My Ex-Wife Is A Big Shot In Disguise novel Chapter 28

"Miss, that's true, but how is Rose Garden not in the wrong? Let's reason this out!" the man holding a stick argued forcefully.

Madison lowered her gaze to glance at what he held. Then, she quirked her lips and said, "In other words, you want to reason with me?"

The man quietly hid his hands behind his back.

Then, there was a crisp clattering sound of steel rolling on the cement ground.

The sound continued until it got wedged by a stone, and the whole place turned deadly quiet.

Silence fell over.

After a while, the sound of the man swallowing could be heard. "Right!" he said. "Let's talk sense!"

Madison nodded and said, "Alright! So, tell me. How is Rose Garden in the wrong?"

Her indifferent demeanor instantly ignited the man's temper, boosting his previous lack of confidence.

He thought, 'So, their chef doesn't think they are at fault even up to this point? Her good looks are in vain!'

"Miss, you seem sensible, so let me explain," the man said. "The car accident has nothing to do with your establishment, that's true. However, it's not appropriate to drive customers away for no reason, isn't it?"

Madison lowered her eyes to glance at her wristwatch.

It was a quarter past seven.

This was around the time when workers got off work. They were either waiting for transport home or on their way home.

On the way home, everyone anticipated some gossip.

As she guessed, the number of people entering the livestream room rapidly increased.

Even when several media outlets were streaming and splitting the audience, the real-time views in a single live broadcast room reached several million viewers.

Gradually, the various cameras shifted from capturing the standoff between two individuals to focusing solely on Madison.

Only her petite figure remained on the screen. Her gaze was lowered to look at her wristwatch.

A lone figure, yet with an overwhelming presence.

In just a few short minutes, the once one-sided online opinion surprisingly shifted with this image. People started to doubt the "big-time restaurant is a bully" narrative regarding Rose Garden.

After all, only those with enough confidence dared to do so.

In the hospital, many people were also watching this live broadcast on their phones.

This included Leo, who was just about to leave.

He had come last night when Sally was injured and hospitalized. He had just left the company and stopped by to take a look.

He was not interested to know about the commotion initially, but while driving, he suddenly remembered Madison was working at Rose Garden. He took out his phone involuntarily.

Just one glance, and he could not look away.

In the livestream, her eyes were lowered, yet she was completely different from the obedient and subservient girl in his memory. Her straight back was enough to reveal a streak of defiance.

With another lift of her gaze, that streak of defiance aligned with her boldness of slamming someone down in the middle of the dance floor last night.

Leo suddenly felt as if he had never gotten to know her seriously in the past twenty-plus years.

And an even bolder thought slowly emerged...

He thought, 'Perhaps the divorce isn't something I've long prepared, but rather a move that she has long planned.'

Leo lit a cigarette, silently watching the radiant and beautiful face on the screen. Suddenly, he let out a sneer.

He thought, 'I've been fooled.'

Madison, who was in front of the camera then, was unaware of the magnitude of the turmoil she had caused.

She lifted her gaze. Her tone was still calm as she spoke.

She said, "Since everyone believes that Rose Garden bullies people because it is a huge establishment, we will now release all the surveillance footage from last night's dispute between our head chef and Miss Hale, along with the videos simultaneously recorded by our staff members and Miss Hale.

"Of course, you are free to doubt if the videos have been edited. We will also provide the source files of the videos. Those who are skeptical, like our friends from the media, can make copies and verify the truth.

"Right or wrong, please make your judgment after watching it. Rose Garden will correct our mistakes if we are in the wrong. However, if the fault doesn't lie with us, we won't back down!"

After her impactful statements were delivered, she took a step back.

The group behind, dressed in chef's attire, immediately stepped forward to set up the projector and playback equipment on the elevated platform. This is so that the protestors below would be able to watch the videos at the earliest possible moment.

When Sally's unreasonable and angry expression appeared before everyone, the black words on the white background signages they held up seemed to mock them in return.

A man thought, 'So, the truth behind the person I like and defend without regard for personal safety is like this!'

The man at the forefront felt utterly embarrassed.

He thought about turning and leaving, but he also wanted to see if there would be a turnaround subsequently.

He thought, 'But the source of the argument stemmed from her. What turnaround can there possibly be? Surely it wasn't Rose Garden who forced her to demand the retired chef to cook, right? She also mentioned that the food at Rose Garden was terrible. If that's the case, are there any delicious dishes in the world then?'

He clenched his fists tightly and was seeking a place to vent. Greg, who was staring at him all along, suddenly rushed out and held his hand. Greg suppressed his temper and spoke using heartfelt words.

He said, "Young man, I understand your feelings, but please don't ruin my signboard. My forefather wrote the words while the carvings were by my maternal great-grandparents. This is a testament to the skills passed down from generation to generation. Nowadays, no one in the country has the skills. It's good that you young folks like new things and trends. I support following trends, but you mustn't destroy old things."

"I..." That man's frustration suddenly gave way to helplessness, and he looked at Madison in bewilderment.

The latter, however, gazed at that old signboard, looking composed and solemn.

It was only then the man understood why she said that if he destroyed this signboard, he would not be able to compensate for the loss even if he were to lose everything he owned.

The two words "Rose Garden" were written gracefully. The surrounding ravines were like undulating mountains.

From a distance, it might not seem much, but upon closer inspection, one could see an elaborately carved wooden painting. Even the expressions of the diners who were seated were carved clearly.

It was no wonder Greg had been so worried about this signboard.

Madison sighed, feeling stunned. She then comforted Greg.

"Don't worry," she said. "He won't smash it. But indeed, good things need to be protected. I'll think of a way to display the signboard while preventing it from being easily damaged."

Greg, still concerned, lifted his foot and kicked Justin.

"Let's take down the signboard today and put up something durable," he said. "I would rather donate this signboard for research purposes than let it be destroyed."

After speaking, he walked into the house angrily, placing his hands behind his back.

Justin did not dare to delay. He promptly took down the signboard.

The situation on-site was nearly resolved. Madison intended to go in, but before taking a step, she was stopped.

It was the same man who spoke while making copies of the videos.

"Miss, with so many people here, you don't intend to resume business today and make money, huh?" he said. "We held you up for a day from conducting business. You don't intend to fleece us for a meal to cool off, huh?"

These words made Madison laugh in annoyance.

She thought, 'Having such fans, Sally is fucking lucky!'

"You've reminded me," she said.

She hesitated for a moment. Then, she turned to walk towards the camera that was still live-streaming.

"Can I borrow the camera for a moment?" she asked.

"Um. Yes. Sure."

Her gentle voice and radiant smile stunned the man holding the camera.

He nodded in a daze. His camera was already focused on Madison's face. It was a total close-up shot.

Even so, the face on the screen had no flaws. It was just a beautiful face that was captivating.

Madison was unaware of the multitude of screams beyond the camera view. Even more so, she did not know how wild the comments were in the live chat, almost causing the live stream channel to lag.

She bowed gracefully.

"I'm sorry for any inconvenience caused," she said. "Right here, I'd like to use this media's live broadcast to announce something."