Under the Heiress' Facade

Chapter 758

Xavier stared at Gemma with bloodshot eyes, his sharp gaze filled with hatred. His handsome face no longer had the silly expressions from before.

"Haven't you been lying to me as well?" Xavier asked. His clear voice and icy tone held no resemblance to his usual silly manner of speaking. He was tired and didn't want to pretend any longer.

Gemma was happy yet disappointed to see Xavier this way. She had no idea whether she should cry or laugh.

She was happy that Xavier wasn't foolish anymore. She no longer had to worry about him living on his own in the Killian residence after she was gone. But she was also disappointed to learn that Xavier had been pretending to be dumb on purpose and even lied to her.

Gemma had genuinely cared for Xavier all these years. Weren't her efforts worth his forgiveness? Even a little would do.

"Xavi, you... I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know what I did was wrong. Can you forgive me?" Gemma choked out. Her eyes reddened as tears streamed down her face.

"I know what I did was wrong. All these years, I've devoted myself to religion every day to pray for you and the family. Even if my prayers didn't work, I still gave it my all. I beg you, please forgive me, okay?"

Xavier's breaths became labored as he looked at Gemma angrily. He found her behavior to be rather insulting.

"You want me to forgive you? Just save your crocodile tears! Don't think you can fool me again!"

"I'm sorry! I know what I did was wrong. I'm really sorry!" Gemma apologized tearfully. If she weren't cuffed to the chair, she might even be kneeling before Xavier now.

But Xavier remained unfazed. "If apologies were of any use, why isn't Uncle Lucius released yet after being imprisoned for so long?"

Gemma froze before continuing to cry. "I really didn't mean to do it. If only your father had listened to me back then, I wouldn't have argued with him and accidentally stabbed him!

"Do you think I've been living well all these years? I'm always living in regret while repenting for my mistakes!" Gemma began to sob while speaking.

As she continued, she sounded like she was blaming Xavier and Hera. "I've repented for so long, so why won't you forgive me? I already know that I was wrong back then! I've willingly changed myself for the better. Why won't you forgive me? Why do you have to expose me? Why?"

"If you truly understood that you were in the wrong, you wouldn't have framed Uncle Lucius to take the blame for you!" Xavier roared, unable to hold back any longer.

He was trembling all over, and his eyes had welled up with tears. However, Xavier stubbornly refused to let his tears flow.

"If you had admitted your mistake from the start, my mother wouldn't have died of health issues! Aunt Daphne wouldn't have been murdered either! Cecily and Mrs. Jones would never have had to endure any hardships! Are you even sorry?"

Xavier yelled, "You're being selfish! Everyone had to suffer because of your selfishness!"

It was Gemma's first time seeing Xavier that way. He suddenly seemed like a stranger to her and was rather terrifying.

She shook her head with all her might and screamed, "No, you're not my Xavi! My Xavi would never act this way! Who are you? Quickly give me back my Xavi!"

In the control room, Hera felt somewhat uncomfortable upon seeing Xavier's hysterical state. His situation was far crueler than Lucius forbidding her from uncovering the truth.

Clearly, none of Lucius' siblings were decent people. It seemed that Lucius was right. "This matter involves way too many people. If you continue investigating, more Killians will be imprisoned."

"There's something suspicious about what Gemma said earlier. Mrs. Killian Senior isn't her biological mother, so why would she help Gemma?" Hera asked.

As far as Hera knew, Albert married Ember after his first wife, Teresa Lowe, passed away.

Chad, Gemma, and Greg were Albert's children with Teresa. After giving birth to Gemma and Greg, Teresa passed away due to health complications.

Three months after Teresa's death, Albert married Ember, who gave birth to Rhett the year after. Having married once again and found new love, Albert gradually neglected his first three children.

While growing up, Gemma particularly hated Ember, believing that she had stolen her father from her. Thus, she often played pranks on Ember.

Ember appeared to be a devoted wife and kind mother, but no one knew what intentions she harbored.

If she was truly as kind as she appeared, the rumor that Albert intended for Greg to succeed him as the head of the family wouldn't have spread so suddenly across the residence. The tragedy would not have happened.