Glynnis' ears were ringing, as if she'd been struck by lightning. She was frozen in place.
“Mom, save me! Mom!”
Seeing her daughter being dragged away by the police, Elspeth threw all pretense of a wealthy lady's dignity to the wind. She even tried to obstruct the police!
“My daughter is innocent! How could you, as police officers, handle the case like this? How could you mistakenly arrest an innocent person?!”
Jareth watched the overly dramatic mother-daughter duo with cold eyes, silently hoping the police would hurry up and spare them the noise.
“Elspeth, if you don't let go, we'll charge you with obstructing justice!” The policeman's tone was icy towards Elspeth.
“My daughter was framed! By her, by the daughter of the Fairhaven family, Edith!” Elspeth shouted, both terrified and furious, her gaze fixed on Edith with a malicious intensity.
“What does this have to do with me? Even if I did forge the necklace, it's just a case of copyright infringement. A little compensation and it's over. But I didn't get involved in any of the commercial secret leaks!”
Edith's words were cut short as her heart gave a painful jolt. She slapped a hand over her mouth.
Damn, she'd slipped up! In her haste to distance herself from Glynnis, she'd let the cat out of the bag about the necklace!
She felt like a target, a pair of sharp painful arrows piercing her chest.
Edith slowly turned around, meeting Jareth's gaze full of anger, shock, and disappointment.
“Mr. Jareth! Your sister is not as innocent as you think! She's full of deceit and she's lied to both you and me!”
Glynnis' shriek echoed through the Fairhaven estate, chilling as a wailing banshee. “Edith! You used me as a scapegoat. I'll never forgive you, just you wait!”
“Edith! Quick, come to me!” Mrs. Jareth called, clearly frightened by Elspeth and her daughter.
“Mummy!”
Edith, still in shock, tried to run towards her mother, but was forcefully stopped by Jareth grabbing her wrist.
“Jareth.” She was trembling.
“Edith, why did you do it? Was it to get back at Ms. Evadne?” Jareth asked, his eyes red with anger.
“It’s all Glynnis' nonsense!”
“You're still denying it!”
Jareth bellowed, his grip tightening, making Edith cry out in pain. “Ouch, Jareth, let go! It hurts! Mummy, help me!”
“Jareth! Let her go! Are you trying to break your sister's wrist?”
Mrs. Jareth rushed over in a panic, prying Jareth's hand off her daughter and pulling Edith into a protective embrace. “Can't we talk this out?”
“Talk it out? I gave her a chance to explain, but what was she doing?”
Jareth was seething, staring at Edith's tear-streaked face, which still held an angelic innocence.
A sharp pain echoed in his chest, spreading through his nerves. “She's been lying and plotting with Glynnis, trying to frame Ms. Evadne! What did Evadne do wrong? Why are you targeting her? Because she's Thaddeus' ex-wife? Is that your reason?”
“Enough, Jareth! You've watched Edith grow up. Don't you know how kind and good she is?”
Mrs. Jareth soothed her daughter, who was shivering in her arms. “Even if Edith made a bad decision, it's because she was tricked by that Abernathy girl! How can you blame your own sister? If word gets out, Edith will also be held responsible!”
“She secretly went to Aetheria on a private jet before Glynnis and Ada's contract signing. When I asked her where she was going, she lied about going to a fashion show. If you truly are innocent, why did you lie about your trip?”
Jareth's voice was as deep and thunderous as a storm. “You've already admitted the necklace was forged by you. How can you deny it now? If our father knew how low you've stooped, he'd be turning in his grave!”
“Jareth! How dare you insult your sister like this!” Mrs. Jareth's eyes welled up with tears at the mention of her late husband.
“Jareth! You bastard!” Edith was both embarrassed and angry, overwhelmed by fear and injustice. “Evadne has repeatedly embarrassed me in front of Thaddeus and everyone else! What's wrong with giving her a taste of her own medicine? You're so self-righteous now, but you're just standing up for Evadne! You only have eyes for that woman. I'm nothing to you anymore! But no matter how much you pander to Evadne, she'll never care for you. You're just a bootlicker who'll end up with nothing!”
“Edith!”
Jareth's red-rimmed eyes bore into her. His single utterance of her name was enough to make her shrink back into her mother's arms.
“Even if Evadne couldn't become your sister-in-law, she's not someone you can hurt or insult. And I believe in Evadne's character. She may be stubborn, heartless, and vengeful, but she would never attack or hurt anyone unprovoked. If what you said is true, it's likely you were the one who started this feud!”
Edith was so angry she could spit blood!
“And one more thing, you should give up on Thaddeus. He likes Evadne. Anyone with eyes can see that, except him.” Jareth smirked.
Edith was so angry her face turned red as a beet, she could feel the bile rising in her throat.
"Tomorrow, you're going to apologize to Ms. Evadne with me, face to face."
Jareth gave his cold command and then turned to leave.
"Jareth! Have you gone mad? Why should I apologize to Evadne! I won't!" Edith screamed hysterically.
"If you don't apologize to her, then I'll send you back to Aetheria tonight. Without my permission, you don't even think about stepping foot in Elmsworth!"
Jareth was so resolute that even Mrs. Jareth was taken aback. She had heard rumors of her son's demeanor, but when did he become so cold-hearted towards his only sister?
All for the sake of Thaddeus's ex-wife, Evadne?
"Jareth, come back!"
Edith was in tears, her voice hoarse from shouting. But Jareth, who had always doted on her, didn't even look back.
At midnight, at the Sapphire Nights Club.
Jareth sat alone in the VIP room, drinking one shot after another.
When he thought about Glynnis's accusations against Edith, Jareth's heart ached so badly that he could feel it pulsating. The liquor churned in his stomach, making him feel like he was burning up inside.
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