Chapter 6

"Nae, watch out!" James yelled. his pupils instantly constricting. Without hesitation, he rushed to Naomi as the chandelier fell, shielding her with his body. The chandelier landed heavily on his shoulder with a muffled thud. The broken shards flew everywhere, and all hell broke loose with guests screaming and running amok. Jocelyn ran over. Through her sobs, she said, "How are you feeling, James? Does it hurt? Let's go to the hospital." James looked at Naomi, who was shivering in his arms. He tried his best to steady his voice as he said, "There's no need. It's just a minor injury." However, Jocelyn was adamant. "No. You have to go to the hospital." Exasperated, James ultimately got his assistant to send him to the hospital. At the same time, he urged Jocelyn, "Jocelyn, take Nae home. If she's alone, she might get scared." Jocelyn's face twisted in an instant. "You're still concerned about her at a time like this?" "Be good." James' face was pale from the pain. "I brought her up since she was young." Jocelyn gritted her teeth, tugged Naomi's wrist in frustration, and yanked her into the car. Naomi was still in a daze, so all she could do was follow Jocelyn mindlessly. Unexpectedly, when they were halfway home, Jocelyn suddenly demanded that Joe Clark, the driver, stop the car. She spat at Naomi through gritted teeth, "I still have some matters to settle. I'm not going home. You can walk home on your own." Joe couldn't help but interject, "It's really cold outside, Ms. Mentley—" Jocelyn interrupted him sternly. "Who do you think will be the future lady of the Payne family? Don't you know who you should listen to?" Joe didn't dare utter another word. All he could do was watch Naomi get down from the car and walk into endless darkness. Naomi finally arrived at the Payne residence after walking for five hours alone. She was disheveled after falling into a water-filled manhole on the way back. It was too dark to see, and her clothes were soaked, with her hair sticking messily to her face. But before she could catch her breath, she saw the Payne residence engulfed in flames. Naomi was stunned. Before she could react, a few bodyguards rushed over to her. One of them grabbed her wrist and said, "Ms. Summers, you committed arson, causing Ms. Mentley to suffer a third-degree burn. "She is currently undergoing emergency surgery at the hospital. Mr. Payne ordered us to take you there now." Naomi was in a state of shock. She shook her head blankly and muttered, "I didn't…" However, the bodyguards didn't care for her explanation. They shipped her off in a car and sped the entire way to the hospital. … At the hospital, James, his left shoulder wrapped in a bandage, was carrying his black suit in his left hand. As he leaned against the walkway railing, his expression was so dark it looked like a storm was brewing on his face. When he saw Naomi, who was brought in by the bodyguards, he glared coldly at her. With repressed anger in his voice, he snarled, "Would you have exploded if you didn't cause trouble for just one day, Naomi? "What did Jocelyn do to you? How could you set that fire and burn her so badly like this?" Naomi shook her head. "It wasn't me. I didn't—" James cut her off and roared icily, "Enough! There's concrete evidence regarding this. If it wasn't you, are you saying Jocelyn deliberately set herself on fire just to frame you?" Naomi wanted to explain further, but suddenly, the door of the operating theatre swung open with a bang. The doctor rushed out and solemnly said, "Mr. Payne, Ms. Mentley's injuries are too grave. She needs a skin graft. Before she slipped into a coma, she left you a message, saying that you've spoiled Ms. Summers rotten, and that it can't go on. "This time, Ms. Summers would have to personally pay for her mistakes." Instantly, everyone understood what Jocelyn's message meant. She wanted to use Naomi's skin for a skin graft.