From Forgotten Wife To Fierce Queen - Chapter 37: Chapter 37

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Dominick said. He crouched in front of Marissa, trying to check if she was hurt.
Marissa, however, ignored her pain and threw herself into his arms. "Dom... I was so scared just now..." Her voice trembled as she clung to him.
Dominick hesitated, his arms awkwardly suspended in mid-air. But seeing her disheveled and crying so miserably, he finally softened. He wrapped his arms around her back and gently reassured her, "It's okay. I won't let anything happen to you."
As he spoke, his gaze instinctively flicked toward Paisley. She didn't so much as glance his way. By now, she had dismounted her horse and was laughing with her daughter. His face darkened at the sight, and he felt a faint pang of discomfort gnawing at him.
Grayson's sobbing voice broke the moment, asking, "How exactly did you fall off the horse, Marissa?" He looked genuinely concerned. At the same time, a sense of confusion lingered—after all, that white horse had been personally selected by their father. It couldn't possibly have gone wild.
Alexis chimed in, "Yeah. Why would a perfectly calm horse suddenly spook?"
This wasn't just any place—it was Axion Enterprises' newly opened high-end club. Its clientele consisted exclusively of the elite, and to cater to them, every horse here had been meticulously chosen. While their abilities might vary, their temperaments were guaranteed. Something like this simply shouldn't have happened.
Marissa buried her face in Dominick's chest, crying pitifully. Alexis suddenly had a lightbulb moment. Like someone who'd uncovered a big secret, she exclaimed, "Could someone have sabotaged you, Marissa?"
Alexis' words immediately drew attention. With dramatic flair, she turned to look at Paisley, who was entirely uninvolved in the commotion. The implication was obvious. Everyone's gaze followed hers, landing on Paisley.
To justify Alexis' suspicion, Marissa stopped crying at that exact moment. Her eyes were red as she choked out, "Ms. Sutton, I get that you wanted to win, but this was such a low blow."
"So it really was her." Alexis shot to her feet, taking on the role of Marissa's fiercely loyal best friend. She stormed over to Paisley with righteous indignation.
Paisley chuckled coldly, visibly unimpressed. She handed Serena back to Maria and strolled over. Towering over Marissa, Paisley looked down at her messy state and sneered, "Are you saying I made you fall off your horse?"
Paisley always knew Marissa was scheming, but she had assumed Marissa's petty tricks were limited to stirring up drama between her and Dominick. She hadn't expected Marissa to stoop so low, to the point of harming herself.
She was sure that fall earlier must have hurt Marissa badly. Luckily, the ground in that area was soft, with no rocks nearby. Otherwise, Marissa would've suffered far more.
However, Paisley realized she had underestimated just how low Marissa could stoop. She had assumed that Marissa made the horse go berserk simply to disrupt the race and avoid admitting defeat. But Paisley hadn't expected the real bombshell to be waiting right here.
Grayson suddenly rushed over and shoved Paisley hard. Spreading his arms protectively in front of Marissa, he shouted, "It's definitely you. You're the one who hurt Marissa. You're nothing but a wicked woman."
He then reflected bitterly, 'Back then, it was Paisley who gave Marissa that cake with mango in it, causing the allergic reaction that nearly cost Marissa her life and landed her in the hospital. Afterward, Paisley tried to avoid responsibility by insisting on divorcing Dad.
'And now, she almost got Marissa killed again. You really can't expect anything good from Paisley. She always finds a way to let you down.'
Paisley stumbled back after being shoved by Grayson. The anger burning in his gaze immediately reminded her of the day before her birthday four years ago.
Back then, Paisley had baked a fruitcake herself for her birthday the next day. Somehow, Marissa ended up eating it. Paisley didn't know Marissa was allergic to mango—just like Dominick and Grayson didn't remember that the next day was Paisley's birthday.
Paisley remembered how Grayson had looked at her back then. It was exactly just as furious as he was now, convinced she had deliberately given Marissa the mango cake to hurt the girl he liked.
Dominick had believed in Paisley's innocence at the time. Even so, he spent her entire birthday at the hospital with Marissa, completely forgetting about her special day. Even after all this time, the memory of that day still weighed heavily on Paisley's heart.
As Paisley was lost in her thoughts, Alexis was already speaking, her voice firm and accusatory.
Alexis said firmly, "Are you still going to deny it? It was you. You were scared Marissa would outshine you, so you sabotaged her. When she rode past you, you spooked her horse and caused her to fall off."
Paisley couldn't help but nod in admiration at those words. There really was some truth to them. "Do you have any proof?" she asked, utterly calm, showing none of the anxiety one might expect from someone whose misdeeds had been exposed.
"Proof? What more proof do we need?" Alexis shot back. "Everyone here saw it with their own eyes. That's proof enough."
The crowd then murmured in agreement. It wasn't that they couldn't be bothered to find evidence—it was that they didn't care to. They'd rather side with Marissa. As for the truth? It didn't matter to them.
Just like Alexis said, they'd all witnessed Marissa's horse go wild just as she was about to overtake Paisley. And Paisley seemed almost prepared, not only avoiding the chaos entirely but also leaping her horse cleanly out of the arena.
It was such a flawless reaction that some even thought not even the renowned equestrian Yohan could have pulled it off.
Just then, a voice cut through the chatter. "Maybe there's been some kind of misunderstanding." What shocked everyone wasn't just the words themselves but the person who'd said them—Dominick.
Alexis, who had been fervently championing Marissa just moments ago, froze in disbelief, wondering if she'd misheard him. Even Marissa herself hadn't expected him to take Paisley's side at a time like this.
Marissa looked at Dominick with a pitiful expression, her beautiful eyes brimming with grievance. "Dom...but my horse was fine before. How come it freaked out right when I was about to overtake her..."
He didn't believe Paisley would stoop to such dirty tricks, but he also didn't think Marissa would falsely accuse her. So, he could only say, "There's probably some misunderstanding here. Maybe something really is wrong with the horse."
"But you were the one who chose the horse for me. How could there be a problem?" Marissa's voice was tinged with frustration.
Dominick had chosen the horse himself, so it couldn't possibly have any issues. Marissa was kind-hearted and wouldn't try to frame Paisley. Thus, that left only one possibility—Paisley had to be the problem.
Paisley, unfazed and unbothered, raised an eyebrow. "If there's a problem, why don't we ask the horse?"
As she spoke, a staff member led the horse over with an apologetic expression. "I'm so sorry. The horse got spooked and caused your injury. I've already contacted David and the medical team—they're on their way."
Yet, no one paid attention to the staff member's explanation. All eyes were fixed on Paisley instead.
Alexis crossed her arms and said sharply, "The horse is perfectly fine now. Think you can make it freak out again?"
Someone in the crowd echoed her thoughts, pondering, 'Exactly. The horse was fine before, and it's fine now. It only freaked out when it was near Paisley. Nobody would believe her unless she can make it act up again.'
Paisley chuckled, "Sure, let's make it act up again."
Earlier, while everyone else was fussing over Marissa, Paisley had noticed something unusual about the horse. The white stallion had been repeatedly swishing its tail against its right hindquarter.
Stepping closer, Paisley raised her hand and gave a firm slap to the spot where the tail had been brushing. The horse immediately let out a shrill neigh and went berserk once more.