Cherished By Seven Sisters by Melvin Houle

When Zachary came forward to make wild accusations, Emrys didn’t say a word despite his boiling anger. He had held back his temper, for he wanted to observe who it was who was bullying Cordelia. Henry, Simon, Tobias, Kane, Gavin, and Angelina! All of them maligned and humiliated Delia. Also, the reporters attacked her after only hearing one side of the story and didn’t bother to verify the facts at all. The rage within Emrys had swelled to the point of culmination, burning with boundless fervor. Yet, at that moment, Zachary unwittingly pointed at Emrys and said, “That’s him! He’s Cordelia’s toy boy!” Emrys’ figure disappeared instantaneously before appearing right in front of Zachary. “You f*cking asked for this!” Emrys grabbed Zachary by the hair before smashing Zachary’s head repeatedly onto the table right next to them. Bam! Bam! Bam! Zachary’s head was quickly covered in blood. “You… You brute! Who are you to beat him up?” When the reporters realized what was going on, all of them rebuked Emrys. Zachary was in pain, and his face was covered in blood. He bellowed, “All of you have seen for yourself how brazen this toy boy is! Quick, take pictures of his crime so that he’ll be locked up in prison for life! Argh!” The reporters didn’t need any of his reminders as they had begun clicking the shutters of their cameras furiously. “It looks like you’re not going to repent until it’s too late!” With fury brimming in his eyes, Emrys dragged Zachary up on stage. “Turn on the projector and play the files on my flash drive!” Emrys ordered the staff backstage. Click! Once the projector was turned on, a conversation could be heard. “Mr. Leeson, I’ve planted my friend, Simon, by Cordelia’s side as her driver. I’m sure we’ll soon be able to obtain compromising pictures of her.” “Well done. Ideally, we should expose the pictures before Cordelia Group’s listing. I want the company to be reduced to nothing but a joke.” “About the money you promised both of us…” “Don’t worry. I’ll pay you in full once the task is completed.” The file being played back was a recording of Zachary speaking to someone. Once the clip ended, two pictures appeared on the screen. One was a photo of Zachary’s entire family, while the other was a shot of a steamy scene. The second photo showed three people in bed—Zachary, Simon, and another woman. After a quick comparison between the two photos, one could tell that the woman was Zachary’s wife. Gasp! An uproar erupted among the reporters at the scene. Public anger immediately shifted toward Zachary and Simon. “It turns out that the two of you are the real scum here!” “You two deserve to die for lying to us!” “I recognize the other voice in the recording. It belongs to Mr. Gabriel Leeson, the boss of Allure Group. I didn’t expect him to use such unscrupulous methods to take down his competitor.” “We have to expose them so that everyone will boycott Allure Group’s products!” Zachary was so shocked by the media’s ridicule that he had forgotten the pain in his head. How did this happen? Zachary had secretly recorded the conversation to prevent Gabriel from disavowing their deal. How did he get his hands on the recording when I stored it securely? More importantly, why did he even expose my private pictures? Utter despair filled Zachary. The reporters were still hurling verbal abuse when Emrys suddenly barked, “Shut up!” A pin-drop silence ensued. Emrys scanned the room with his piercing gaze, sending a chill down everyone’s spine. “Before you hurl accusations, shouldn’t you look at yourself in the mirror?” These unscrupulous reporters attack relentlessly every time they seize upon an opportunity. Even when a mistake is made, they never take responsibility for it. They have no concern at all for the suffering experienced by the wrongly accused. “All of you owe Delia an apology! Now, kneel!” As silence filled the air, no one got down on their knees. They didn’t deny that they had wrongly accused Cordelia, but asking them to beg for forgiveness on their knees felt like an overreaction to the issue. “Hmph, the audacity!” At that moment, Kane let out a snort. “The evidence has only shown how despicable Zachary is, but that doesn’t change the fact that Cordelia has a toy boy and is an ungrateful person.” Although Kane was surprised that Emrys could come up with the proof to refute Zachary, it wasn’t enough to change the overall situation. Everything was still under his control. “Mr. Kane is right. Zachary is scum, but so is Cordelia!” one of the reporters chimed in. The words sparked a cold glint in Emrys’ eyes. Kane is now on my list of people to be eliminated. “Delia is no more than someone I dearly respect.” The female reporter who first instigated the matter asked, “What proof do you have?” Emrys shot her an icy glare. “There’s no need for me to prove myself. Besides, even if there’s something going on between Delia and me, there’s no reason why I should share it with someone as despicable as you.” “You, Sir, you’re making personal attacks against me.” “Personal attacks?” Emrys unleashed a murderous aura that permeated the female reporter’s b*dy. “I’m going to kill you if I hear another word from your mouth.” Thump! The reporter’s knees buckled before she dropped to the ground. One could suddenly see a foul-smelling liquid flowing from underneath her white skirt. It was quickly evident that she had peed herself out of fear. A moment ago, she had felt as if a terrifying demon was glaring at her, one who would really kill her if she uttered another word. After shifting his gaze away from the reporter, Emrys locked it on Gavin. Gavin’s face turned pale at once. “Did you just say that Delia bullied you when you were a child and that you borrowed money from her to treat Mr. Olman’s sickness? Also, did you just accuse her of being someone ungrateful?” As Emrys approached Gavin step by step, the latter retreated in fear. His already pale face subsequently lost all residual color it had. “I… I…” Trembling in fear, he felt a frosty aura engulf his entire being. It made him so anxious that he was unable to speak. The fear that gripped him was akin to having the Grim Reaper bear down on him. It terrified him so much that he was on the brink of a mental breakdown. “I-I admit that it was me—” Just as Gavin was about to give in to the pressure and reveal the truth, Kane interrupted, saying, “Other than intimidating people, what else do you know?” Slap! As soon as Kane spoke, he felt a slap across his cheek. The impact was so powerful that three of his teeth shot out of his mouth. “You b*stard, why do you keep interrupting? Do you think you’re somethin