With tears brimming in her eyes, Joanna looked pitifully at Liana. “Aunt Liana, please, you have to help me. Angel must’ve misunderstood me could you please talk to her for me?”
Liana sighed and shook her head helplessly. “Joanna, there’s nothing I can do for you now. Angel won’t listen to me.”
Joanna whined, “I know Angel only listens to Sylvia now. Sylvia must’ve said something to her and made her misunderstand me.”
Joanna hoped to make Liana believe Sylvia was sowing discord between them and resent Sylvia. But Liana didn’t pursue. Instead, she looked out toward the courtyard, where, under the streetlamp in the yard, a maid was leading Sylvia toward the house.
Joanna’s eyes lit up the instant she saw Sylvia walk in. As soon as Sylvia entered the living room, Joanna rushed over, grabbed her arm, and tears immediately streamed down her face. “Sylvia, please,” she pleaded, “you can’t let Angel keep ignoring me. I just can’t lose her as a friend!”
If this had been the old Sylvia, she would have certainly softened at Joanna’s pitiful display. Even now, Joanna expected this by deliberately making
herself look pitiable, her voice trembling with exaggerated sobs.
Sylvia replied coldly, “Joanna, seriously, have some shame. The only reason there’s a rift between you and Angel is because you lied to her–that has absolutely nothing to do with me. I never told you to lie to her.”
Joanna didn’t expect her to snap back like that. Her face flushed crimson, but she quickly composed herself. “Sylvia,” she said with feigned remorse, “l get it, it’s all my fault. Will it make it better if I apologize?”
Realizing that making excuses would be futile now, Joanna raised her hand and delivered a stinging slap to her own face.
Her cheek instantly reddened and swelled, tears streaming down in a pitiful display. Obviously, she was just putting on an act for the Blair family.
Liana’s heart instantly ached at the sight. She rushed forward and cried out anxiously, “Joana, stop! Don’t do this to yourself!”
Just then, a voice chimed in through the Bluetooth earpiece, “Oh my, Joanna really knows how to put on a show! Slapping herself in front of everyone, like that? Anyone who didn’t know better would think Sylvia forced her to do it.”
That was the voice of TeddyBot, the most advanced Al robot and the latest creation from Sylvia’s company.
Liana paused for a moment upon hearing this, then studied Joanna more closely.
Had it not been for TeddyBot’s reminder just now, she would have truly believed Sylvia was forcing Joanna to apologize–even making her slap herself!
But that’s not the truth at all. No one forced Joanna to do this. She was the one who messed up in the first p
the victim here.
One wondered why she was acting like
Joanna’s eyes were red and puffy from slapping herself. Still sobbing, she cast a pitiful, tear–filled glance at Liana.
Under normal circumstances, Liana would have rushed over in distress to stop her and might even have blamed Sylvia for it upon seeing the scene.
But this time, Liana remained rooted to the spot.
A twinge of unease crept into Joanna’s heart.
Byron grew irritated seeing Joanna slapping herself. Just as he was about to step in and stop her, TeddyBot’s earlier words echoed in his ear, making him freeze in his tracks.
“If I am right, after slapping herself in the face, Joanna’s next move will be to kneel before Sylvia. She wants everyone to think Sylvia is forcing her to do
it.”
Byron’s eyes flickered as he thought, ‘No way Joanna’s that calculating.
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Chapter 188
Through her Bluetooth earpiece, Liana also heard TeddyBot’s voice and shared the same thought.
Even if Joanna did mess up, was she really this two–faced? Slapping herself one moment, kneeling the next–all just to make Sylvia look bad.
The next moment, Joanna sobbed dramatically, “Sylvia, if you still won’t forgive me, I’ll get down on my knees right here!”
Sylvia replied coldly, “Joanna, cut the drama. What’s the point of kneeling to me?”
Joanna continued her act as she didn’t hear that, “Sylvia, if I kneel before you, will you finally forgive me?”
Before Sylvia could fully react, Joanna suddenly dropped to her knees with a dramatic thud. “Sylvia,” she pleaded tearfully, “I’m kneeling before you just like you asked. But please, I truly hope you can forgive me.”
At that moment, both Byron and Liana’s eyes widened in shock.
TeddyBot nailed every prediction!
Had it not been for TeddyBot’s warning, they would have indeed fallen for Joanna’s act–the way she played the victim made it seem like Sylvia was the one forcing her to kneel.
Sylvia recoiled in disgust, taking a few steps back. “Joanna, don’t kneel before me. It won’t change a damn thing!”
Joanna scrambled forward on her knees and desperately clutched Sylvia’s leg, sobbing. “Sylvia, if you still refuse to forgive me, I’ll stay kneeling right
here!”
“Hey, check this out!” chirped the TeddyBot. “Joanna’s acting again! I can totally predict her next move–she’s definitely going to give Sylvia’s thigh a hard pinch to piss her off!”
When the TeddyBot’s voice sounded again, Byron and Liana exchanged a stunned glance, their eyes wide with disbelief.
After all, these were just Al–generated predictions–hardly reliable or logical–so neither Byron nor Liana really believed them.
At that exact moment, Sylvia felt a vicious pinch on her thigh. Her head jerked down and she glared at Joanna.
‘Seriously? Pulling this kind of stunt right now?‘ Sylvia fumed inwardly.
She could see right through Joanna’s act–Joanna was just trying to provoke her and make everyone pity her even more!
A cold glint flashed in Sylvia’s eyes. She couldn’t care less what Byfon and Liana thought, and didn’t mind if they misunderstood her.
So in the next instant, she delivered a sharp kick to Joanna’s shoulder, which made her fall backward with a thud and wail,
“Sylvia, why did you hit me? I already apologized to you!”
Joanna scrambled up from the floor with a sob, her eyes swimming with tears as she cast a pleading look at Byron and Liana.
She was bullied by Sylvia–surely Byron and Liana would speak up for her, right?
However, to her astonishment, Byron and Liana stood frozen in place, their faces icy and utterly unmoved.
Byron narrowed his eyes and snapped, “Joanna, cut the act!”
Joanna’s eyes widened in disbelief. Even after all this, Byron showed not an ounce of sympathy,
She sniffled, instinctively turning to Liana with tear–filled eyes. “Aunt Liana…” she choked out.
“Joanna, your constant underhanded tricks are really getting on my nerves. I’m exhausted–just go,” Liana said coldly.
Joanna’s eyes widened in utter disbelief. She couldn’t believe that even Liana, who had always taken her side, would say something so harsh.
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Chapter 188
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Zack shouted, “Get out, you nasty woman! Stop framing my mom–our whole family hates you!”
Zack, also wearing a Bluetooth earpiece, had heard every prediction from Teddy Bot. Unable to contain himself any longer, he stormed over and forcefully shoved Joanna toward the living room exit.
“We have all seen through you! Get out now!”
The moment Zack spat those words, panic washed over Joanna.
‘What the hell is going on with them? There’s no way they could’ve seen me pinch Sylvia’s thigh–so how come it feels like they all know exactly what I did? Why is everyone blaming me all of a sudden?‘ She wondered.
AD
