Chapter 69 The Show
"A show? What kind of show?" Becky's eyes glowed with excitement.
Lanny smiled, then looked at Edward in his wheelchair and said slowly, "Edward, I heard you were doing rehab and now able to walk with crutches. I've been looking forward to seeing how well your leg has recovered already."
"Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine," Edward said without hinting at any emotion.
"Oh?" Lanny's eyes were filled with malice. "Why don't you walk for us to see your improvement? We're all concerned for you."
"Yes, I'd love to see that, too," Bob echoed from the sidelines.
All eyes were fixed on Edward, only to see no trace of displeasure passed over his face.
Opposite him, Bella could not stand it any longer. She jolted from her seat and walked toward Edward to protect him. "Lanny, I'm warning you," she said, then glared at Lanny, "What do you take Edward for? A circus animal? He has no obligation to please you!"
"Bella's right, Lanny," Anna seconded. "That's not a really nice thing to ask."
Lanny solemnly nodded, put on an innocent face, and said, "I know people might get me wrong, but I'm just doing it out of the goodness in my heart because I've heard some rumors."
"Rumors? What rumors?!" Becky exclaimed, thinking to herself that it was an exhilarating night.
"Well, I've heard that Edward's only pretending to be disabled to laze around at home, waiting for his wife to feed him and do all the work," Lanny said thoughtfully, and she caught everyone gawking at Edward's leg curiously. "I don't believe them, but I want to clear his name to everyone who thought wrong of him. After all, he is my sister's husband. We are family."
"Oh, Lanny... That's so nice of you!" Becky commented, moved by Lanny's fake intentions.
Knowing her sister's true nature, Bella knew better than to fall for her lies. "I don't care about those rumors, and I don't need your kindness."
"Bella, it's okay," Edward said, then smiled and held Bella's hand to reassure her. "Can you please get my crutches for me?"
Bella frowned. She could not understand why Edward chose to entertain them. "But-"
"I'll get it!" Bob shouted, cutting Bella off. He immediately walked to the room to get the crutches and returned without a minute to spare.
The whole thing seemed so staged that Bella found it strange. It was as if someone had orchestrated everything behind the scenes.
Bella stared straight at the pair of crutches with suspicion. As she watched Edward about to stand up, Bella reckoned that something was wrong with them.
"No, Edward, don't stand up!" Bella reached out her hand to try to stop him, but it was too late.
One of the crutches broke in a split second, and Edward lost his balance, falling heavily to the ground.
Everyone in the room was stunned, including Lanny and Bob.
"Edward!" Bella rushed over and tried to lift him, but she was not strong enough.
Seeing her struggle, Lewis helped her put Edward in the wheelchair.
Bella then picked up the broken crutch and noticed the bottom was loose. She pulled out the rubber sleeve, and a piece of wood fell out. She examined the perfectly flat cut, which a human had sawed off.
"It seems that someone has deliberately set this up," Edward said in his baritone, sitting in his wheelchair, and surveyed everyone with an intimidating gaze. "And whoever that person was... He has to pay."
Bob was scared out of his wits when he heard that. He kept looking at Lanny, but she did not even spare him a glance. He could not help but feel desperate.
With Lanny's style of handling things, he knew she would not bat an eye throwing him under the bus.
'I should've seen this coming! I shouldn't have given her Edward's hair!' Bob blamed himself for being so stupid, never learning his lessons.
"Bob, is that you?"
Bob's eyes widened, and his thoughts were interrupted when he heard Bella accuse him. He flicked his gaze up to her and started to panic. "N-no! It has nothing t-to do with me!"
"But I caught you coming out of the bedroom before dinner," Bella argued, following her intuition.
"I had already explained that to you, didn't I?" Bob still tried to look for a way out. "I was just looking for the bathroom-you know that."
"It happened, but you just volunteered to get the crutches and found them quickly. You knew where they were kept," Bella continued, pushing Bob into the corner. "How would someone trying to find the bathroom has the presence of mind to see what items were inside the room after realizing they were in the wrong place?"
Bob chewed on his lips. He wanted to keep denying it, but the moment he met Edward's gaze piercing him, he only feared for his life even more.
"Okay! I admit it! I did it!" Bob desperately admitted his wrongdoings. "But I did it all for you, Bella!"
Bella frowned at that. "For me?"
Bob frustratedly nodded and took a deep breath. He shifted to his position, cleared his throat, and said, "The main reason I came here today is to expose Edward's lies."
Hearing those words, the guests gasped in surprise.
"Yes, you heard me right," he continued. "Edward's leg injury is fake. He's not disabled at all."
"But how is that possible?"
"We all saw how Edward fell to the ground. He couldn't even walk nor stand on his own," Anna added after Becky questioned Bob's accusations.
They curiously surveyed Edward's reaction, only to see a playful smile on his face. He looked as if he was not the one being accused.
"He can easily pretend to fall, and even I can do that!" Bob reasoned and stepped forward. "I have hard evidence to prove my claims if you still don't believe me."
"What evidence?" Edward asked with a mischievous grin, raising a brow at Bob. "Why don't you show it to us? I would love to see it."
Bob froze for a moment. He expected Edward to panic, but he did not show even a hint of it.
'Whatever! I don't care anymore!' he thought and smiled smugly.
Bob pulled a pile of pictures out of his bag and slammed them heavily on the table. The crowd immediately gathered around to see the pictures of Edward standing in the garden without any support.
Bella was shocked beyond words when she saw the evidence. She took a few steps back, turned her head to look at Edward, and asked, "Edward... Are these all true?"