My Mute Bride

Chapter 360

Chapter 360 Best Friend Is a Derogatory Term

“You don’t have to deal with this matter any longer. I’ll take care of it.” Ryan threw a glance at Jolly before his gaze fell on Rachel. “Miss Hudson, Jolly is only being criticized by the public because of her endorsement deal with Hudson Pharmaceuticals. I hope you won’t begrudge her a few days of rest.”

Rachel agreed. “It’s not a problem. I plan on letting her go on a break for half a month while public interest dies down.” “Half a month is too short. Give her a month.”

Ryan demanded staunchly, which startled everyone else.

Jolly frowned and retorted, “Who are you to decide on my behalf? What could I possibly do with a month’s break?”

“Go on a holiday. You can follow me to Switzerland for a month.”

“No way!”

As soon as Ryan said that, Leroy, who had been quiet the entire time, immediately disagreed. He glared at Ryan as he firmly denounced the suggestion.

Rachel and Jolly were taken aback by his sudden interruption. But soon enough, Jolly remembered the feud between Leroy and Ryan. In the end, it was all because of a woman!

Ryan commented icily, “You have no say in what we do. Who do you think you are?”

Leroy snapped back. “Who do I think I am? Maybe I’m nothing to the great Mr. Sutton, but how can you treat Jolly this way? Is she just an object to you? Is she just a thing that you can bring around with you wherever you go?”

“She’s my fiancée!” Ryan’s answer echoed around them as he declared it resolutely.

Jolly would usually stir up a storm if she heard Ryan saying that, but this time, she shrunk behind Rachel as she muttered, “Oh no… Chris, the endorsement deal might go sour!”

When Jolly reached out to Leroy about the endorsement deal, she never even mentioned that she was acquainted with Ryan, let alone the fact that she used to be his fiancée. Leroy only agreed to the endorsement deal after Jolly had spent all her time and effort into developing a “friendship” with him.

At a time like this, how can you still be thinking about the endorsement deal with Leroy? Rachel was speechless.

Ryan was still talking. “Both of our families agreed to the marriage, and even the Carter Family elders also approved of the marriage. She, Jolly Carter, is my fiancée. Apart from her parents, there is no one else in this world who is more qualified to deal with this on her behalf than me.”

After an awkward silence, Leroy snorted.

Jolly anxiously murmured by Rachel’s ear. “What is he laughing about? Has he been driven mad by anger?”

Rachel rolled her eyes before hushing Jolly. “Can’t you keep quiet for a bit?”

Leroy gave Jolly a look, but she quickly avoided his gaze. She looked up toward the ceiling with feigned innocence, saying, “Oh wow, the weather today really is quite nice.”

Rachel’s lips twitched. There must be something wrong with this woman’s brain!

Leroy continued, “I think Jolly doesn’t agree with what you just said. Unfortunately for you, Mr. Sutton, it seems like your feelings are unrequited.”

Ryan’s expression immediately changed.

As for Rachel, she was rather astonished by Leroy.

Leroy was only a minor celebrity, but he dared to defy a powerful and influential man like Ryan. With such principles, Leroy was undeniably a respectable man!

“Jolly, leave with me at once.” Ryan did not respond to Leroy. Instead, he turned to Jolly and came to grab her by the arm.

However, Jolly instinctively avoided his hand, and she huffed, “Why should I leave with you? Tell me who’s scheming behind my back.”

“I already told you that I’ll deal with it!” Ryan refused.

“This is my business, and I don’t need you to butt in!” Jolly insisted.

“Jolly Carter!” Ryan barked out.

“Why are you raising your voice at me? Do you think I’ll be scared of you?” Jolly was beside herself with anger by now, but suddenly, a thought flitted across her mind and she glared at Ryan. “Don’t tell me that it’s you who did it!”

Rachel was flabbergasted by Jolly’s reaction. How did she even jump to that conclusion?

Jolly wagged her finger at Ryan as she continued her accusation. “Ryan Sutton, is there something wrong with you?! Are you trying to ensure that I’ll never be able to make it in Riverdale? Is that why you did such a deplorable thing?!”

“I did it?” Ryan’s face was red with fury. “In your eyes, I am someone who’d do such a thing?”

“Are you not? What won’t you do for the sake of getting what you want?” Jolly snapped back.

“I don’t have the time to argue over this nonsense with you. Leave with me right now. I’m taking you back to the Carter home. Let’s see how you’re going to explain this to your parents.” Ryan suppressed his anger and grabbed Jolly once again. “Come with me!”

“You even tricked my parents?” Jolly felt even more furious now.

“She’s not leaving with you!”

Leroy jumped out and quickly held onto Jolly’s other hand. It was like a tug-of-war, with each man pulling Jolly from either side. No one could keep a straight face at such a sight.

Rachel felt like her presence was very unnecessary, but the three of them were blocking the door and she had no means of leaving.

Was this going to turn into a battlefield?

“Let go!”

Ryan stared at Leroy with an icy expression. “If you don’t let go, then I promise you that your name will not appear on screen anymore. You will never work in the entertainment industry ever again.”

“You’re threatening me? Sorry to disappoint you, but I detest being threatened by someone else the most!”

Jolly looked back and forth between her left and her right. Her mind was a puddled mess.

Right at this moment, Justin opened the door and walked in. When he saw the tussle between Jolly, Ryan, and Leroy, he frowned and stood there at the doorway looking at the three of them. “Ryan, I’m afraid I can’t let you take Miss Carter with you.”

“What are you trying to do, Justin?”

Justin replied, “Why don’t you tell Miss Carter who the mastermind behind all this is?”

Everyone was taken aback by Justin’s words.

Rachel was the first to react. “You’re right. Mr. Sutton, you should know who it is, right?”

Ryan’s brows were tightly knitted, and his handsome face now wore a frigid expression.

Jolly despised it the most whenever he acted this way. “Say something! Who is the one who’s scheming against me? I’ll make them pay!”

“I will deal with it.”

Again, this was all Ryan would say.

Jolly had always been hotheaded, and she no longer had any patience for this. She swung off both their hands and hissed at Ryan, “So you don’t want to say who it is? Do you think no one else would know if you don’t say it?”

After saying that, she turned to Justin and asked, “You’ve figured out who it is, right?”

Judging by what Justin said when he entered, it was obvious that he knew all the details by now.

Rachel also looked toward Justin as she waited for his answer.

Justin nodded lightly before glancing at Ryan. “I think it’s better that you tell Miss Carter yourself. If you still plan on hiding the truth from her, then it’ll just backfire on you, and you won’t get your way with either one of them.”

However, Ryan still did not speak.

But it seemed to have dawned on Jolly, as she calmly asked, “Is Estelle Dolton the one who did this?”

Ryan’s eyes shook a little.

When Rachel heard that name, the lightbulb in her mind instantly lit up! Estelle Dolton? That’s Jolly’s ex-best friend, Ryan’s ex-wife, and Leroy’s ex-girlfriend. That woman has an awkward relationship with all three people here. There’s no one else in Riverdale who hated Jolly as much as Estelle did, even though she had no right to hate Jolly at all!

It has to be her. There is no other possible answer.

Ryan now felt a little alarmed. “Jolly, I’ll make sure everything is resolved properly. You…”

But with a resounding clap, a stinging slap fell on Ryan’s right cheek. As for Jolly, her eyes were still and emotionless, which was all the more frightening for everyone.

“This slap is meant for Estelle, but since you’re so willing to help her clean up her messes, then you can take it for her. This way, I don’t have to bother looking for her, since you’re willing to suffer on her behalf.”

Rachel was also shocked.

To Jolly, “best friend” was a derogatory term.