Chapter 483 - 416: It Begins with Looks, A Change of Heart
Chapter 483: Chapter 416: It Begins with Looks, A Change of Heart
A hideously ugly woman had appeared in the Morhaven base, always by the side of Captain Cross—a man so powerful he was the envy of other men and the object of every woman’s affection.
No one knew where the news came from, but it instantly stirred up a huge storm of gossip within the base.
Everyone knew Captain Cross’s woman was Flora Bloom, the master of Villa Three. But at some point, Flora had simply vanished.
In the vast Morhaven base, most women now had their eyes on Lex Cross—the ultimate prize, no longer "taken" by Flora Bloom. In no time, women were staking out the entrance to the Villa Three district every day. Some brought meat, some brought rice, and others even offered one or two precious cherry tomatoes they had painstakingly grown themselves.
They had assumed that even without Flora, Captain Cross, with his cold and unapproachable demeanor, would disdain such things and refuse them.
All the women who took action were really just hoping for a chance to gaze upon Lex Cross’s handsome face.
But to everyone’s surprise, Captain Cross accepted the gifts.
However, just as the captain accepted the food offered by a few of the base’s love-struck women, an extremely ugly, heavily pregnant woman stormed out of Villa Three.
"Lex Cross! I can’t believe you’re this kind of person! I’m going through this difficult pregnancy, and you’re out here accepting things from other women!"
"What? Are we short on food?"
"This stuff, this, and this—I can get as much as I want! And yet you’d rather take handouts from others?"
Outside Villa Three, the women from the base watched the pregnant woman jabbing a finger at Lex Cross’s nose as she cursed him out. She looked somewhat familiar.
’She must be at least eight months along! And judging by her figure and clothes, plus coming out of Villa Three... it has to be Flora Bloom.’
’But wasn’t Flora Bloom supposed to have a gorgeous, delicate face? Skin so tender you could practically squeeze water from it? How could this pregnant woman be her? Her face was so ugly that even they, who considered themselves plain, felt a sudden surge of confidence!’
"Flora, why did you come out?" Lex Cross’s brow was tightly furrowed, and he looked at Flora Bloom with what appeared to be great displeasure.
"If I didn’t come out, you’d probably be running off with another woman, wouldn’t you? I never realized it before, Lex Cross, but you’re this kind of person!" Flora Bloom pointed at him relentlessly, her face a mask of sorrow.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Lex Cross’s face paled. "They were just giving me a few gifts!"
"What gifts!" Flora’s gaze fell on the food Lex was already holding, and she flew into a rage. "Villa Three has plenty of food! We don’t need things from other people!"
"It’s just a small token of their goodwill! You’re pregnant. You should just stay home, rest up, and have the baby. Why are you meddling in so many things!"
Flora stared in disbelief at Lex’s handsome, indifferent face, her inverted, triangular eyes welling with tears.
"You... you never used to pay any attention to other women. Why now..." Flora trailed off, tears streaming down her face.
"You’re overthinking it. Go back inside."
"I’m not overthinking it! Ever since the day we got back, I’ve felt that something was off with you! Yes, I’ve gotten ugly now, but I’m still carrying your child!"
"I told you to go back, rest, and stop letting your imagination run wild! Women are so much trouble!" After saying this, Lex Cross looked at the women who had brought gifts, a charming smirk playing on his lips. "Your sentiments are received." Without another glance, he turned and walked back into the Villa Three district.
Flora stood frozen in place, her face streaked with tears as she glared at the other women. "What are you looking at? You seduced Lex Cross just to achieve this, didn’t you? Well, you got what you wanted! Are you satisfied now!?"
With that, Flora clutched her stomach and walked back toward Villa Three, still weeping.
Flora shuffled slowly toward the villa, crying loudly as she went. "Liar! Scumbag! Lex Cross, you son of a bitch! You damn bastard who played with my feelings! WAHHH..."
The women at the entrance to the Villa Three district had initially been gloating inwardly that Captain Cross had accepted their "kindness." But as Flora’s sobs grew louder, the more they listened, the more unsettling it felt.
「From that day on, a new rumor spread through the Morhaven base.」
The mistress of Villa Three, Flora Bloom, had been disfigured and become ugly, only to be cruelly abandoned by Captain Cross.
After that, a steady stream of people began to "casually" walk past Villa Three or rest at the district’s entrance. In reality, they all just wanted to see what the mistress of Villa Three’s face looked like now.
And just as they had hoped, Flora Bloom emerged from the villa district, supported by Cynthia Grant.
All sorts of whispers broke out from the crowd of loiterers at the gate.
"That’s Flora Bloom? She’s gotten so ugly!"
"My god! How did she end up looking like that?"
"Damn, is that really Flora Bloom? A pregnant woman’s already worthless enough! And that face..."
"Shh, quiet down, don’t let them hear you!"
"I’m just speaking the truth! She’s already... ahem!"
Suddenly, the crowd fell silent.
Lex Cross walked out of the main base area with Five, and immediately, all eyes shifted to him.
"Didn’t I tell you to stay home and rest peacefully until you give birth! Why are you out again!"
Lex Cross’s brow was furrowed, his expression grim. His tone was full of accusation as he spoke to Flora.
"Can’t I come out for a walk and get some fresh air? Captain Cross, you’re overstepping your bounds!"
"I don’t care what you did before, but don’t you realize you’ll be gawked at now?"
"Gawked at?" Flora scanned the crowd outside the Villa Three district, seeing the gossipy, curious expression on every face. A couple of women had schadenfreude written all over theirs. If not for their fear of Flora’s status as a superpower user, they probably would have started openly mocking her.
What Flora found strange, however, was that most people seemed to be there just for the spectacle. The number of people gloating or having ill intentions toward Lex Cross was surprisingly small.
"You’re disgusted with me now, aren’t you! Right?"
Lex turned his head to the side, saying nothing. But his ugly expression seemed to convey that he had reached his limit. He was on the verge of exploding.
At that moment, Five stepped forward as if to smooth things over, but his words were brutally frank. "Look here, Sis. The boss has been putting up with you for a long time! It’s not your fault you got ugly, and the boss hasn’t said a thing about it!"
"If you weren’t pregnant, who would even bother with you? Besides, look at yourself now. In what way are you worthy of my boss? Telling you to stay home and not come out was him being nice..."
After Five had said his piece, both Flora and the onlookers understood one fact with stark clarity.
Flora had become ugly, and Lex Cross no longer loved her.
Or, judging by the fact that Lex had accepted gifts from other women in the base, he had started to despise Flora’s appearance and had a change of heart.
This seemed to be the tragedy of all women in this era.
Love came quickly. It began with looks, and it ended with looks.
A fast-food romance—it arrived with a ferocity that made everyone envious. When it left, everything had changed. Even some of the bystanders, watching it all unfold, suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for Flora.
What good was having power? Once you became ugly, it was all over.