The Unwanted Bride: Claimed by the Billionaire - Chapter 81: Chapter 81

Lauretta’s POV
“Mom!!!!!!”
“Rhodaaaaaaa!” I screamed at the top of my voice, fighting the tears that were threatening to roll down my cheeks.
“What’s going on? Why did you scream my name that way?” Rhoda said as she finally made her way to the living room. I was just right in front of the TV so she took slow steps towards me.
Since I was too stunned to give her a response. She took a glance at the tv and from the headline, I guess she had an idea of why I called her out.
“Shawn gave a press conference?” She said in disbelief. Yeah, I was surprised too because this was the first time he had ever addressed rumors that were not related to his business.
“Are you sure that bitch is really my stepsister?” I turned my attention to my mother, still fighting my tears.
“What do you mean, Lori? Of course, she is. She has always been the step-sister, the bastard child, you are the loved one, and that is why you’ve had a life better than hers. Why are we even talking about her right now?”
I shook my head. “I’m probably the step-sister because I don’t know how much longer I can bear this pain. Just last night, we were happy and celebrating, thinking my time had come. Only for me to watch this shitty news. What the actual hell?” I gestured towards the television.
“What did he say? And why didn’t you call me when it was airing?”
“Shawn loves her!” My lips quivered as tears rolled down my cheek. But I brought my hand up immediately and wiped the tears away.
“What do you mean? Don’t tell me you’ve joined the clueless group of people to believe whatever it is that they see in the media?”
“Come on Mom. I just watched it. I saw it with my own eyes!” Since the broadcast had ended, the channel was on a commercial break. I reached for the remote just by the side of the TV and lowered the volume.
“I saw it in his eyes. He spoke about her in a really possessive way!”
“Are you sure, baby? Please don’t take that to heart. He is probably doing that just to control the damage. Did he show up with her?”
“Spare me that talk, Mom. There are no damages to be controlled. I should probably look for the streamed video for you so you can watch it.”
“He denied all that Stella said in her post. He only agreed to hit her yesterday and that was because he attacked Cassie at Travous's party.”
Mom stared in disbelief. “Was Cassie there?” She asked again.
“No, She wasn’t. But he came to the podium to defend her. You should see the passion in his eyes as he spoke about her. You needed to hear the way he threatened to harm individuals and media houses, should they spread information without proof about that bitch!”
“He made it known that he is taking Stella to court and most importantly, he mentioned that anyone waiting to see him get divorced from Cassie would be waiting forever. I really want to believe it isn’t what I’m thinking, mama. This is not fair.” I burst into tears. I moved away from where I was and made my way towards the couch. I jammed my ass against the soft cushion and wiped tears away from my eyes.
My mom walked up to me and took a seat by my side.
“Your feelings are valid baby, but I still think this is a strategy to reduce the harm to his reputation.”
I scoffed. “You call this a strategy? Shawn wasn’t even bothered about himself and all they said about him being a violent person and a human trafficker. He was more concerned about Cassie, telling us how he was going to fight for her and he warned us to stay away from his private affairs.”
“Well, the good thing about the confession is that he is not a violent man which is a great relief. But he spoke as though he was really into Cassie. This better be a joke. This better be a made-up story because there is no way that bitch is going to have a better life than me!”
“Please calm down, baby.”
“No!” I sniffled at my mom’s request, shaking my head.
“That’s all I have literally been doing since the beginning of this madness. How long do I have to put up with this for? Time is not by my side anymore. I want my own happy family like right now!!!!”
“I know, baby. I’m tired of this phase too! There is nothing I want more than us to live the dream life we’ve been praying for. I respect your words and opinions but isn’t it ridiculous to believe Shawn really likes her? I mean, she literally has nothing to offer to him. Besides, she has been married to old hags in the past. Shawn may have sounded sincere in the broadcast but I am still convinced that it’s all a joke. He had to do that to protect his name and business.”
“Besides, you need to cheer up! Have you forgotten that today is the day we go to see Donald? Our appointment is just a few hours away! Be positive and I promise that we are going to iron out any issues of concern with Donald.”
“Yeah, I forgot about that!” I mumbled, wiping tears off the corner of my eyes.
“I feel a little disappointed seeing you in tears. You are feeling this way for your step sister that isn’t even worth your pity? Come on darling, we can do better. We didn’t come this far to give up! The whole world knows Cassie is the daughter of a debtor and there is evidence to affirm that. I don’t care what Shawn said but I am sure he is not proud of it.”
“That’s probably why he didn’t bring her to the press conference.” Mom added.
“Okay! I’m just a fool for crying. I was just a bit tired and overwhelmed. I thought he really liked her. But now that you’ve opened my eyes to see that I was only being jealous, what is the next step now?”
“This meeting with Donald is looking like our final hope. I don’t care what we need to do, we need to do it right and the plan has to work.”
Mom smiled proudly, “Trust me, my love. I’ve got it all covered.”