Chapter 288 Playing The Victim Game
At this moment, Hayley had just witnessed the man she loved the most performing CPR on Anastasia and constantly calling her name. The worry and panic in his eyes clearly demonstrated his concern for Anastasia.
Meanwhile, Erica was dumbfounded by this as she stood to the side.
According to Hayley’s plan, Elliot is supposed to save her. Why is he saving Anastasia now?
Anastasia eventually regained consciousness, and the first thing that she saw was Elliot’s nervous yet gorgeous face.
“You’re finally awake.” Elliot’s fingers trembled as he caressed her cold, pale face. At the same time, his deep eyes filled with ecstasy.
A round of applause erupted from the crowd. The two ladies who had fallen into the water had been rescued, and that was good news in itself.
Meanwhile, someone in the crowd watched the scene unfold with mixed emotions. The noble and handsome man was kneeling on the ground and soaked to the skin, overjoyed that he had managed to save Anastasia.
As Anastasia sat up, Elliot’s suit draped over her body. Right then, she raised her head to meet Hayley’s resentful eyes.
Anastasia pushed away Elliot’s helping hand and stumbled to her feet. Without much strength, she walked toward Hayley step by step persistently. Then, she raised her hand and slapped the other woman forcefully.
The strong slap shifted Hayley’s face to the side. Tears streamed down her face as she raised her head and said, “I’m sorry, Anastasia. I know you were kind enough to save me, but you know that I’m afraid of water. I didn’t mean to drag you into the water.”
After saying that, Hayley gave Erica a signal through her teary eyes. The latter understood Hayley’s message right away, so she waddled through the crowd and asked, “Hayley, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Then, Erica turned her head toward Anastasia and confronted her. “I saw you pushing her with my own eyes, yet you have the audacity to slap her. Do you even have a heart?” she chided.
“Don’t blame Anastasia for this, Erica. I was the one who accidentally fell into the water,” Hayley said with tears in her eyes.
“Ladies, would you two come forward and do Hayley justice? Did you see Anastasia push Hayley?” Erica asked the two female guests who had just witnessed the incident, eagerly hoping that they would testify.
At that moment, Anastasia’s body swayed slightly. She almost suffocated earlier and had lost all her strength. Just then, a strong arm wrapped around her waist while she leaned against someone’s broad chest. Naturally, she knew who it was without having to turn her head around.
Everyone wanted to know what was going on, so more and more guests gathered around the pool. The two female guests who were being questioned by Erica exchanged glances before one of them said, “We saw Miss Tillman pushing Miss Seymour into the water. However, when Miss Seymour called for help, Miss Tillman jumped into the pool to save her.”
At this point, Hayley staggered to her feet, shivering as she hugged herself. Then, she looked at Elliot and said, “Don’t blame Anastasia, Elliot. I-I fell into the water by accident, and she almost drowned while trying to save me. I deserve this slap because I dragged her down with me. In fact, I deserve to die.”
After saying that, Hayley covered her face and started to sob loudly as if she was truly blaming herself.
“Hayley, why are you still speaking up for her? She’s obviously taking revenge on you! She wants you to take the blame for that incident where she got raped by a male escort five years ago. She wants you dead!” Erica’s voice was shrill, and the words she said were loud and resounding. It seemed as though she was afraid that the crowd couldn’t hear her.
In an instant, Anastasia’s face turned pale as she trembled with anger, for the duo wasn’t done picking on her just yet.
“Keep your mouth shut, Erica,” Elliot warned. His eyes darted at her like a cutting blade as he didn’t want to hear another word from the woman.
Erica was so frightened by Elliot’s threats that she shut her mouth immediately. However, the damage had already been done, for her words dropped like a bomb among the crowd.
What? A male escort raped Miss Tillman?
This information aroused sympathy among the crowd, but it also made people speculate about Anastasia’s past.
“What about pushing Miss Seymour into the water and slapping her without an apology?”
“You’re right! This kind of behavior is unacceptable.”
