today, President Yates. At the end of the day, this is my family’s mess. I’ve made a fool of myself in front of you."
What an absolute disaster her family affairs were. Even she found it utterly ridiculous.
Miles didn’t show any trace of discomfort. He simply replied in a mild tone, "Every family has its own share of troubles. This isn’t something you need to apologize for, especially since you’re the victim here. If you ever need any help, you can tell me anytime."
After a brief pause, he looked into her eyes. "You’re Jules’s best friend, which makes you like a sister to me. I’m happy to help you."
Yes, a sister.
He must have realized that he shouldn’t harbor any forbidden thoughts. It would be an insult to her, especially since she was already married. He needed to maintain proper boundaries. His brief lapse was probably just a result of not having been with a woman in a long time; he could definitely suppress those inappropriate feelings.
Filled with gratitude, Zoe replied, "Thank you, President Yates. Just... please don’t mention this to Jules. Otherwise, he’d drop everything on set and fly straight over. I don’t want to cause him any trouble."
Miles naturally understood his younger brother’s temperament. He agreed gently, "Don’t worry."
From the corner of his eye, he glanced toward the hospital room. It was obvious that there was already another woman inside.
"So, what are you going to do now?" he asked.
Zoe’s throat tightened. After a long silence, she answered, "It’s fine. I’ll just wait out here and see. You can head back first, President Yates. I’d like to be alone for a bit."
Miles looked at her deeply for a moment. In the end, he decided not to disturb her further. Before leaving, he bought her a hot drink and handed it to her. Then, he walked away.
Zoe sat in the hallway for a long time. She deliberately avoided the crowds.
An unknown amount of time passed. By the time she snapped out of her daze, it was already past midnight. She stood up, intending to check on the situation in the room. Just as she reached the door, it opened. The moment Peyton Joyce saw her, her face darkened for a fraction of a second, but she quickly reigned it in, returning to her gentle, harmless demeanor. She swiftly closed the door behind her, blocking Zoe from entering and cutting off any view of the inside.
"Let’s talk," Peyton said.
Zoe glanced through the glass on the door. Simon was already lying down. She followed Peyton to the corner of the stairwell.
Peyton stopped and looked at her, her eyes filled with complex emotions. "His wound is very deep, and he lost a lot of blood. He needs to stay in the hospital for a few days to receive IV fluids."
Zoe nodded slightly. "Okay."
Peyton stared at her, her voice soft and lacking any overt aggression. "Simon is someone who seems cold on the outside but is warm on the inside. Since you’re his wife now, he’ll protect you out of a sense of duty."
Zoe looked back at her. The woman seemed to merely be stating a fact calmly.
"Then let’s call it a sense of duty," Zoe replied.
"Zoe, your family situation is quite messy. I know it might sound harsh, but... Simon has grown up living a life of privilege. He’s only ever been surrounded by people eager to please him. He has never had to deal with this kind of terrible experience before. This is practically a humiliation for him, and he’s in a bad mood right now, so..."You know what I mean, right?"
From start to finish, Peyton hadn’t spoken a single harsh word. Yet, everything she said was designed to tell Zoe that Simon might not want to see her right now.
Zoe remained silent for a while. A proud man like Simon was definitely annoyed by the mess her family had caused, especially with Riley Lancaster acting like an absolute lunatic.
She didn’t say anything else to Peyton. Walking back to the door of the hospital room, she took one long, deep look at the man lying inside before turning around and walking away.
As if sensing something, Simon opened his eyes and looked toward the door. His deep gaze held a faint, hidden glimmer of expectation. But when the door was pushed open, it was Peyton.
Seeing that he was awake, she hurried over. "Simon, does it still hurt? Do you need some more painkillers?"
Simon furrowed his brows. He hadn’t actually wanted to be hospitalized, but because Peyton wouldn’t stop crying, he had reluctantly agreed. "It doesn’t hurt," he replied. "Did anyone come by?"
Peyton’s movements faltered for an imperceptible second as she poured him a glass of water. Then, she shook her head. "No."
Simon’s lips pressed into a tight line. Finally, he said, "Go home. Don’t exhaust yourself. Just have Linden come over."
Peyton sat by the edge of the bed, looking at him with worry. "No, I can’t leave you alone. Do you have any idea how scared I was? I have to take care of you until you recover. Simon, don’t try to persuade me otherwise."
Simon said no more. He just occasionally glanced toward the door, lost in thought.
*
Zoe indeed felt too ashamed to face Simon.
It probably stemmed from a sense of inferiority. Her family was such a disaster, and they had made a scene right in front of him. It felt as though she had been stripped bare, forced to present the most shameful parts of herself to him. She was overwhelmed with humiliation and guilt.
She felt that the most important thing right now was to resolve the issue.
After she discussed all the details with Caleb, he acted with remarkable efficiency. Soon, a summons was delivered to the Lancaster family. Unsurprisingly, Zoe received a call from Martin Lancaster, ordering her to return to the Lancaster house. In the past, she would have complied. But things were different now; she had no intention of being bossed around anymore.
"If you want to see me, come find me. I’ll be waiting for you at the café downstairs from Kingsward Hospital."
She dropped the location and hung up. She had actually been keeping vigil near the hospital for the past two days, having barely eaten, drank, or rested. In less than half an hour, Martin arrived, his face looking incredibly grim. He likely already knew everything and was at his wit’s end.