Chapter 222 Impulsive Vow To An Enigmatic Husband

• Hilary said, “The photo only captures the back view of President Hartley and this lady. Even though we can’t see their faces, Hartley’s license plate is crystal clear. Whoever took this shot is convinced it’s President Hartley and his wife. I’ve sent the picture to your email; you can take a peek.” Cornelia opened her email and checked the photo. The tall man in white shirt and black trousers was undeniably Marcus, but the woman in the picture was her. This was a shot taken just as they changed clothes and were getting into the car! If she had been in her work clothes when they got into the car, even strangers wouldn’t mistake them for a couple. But she had changed her outfit that day and had let her hair down, so it was easy for people to mistakenly think she was Marcus‘ wife. If his wife saw this photo, she would be in hot water. Comelia felt like she was screwed. If Marcus heard the news, he would surely give her the boot. She quickly decided, “We need to nip this in the bud through PR. We can’t let this photo spread.” However, Marcus suddenly snatched her phone and told Hilary, “We need PR, but don’t wipe the photo from all the websites. You need to post a message on the Hartley Group’s official website ASAP, saying that my wife and I just want to live a normal life. We are not too showy, and we hope people respect our private life and stop taking sneaky shots.” He didn’t outright admit that the woman in the photo was his wife, but his drift was clear.
• Once he finished, he hung up without even checking if Hilary had understood. Cornelia hastily said, “The woman in the photo is me.” Marcus replied, “I know it’s you.” Cornelia was almost in tears, “Then why would you let this news spread? How would you explain it to your wife if she sees it? And what about Jeremy, how am I supposed to explain this to him?” “No explanation needed. They would understand.” To reassure Cornelia, Marcus gently ruffled her hair, “A lot of people have been trying to sneak shots of me and my wife recently, so I thought it would be better to release some photos ourselves at the right time.” However, his reassurance did not comfort Cornelia, but rather made her more terrified. She took a step back, “Are you saying that this photo was deliberately taken? And you deliberately posted it online?” Marcus nodded, “Yes.” Cornelia seemed to understand his intentions. He was using her as a scapegoat to protect his wife. He had her try on clothes and taste food for his wife, and she had put up with it. But now, he took things too far, even using her as a stand–in for his wife. He was worried that the media would disrupt his wife’s normal life. But he didn’t care if people recognized her as Cornelia in the photo, or consider the trouble it could cause her. Even though Cornelia felt stronger than when she was in college, she was not sure if she could handle another media storm. Cornelia felt cold inside, but she somehow managed to maintain a professional smile, “President Hartley, if you plan to do this sort of thing in the future, could you please give me a heads up?” Marcus sensed something was off with Cornelia, but couldn’t read anything from her facial expression, “Alright. They’re here, let’s go have dinner.” Marcus was just her boss.
• Looking out for her wasn’t really his duties. Cornelia got that and quickly adjusted her mindset, “Alright.” Abigail, an internet junkie, had also seen the news. As soon as she got out of the car, she ran over to Cornelia, “Cornelia, this is big news! Somebody snapped a pic of you with President Hartley and mistook you for his wife.” Comelia chuckled, “We already know.” Abigail continued, “The views on this news are skyrocketing. In no time, a ton of people will see it. If this keeps up, a lot of people might think you’re really his wife. Isn’t your company’s PR department going to do something about it?” Leonardo chimed in from the side, “When have you ever seen any paparazzi shols of Marc? If he doesn’t want people to snap his picture, no one can. Even if they do, it wouldn’t get published, let alone cause such a stir online.” Abigail looked confused, “What do you mean?” Zack, being a guy, understood Leonardo’s point completely, “President Hartley, are you using Cornelia as a smokescreen? We get that you love your wife and want to protect her from public exposure, but why should Nelly bear the brunt of it all? We want to protect our Nelly too.” Comelia quickly pulled Zack aside, “Zack, I’m President Hartley’s assistant, it’s part of my job.