Capítulo 76: Chapter 75: Making the Will Public
Zarah and Hope went and had their lunch nearby. It was a newly opened barbecue restaurant.
They had their order and the staff helped them in grilling the meat while they waited at their table.
Hope heaved a sigh after she saw her sister in a better mood.
"I'm glad that you're in a better mood now," she said and Zarah sighed.
"The flowers helped," Zarah said while looking at the two bouquets placed on the chair.
"Was it the flowers? Or was it brother-in-law?" Hope teased her and Zarah's face blushed hard as she listened to Hope's teasing.
"So, how's the first night as Mrs. Lockhart? Is brother-in-law gentle in bed or rough?" Hope raised her brows like she was serious with her question.
The staff looked at the two ladies in disbelief and then apologized.
She didn't expect that one of them was already married.
"Stop it!" Zarah said while hiding a giggle as flashbacks of what happened last night came to her.
At the same time, she looked at the female staff who was grilling the meat whose face turned red.
Hope giggled and they erupted into laughter.
"You're still so young for this topic, Hope," Zarah said as if she was scolding her.
Hope then reasoned, "Come on! I'm twenty and you're twenty, too."
"Are you serious?" Zarah thought that Hope was still young for adult things.
"Cole confessed that he likes me and wanted to pursue me."
"Really?" Zarah asked in surprise.
"Yes. But I turned him down. I have no experience with dating and I have heard from my friends back at Sterlington that it would escalate to another level pretty quickly."
Zarah giggled after she heard Hope's confession.
"You dummy. Do you like him?" Zarah curiously asked.
Hope looked at her and sighed.
"I don't know. He's a good man. I knew him since childhood. I like hanging out with him. However, I can't seem to date him."
Zarah thought that Hope was confused about her feelings. Zarah saw how her eyes sparkled when she looked at Cole.
Cole's deep care for Hope was evident, too. He was so gentle to her and his attention was focused on her whenever she was around.
"What was his reaction when you rejected him?"
"He said that it's fine. But then he left. I guess I hurt his feelings."
"You did hurt his feelings, Hope. You know what, if he's feelings for you are deep, he would not get over this heartbreak that easily. However, if his feelings for you are that deep, he will wait unless you'll do something that would make him stop waiting."
"That's what I'm afraid of. He texted me just now and he said that he'll wait."
"I see. Then, why don't you give each other a chance? Love is not always the reason for dating. Others would use this opportunity to test their feelings for that person. Others broke up because they found out that they would rather stay as friends. Just explain your intention of dating. I don't think Cole is an unreasonable man."
"Thank you." Zarah thanked the staff as she was done grilling the barbecue.
After the staff left, Hope was in deep thought.
"Don't be pressured to know that adult stuff yet. You'll learn it together with the right person."
"Still, it's up to you to listen to my advice or not. Do whatever makes you happy."
Hope nodded as she listened to Zarah.
She grabbed her phone and sent him a message.
[Let's talk tonight.]
Zarah heaved a sigh as she looked at Hope.
Zarah turned her attention back to the flowers. She thought the flowers should be put in the vase immediately so they would stay fresh.
So, she decided to call Julie to pick up these flowers and bring them home. Julie asked for the address and told her that she would arrive after fifteen minutes.
After fifteen minutes, Julie arrived. Zarah asked her to join and eat lunch with them since she was already there.
"Mistress, I have already eaten lunch."
"Really? What a pity. Anyways, here are the flowers. Put one in my room."
"Okay, Mistress!" Julie received the flowers and carried them with care.
"You don't have to pick me up from the company later, Julie," Zarah said and Julie frowned.
"Why Mistress?"
"I'll be sleeping over with the girls tonight."
"Oh! Okay, then. I shall prepare the clothes you'll need for the sleepover tonight."
"Thank you, Julie."
Julie then left the restaurant and went back to the mansion.
Meanwhile, Zarah and Hope finished their lunch as they still had a class at one in the afternoon.
They then called the female staff to settle the bill. Zarah grabbed her wallet and pulled out a couple of bills and then gave it to her.
"Keep the change as your tip."
"Thank you very much!"
"You're welcome." They then gathered their things and left the restaurant with a full stomachs.
Meanwhile, an article that claimed Zarah was a married woman was published on the forum.
It didn't take time for the article to gather a lot of views and reactions from their fellow students.
"This is terrible, sister," Hope said while reading the article.
"Stop reading them. It'll only ruin your mood," Zarah advised and Hope pursed her lips as she exited the article and kept her phone inside her bag.
They then entered the school gate and as expected, all eyes were on Zarah.
Some called Zarah a slut and gold-digger. Puking emojis spammed the comment section.
Some created a meme labeling Zarah a sl*t and wh*re.
Zarah grabbed her phone and took a screenshot.
Although the owners of those malicious comments were using a dummy account, it was easy for her to track the people behind them.
She messaged Olivia and asked for extra help.
She then called Elliott to look for an excellent lawyer as she was going to sue these people for cyberbullying.
Since they were trying to ruin her image, she decided to counterattack.
Zarah then called Isaiah's lawyer and asked him to publish the will.
The will was not published because of Zarah's request. She didn't want all eyes to be on her.
She was used to living a low-key lifestyle. Should they announce that she became an heiress worth a billion dollars, this would attract those dangerous people.
That was what she was trying to avoid.
However, now that things had come this far, she thought that publishing the will could save her from the trouble of defending herself from this slander.
Although some of the students attended the funeral with their parents and learned that she was Isaiah's adopted, they never imagined that she would be given a portion of the inheritance.
As expected, as soon as the will was published, it earned a lot of attention.
They suddenly became curious about Zarah's identity. When they realized that she was the girl who stood beside Isaiah's coffin during the funeral, they finally regretted how they ignored her that time.
It was their opportunity to get close to one of the Stevens yet they took the chance for granted. Who would imagine an adopted daughter inheriting a massive amount of wealth?
The students who saw the will felt conflicted.
Crystal felt like she was going to explode when she saw the will.
She could not believe it! A mere orphan was richer than her!
Who would believe the article now?
"No! This is not true!" Crystal was in denial.
Zarah saw her reaction from the hallway and she smirked.
She then turned around and prepare for her next class in the other department building.
Zarah entered her class peacefully and when her professor arrived, the class started immediately.
Their professor did not have any lectures as he was there to make corrections to their thesis papers.
Zarah submitted a soft copy and then she worked on the other section of her research.
After an hour and a half, the class ended.
Zarah thought that she could go home immediately. However, the dean of the Business Department summoned her into his office.
"You summoned me, Mrs. Richard?"
"Miss Jansen, come and have a seat," Mrs. Richard invited her and Zarah followed.
"What's wrong, Dean?"
"Well, there's a Business Management Undergraduates Summit next week at Sterlington City. Our department chose you as our representative."
"Next week?"
"Yes. I've discussed this matter with your other dean and she agreed," Mrs. Richard said with a hint of bitterness.
"Okay then."
Since it was already settled, then, she had no other choice but to agree.
Then, Mrs. Richard's face turned serious as she looked at Zarah.
Zarah should be nervous however she remained calm.
"One more thing." Mrs. Richard started.
"About the rumors."
Zarah sighed and apologized to the dean for the trouble it had caused.
"Mrs. Richard, rest assured, I did not do anything that violated the University Policy. Even though I'm married now, I won't slack off with my studies. My goal this year did not change," Zarah said with conviction.
After hearing Zarah's reassurance, Mrs. Richard then heaved a sigh of relief.
"Are you sure that your husband won't mind?", she probed.
"My husband is very understanding. He knew my priorities even though I did not mention them to him."
"Well, that's good to hear," Mrs. Richard heaved a sigh of relief.
She was worried that Zarah's husband was an unreasonable man.
"Is he the man in the photos?" she asked.
"Mrs. Richard, I don't date older men. If you're curious, you can come to our house and meet him," Zarah was trying to mess with Mrs. Richard.
Sure enough, Mrs. Richard looked embarrassed and tried to clear her throat awkwardly.
It was not her job to know everything about their student's private matters outside the campus.
"I hope the rumor did not bother him." She was worried that Zarah's husband would mess with the school because they failed to protect Zarah's reputation.
"It did but I coaxed him to not interfere. However, I will not also let this matter slide, Mrs. Richard. I'm already gathering evidence to sue the perpetrator," Zarah honestly said.
"Do you have a suspect?" Mrs. Richard asked.
"It's always the same person. She might have escaped the punishment last time but I'll make sure that she will not. I hope the school will not intervene." Zarah seriously looked at her and the latter shivered in fear.
Mrs. Richard gulped hard and tried to calm down herself.
"Very well. The school always sides with the truth," she reassured.
Zarah hummed in satisfaction.
"I never believed the rumors about you, Miss Jansen. However, now I'm glad that someone's there to protect you and your interest."
"That's right. It's always good to have someone to lean on. Don't worry, Mrs. Richard, should there be an opportunity, I'll introduce you to him."
"I'll look forward to it then."
After the conversation, Zarah left the Dean's Office and headed to the washroom first.
She then received a message from Olivia saying that her task was done and so she decided to call her.
"Okay. Let's discuss that tonight."
"Tonight?"
"I'll sleep over at your apartment tonight."
"Why?"
"Why, why? Are you hiding something?"
"Geez! I'm not hiding anything. We were so busy that we didn't have time to clean the apartment."
"Then, let's clean it together," Zarah suggested.
"Okay? But does brother-in-law not mind that you won't be home?"
"He's on a business trip and would come back after two days. I feel lonely. I need someone to warm my bed," Zarah spoke weirdly.
She knew that someone was following her.
***
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
OrieNovel
OrieNovel Breaking news! Zarah's cheating with her husband! Hahaha hahaha.
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