Whispers of Destiny: His Belated Love

At the police station.

Four people were split into two groups, sitting on opposite sides of a long desk. The cop at the head of the table was taking statements, "Who threw the first punch?"

He had already reviewed the CCTV footage, and this was just routine questioning.

Each person sported injuries, but Victoria took the cake - her cheeks crisscrossed with a crazy number of slap marks, red and swollen, her hair a total bird's nest. If they hadn't checked her ID, they'd never peg her as an international ballroom dancer.

Tracy, pointing at Yolanda who was still strutting around like a gamecock, complained, "Officer, she bumped into us first. You've gotta lock up extremists like her for a good eight or ten years. If you let her roam the streets, who knows when she'll go nuts again!"

Yolanda, chin up, smirked at her, "I'm just taking out the trash. Back in the day, shameless mistresses would get dunked in a pig cage!"

"Shameless?" Victoria eyed Rosemary, who was almost unscathed, protected by Yolanda during the whole boutique brawl, "Why don't you ask your BFF here who's the real mistress? What dirty tricks did she use to snag Maxwell?"

Rosemary stood her ground, defiant, her words crisp, "When I married him, you two were over. What, you think you're a dog? Peed somewhere and it's all yours?"

No sooner had she said that than two men walked in - Maxwell leading, with Harvey and his briefcase in tow. Different vibes, but both radiating strong presence; the spacious station suddenly felt suffocating.

Rosemary knew Maxwell had heard her comment, his glance now icy enough to freeze someone solid.

Harvey headed straight to Victoria, "Ms. Temple, the paperwork's all set. You and your agent are free to go."

Victoria didn’t respond. Instead, she stood up, and approached Maxwell, tilting her head back to give him a clearer view of her battered face. Despite the ugly bruises, it was a look designed to tug at his heartstrings.

She asked, "What about the troublemaker?"

The cops wouldn't hold Rosemary based on the footage; she hadn't laid a finger on anyone, shielded by Yolanda the whole time. But Yolanda couldn't dodge the bullet.

Maxwell's indifferent gaze slid over Rosemary, who looked completely unfazed. His handsome face was cold as he ordered, "Charge her with assault, one year minimum. Harvey will handle it. You don't need worry about it. Let's go."

With that, he left with Victoria, not looking back.

Rosemary sensed Maxwell's seriousness, panic setting in. She got up to follow, but Yolanda held her back, "Don't beg those two. I'll figure something out."

Frowning, Rosemary reminded, "That's Harvey we're talking about."

Nothing he couldn't handle. She couldn't just watch Yolanda go to jail. By the time Rosemary raced outside, Maxwell and Victoria were already in the car.

"Maxwell," she hurried towards the vehicle.

He gave her a cold look, his eyes void of warmth, his smirk chilling, "Drive."

Jason, not daring to disobey, complied. As Jason was about to close the door, Rosemary grabbed the handle, looking in at Maxwell, "It was Victoria's people who started it."

He responded with a half-smile, "But I only see Victoria badly hurt. You do the crime, you do the time. Isn't that simple enough?"

"That's just a fight then; Yolanda's hurt too." She chose her words carefully, "You can't be so unreasonable."

Maxwell narrowed his eyes at Rosemary, noticing a scratch on her neck, already scabbed. Not serious, but on her fair skin, it looked pretty shocking.

Still, he was unmoved, "I am being unreasonable. What are you gonna do about it?"

Rosemary was at a loss.

She looked at his cold face, then at Victoria, who was smug by his side, and felt a suffocating frustration.

Maxwell's gaze remained steady, a hint of hoarseness in his voice from smoking, "Why go after Victoria?"

He wanted to know the reason; was it really all about a dress? But Rosemary only heard accusation. She was cold, firm, "You should be asking your Ms. Temple that! Maxwell, if you want to back her up, come at me directly. Don't drag others into this."

At that, he scoffed and looked away, "Jason, drive." Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Jason closed the door with an apologetic look at Rosemary, "Sorry, Mrs. Templeton."

"Maxwell."

Rosemary tried again, but Harvey stepped in, blocking her path.

She could only watch the car drive away, Harvey's ruthless words ringing in her ears, "Mrs. Templeton, instead of clinging on here, better think about how you've crossed Mr. Templeton."

Rosemary's frown deepened, her tone no sweeter, "Did beating up his sweetheart count as crossing him?"

Harvey's professional smile didn't waver, "Yes, so your friend's going in."

He left it at that, not saying more.

Rosemary turned back to the station. Louis arrived right then, going to arrange bail, but, as expected, it was a no-go - after all, they'd upset Maxwell.

Louis, brow furrowed, looked serious, "Best to talk to the involved parties; settle this privately if possible."

Rosemary had got a bit of a headache brewing. She massaged her temples, "If they're dead set on suing us and we go head-to-head with Harvey, what are our odds?"

Louis blinked, and then shook his head, "Sorry, but so far, Mr. Holiday's never been on the losing end of a case."

Rosemary and Yolanda lapsed into a heavy silence. Finally, it was Rosemary who broke the ice, "Yolanda, looks like you're gonna have to rough it out here for a couple more days. I'll go have a chat with Maxwell."

Yolanda got the drift, "If it's a no-go, just let it be. Don't let him push you around."

"I won't."

Rosemary let out a deep sigh. Maxwell wasn't entirely without his weak spots; she'd have to negotiate with him again.

On the way back to the hotel, Maxwell's face was clouded over, his furrowed brows and tight lips spelling out his irritation loud and clear.

Victoria eyed his face; she was always bad at reading his thoughts, in the past and just as much now, "Are you ticked off at Rosemary, or at me?"

The words that slipped from Maxwell's thin lips were frosty, "I've told you before, don't mess with her."

Victoria was taken aback by his response and bit her lip. She had read him wrong again, but wasn't she the victim here? And hadn't he just been shielding her back at the police station?