A Billionaire In Disguise

Chapter Fourty-Nine

At eight on the dot, the grand hall of the Elite Eight Hotel seemed already crowded with guests. Not a

single person who got an invite didn't show up.

Everyone pretended to be into the wine, food, and entertainment, but what they all actually wanted to

know was why Mr. Ford was celebrating when his son was in a crucial situation.

The news about Rome and Chloe was no secret to any of them. But not a single guest was willing to

make small talk about it since their fear of Mr. Ford was still strong.

However, when the door opened, and Rome walked in with Catherine by his side, some of the guests

couldn't help frowning at him.

"Why are we here!" Dash harshly uttered, hardening his face.

Staring at her son with an unbothered expression on her face, Mrs. Johnson said, "Because Mr. Ford

invited us."

"Don't you two think our family name has gotten humiliated enough!" Dash lashed out at his parents.

A frown crossed Mr. Johnson's face as he stared at his son and said, "Watch your tongue. Rome Ford

is the reason this family can still get recognized and respected!"

"Haha, respect! I am a mockery, a joke because of what he has done! Do you know the humiliating

things others are saying about me! Me being here is degrading since...!" Dash firmly said.

Then he clenched his fist and continued, "Since people are gossiping that I'm not a man, that's why my

wife betrayed me for another!"

"Suck it up, and stop acting like a boy! Be a man, Dash! Our family success is way more important than

your marital problems!" Mr. Johnson coldly said without a care.

However, the last thing Dash wanted to do was suck it up and let the matter go.

Smiling brightly, Madam Rosey grabbed Mr. Barlow's arm and happily cried, "Catherine and Rome

seemed fine. I guess I was worried over nothing."

"Well, I'm glad that she has this family interest at heart and not allowing some stupid emotion to come

between her and him." Mr. Barlow said, looking at his granddaughter.

When Catherine squeezed his arm, Rome looked down at her and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes… I mean, no." Catherine mumbled, looking up at him. "It just feels uncomfortable knowing what all

these people are thinking about you… and me."

"If you are bothered, we can leav... "

"No, I don't want to leave."

When Rome furrowed his brows at Catherine, she softly sighed and said, "I just wished that all these

people knew the truth so you won't get judged falsely."

Keeping silent, Rome faintly smiled at her and then said, "Don't worry. I will fix this."

Those words gave Catherine a sense of comfort, and she grinned at Rome.

Within that moment, Catherine's sight rested on her parents, standing a couple of distances away from

them, staring at her and Rome.

"I should clarify things with my father and mother. Hopefully, they will believe my words this time."

Catherine said, focusing back on Rome's eyes.

"We should do it together," Rome said, taking her hand in his.

At that moment, he heard his father's voice, "Son, come here for a second."

Swaying his attention off Catherine, Rome gazed to his right and saw Mr. Ford, looking straight at him.

"You should go. I can do this alone." Catherine softly intoned.

For a moment, Rome hesitated. Then he rested his palms on her cheeks and kissed her forehead

before walking away, heading to his father.

When Rome reached Mr. Ford, he frowned and asked, "What is this party really about?"

"I appreciate Miller a lot. But he made you a bit too soft." Mr. Ford straightforwardly said as he looked

over Rome's shoulder and glanced at Mr. Miller, watching the both of them from a distance.

"There's nothing wrong with being soft sometimes."

"No, there's nothing wrong with that. But when you are vulnerable to the wrong people then that's

where the problem laid."

Silent fell between both men as Rome intensely gazed into his father's eyes. Then he casually asked,

"What is tonight really about?"

"Tonight, well, it's about finding out the truth." Mr. Ford said with a faint smirk.

Can you speak clearly?"

"And ruin the surprise? I don't think so."

Smiling faintly at his daughter, Edward held Catherine's hand and said, "So it's like that. Chloe was the

one who came on to Rome, but he refused her?"

"Yes. And all the things Chloe said were lies said out of hate." Catherine calmly explained.

"I knew Rome was too decent to do something that scandalous."

A look of shock crossed Catherine's face as she stared at her father. Then she finally got over her

feelings and mumbled, "You believe me?"

When Edward was about to answer, Dash suddenly appeared out of nowhere and coldly uttered, "Of

course, he believes you! He's your father and Rome's employee! But I personally think you are

delusional and need to wake the hell up!"

"Dash, I think you are the one in denial here. I know it must be humiliating to accept that my cousin

would literally dump you for any man she thinks is better than you. But you have to, for your sake."

Catherine calmly stated.

Frustrated, anger spiked in Dash's eyes as he rudely uttered, "Oh really! I'm the one who doesn't want

to see the truth?! There's evidence that justifies that Rome slept with my wife! But where's his proof

that it didn't happen!"

The musician suddenly stopped playing, and the hall grew silent as everyone's gaze swayed towards

Catherine and Dash.

Within a couple of seconds, the sound of whispers aroused in the hall.

"I know people can be naive, but how ignorant can Catherine be?" A woman mumbled to the ladies

beside her.

"You say 'naive,' I say she's playing innocent, so people can not judge her for staying by his side after

all the mess he had gotten himself in! After all, 'DreamTeam' had risen rapidly in success after

everyone found out about Rome's identity." One of the ladies said, scowling at Catherine.

"The Barlows are just a bunch of leeches sucking off the Ford, and even though I thought Catherine

would be different, she is no different from them." The other lady stated.

A frown settled on Mr. Johnson's face as he glared at Dash and then looked at the stressful look in his

wife's expression.

"Are you really going to stand here and pretend like you don't know the kind of person my cousin is?"

Catherine coldly uttered.

Glaring at her, Dash clenched his fist and said, "Oh, I know the kind of person Chloe is. But I also Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

wouldn't let her take the fall for something that clearly…"

"Didn't happen between my son and her!" Mr. Ford firmly said without taking his cold eyes off Dash.

Instantly, the whispering died down as all of the guests held in their words.

At that exact moment, the grand hall door opened, and Chloe walked in, gently holding onto Taylor's

arm.

The entire time he led her to Mr. Ford, Chloe's eyes remained glued to the floor, and she refused to lift

her head even after they came to a stop a couple of minutes later.

"Dad, what's going on?" Rome asked, staring in shock at Chloe.

"Stay out of this, and take note." Mr. Ford coldly uttered.

Then he placed his icy gaze on Chloe and coldly uttered, "Lift your head."

When she hesitated, Mr. Ford scowled and harshly shouted, "Look at me when I'm speaking to you!!"

Immediately, Chloe raised her head, and when her eyes met Mr. Ford's cold gaze, she felt instant chills.

Keeping silent, Mr. Ford took two steps towards Chloe and then asked, "What happened between you

and my son in Archenland?"

A look of worry clouded Madam Rosey's eyes as she gazed at her granddaughter, desperately hoping

that she would not say something to offend Mr. Ford.

"Come on, spoiled brat. Don't say anything stupid." Mr. Barlow firmly mumbled.

With Catherine's eyes focused on her cousin, her brow furrowed, and her lips twitched as she eagerly

hoped that she would tell the truth.

At that moment, Chloe looked to her left, and when she and Catherine's gaze met, she clutched her

jaws and thought, 'I rather die than allow you to be happy. That's how much I hate you, dear cousin.'

Then Chloe looked back at Mr. Ford, gave a smug smile, and firmly uttered, "Your son and I had sex."