Sarah's expression turned cold as she replied flatly, “Not really.”Charlotte clearly wasn’t going to let the conversation end there. "We just saw you dining with Mr. Reynolds. James and I thought we were seeing things. When did you get so close to him?"A strand of hair fell across her collarbone, adding to her image of gentle innocence."That's none of your business," Sarah tossed her paper towel in the bin. "Miss Garnett, we're not close enough for you to be asking about my personal life."Charlotte took a deep breath, a hint of hurt flickering in her eyes. "Aren't you being a bit defensive? We've known each other for some time, and I'm just making polite conversation. There's no ulterior motive."No ulterior motive? Really?Every time Charlotte spoke, it was with such measured politeness that no one could find fault with her words, yet it made Sarah deeply uncomfortable.Sarah gave a bitter smile. "If you're so concerned with proper etiquette, Miss Garnett, was it also prope
Sarah didn't care what Charlotte might say after leaving, but just thinking about her earlier performance made her agitated.In her sour mood, instead of returning to the private dining room, she decided to settle the bill at the front desk first to calm herself down.After paying, she turned around—only to come face-to-face with the leading lady of that earlier drama, Charlotte, and her fiancé, James.Sarah hesitated. Just her luck.She'd planned to walk past pretending not to see them, but James suddenly spoke up: "Sarah, we need to talk."He’d just learned that the extravagant meal Sarah had been treating them to at St. Ritz cost over four thousand. And it was all for the sake of impressing Zachary Reynolds?He suddenly realized Sarah wasn't putting on a show for him – she might actually be trying to climb the social ladder through Zachary.But how could she so easily throw herself into another man’s arms right after their divorce? Did their three years together mean nothing?
Recognizing who had arrived, James's eyes flashed with unease. "Mr. Reynolds, how long have you been here? I didn't know you had a habit of eavesdropping."Zachary remained composed, positioning himself beside Sarah without sparing James a glance. "In such a public space, how is it eavesdropping?""Besides, Mr. Chancer, Sasa’’s your ex-wife now, isn't she? You've lost the right to have any say in her life."Sasa?James's face darkened.Zachary was known for keeping his distance from women, and few people on the East Coast could even claim to be on speaking terms with him. Yet here he was, using such an intimate nickname for Sarah?His gaze shifted to Sarah, finding her completely unfazed. This inexplicably infuriated him.In the past, Sarah would have certainly offered him an explanation.But now she stood calmly beside another man, completely indifferent to his feelings.James stared intently at Sarah, as if trying to read something in her expression. "Clearly I'm meddling wh
James drove Charlotte back to the Chancer estate.As soon as they entered, Lucy rushed to greet them, excitedly waving her phone.“James! You won't believe what I saw today!"Lucy thrust her phone in James's face. "That whore Sarah must have been cheating during your marriage!"The screen showed a photo of Zachary gently helping Sarah into his car. Whether it was the camera angle or not, the scene appeared oddly intimate.The earlier irritation resurfaced as James's expression darkened.Lucy, completely oblivious to her brother's mood, continued excitedly, “James, it's only been days since your divorce. How could she possibly snag another man so quickly? She must have been cheating! How dare someone like her claim part of the Chancer fortune? You need to take back that house you gave her!"Noting James's silence, Mrs. Chancer stepped forward. "James, though we're wealthy, money doesn't grow on trees. I know you're kind-hearted and didn't want to leave her empty-handed after thes
Alone upstairs, James couldn't shake the image of Zachary and Sarah leaving together.His brow furrowed as he lit a cigarette.Had Sarah really betrayed him during their marriage?Remembering Sarah's cold detachment during their divorce, James realized it wasn't impossible.Taking a deep drag from his cigarette, he picked up his phone and found her number – one he rarely dialed.Driven by curiosity and suspicion, he felt compelled to confront Sarah.The call connected quickly, but a mechanical voice responded: "Sorry, the number you have dialed is not available. Please try again later."James frowned, hanging up and immediately redialing."Sorry, the number you have dialed is not..."He slammed the end call button, gripping his phone tightly, his face dark with anger.Damn Sarah!She'd actually blocked his number!...James's appearance hadn't particularly affected Sarah. With work the next day, she went to bed early.The following morning at school, her colleague immedia
That afternoon, after putting up the promotional posters, registration numbers surged even higher. While Sarah was busy coordinating with student volunteers, an unwelcome visitor appeared at the registration booth."Psychology Competition? They actually put that tramp Sarah in charge this year?" Lucy Chancer glared at Sarah's name on the poster, her eyes filled with venom.Her sidekick Lindsey nodded in agreement. "Exactly! How irresponsible of the university to hand over such an important annual event to a newbie like her. And she's so full of herself – why does her name need to be plastered all over the poster?"Sarah hadn't known about her name on the poster – that was Mia's doing. The young girl had specifically instructed the design team to make Sarah's name prominent.Lucy scoffed, ignoring Lindsey's comments. Looking at the poster, she suddenly smirked and beckoned to Lindsey. "Come on, let's sign up. This could be fun."At the registration booth, a haughty voice suddenly
Surprisingly, Lucy ignored Mia's mockery, her smile growing even more eager. "Come on, Mia, why are we doing this? Our families have so many business dealings. Why defend someone like Sarah? She's just a divorced nobody."Mia was disgusted. Lucy's fawning behavior gave her the creeps.Even Lindsey, standing behind Lucy, looked shocked at her friend's behavior."Lucy, if you don't leave now, I'll have security escort you out," Mia said flatly.Though taken aback, Lucy maintained her smile, standing up casually. "Well, since you're busy, I'll get going. See you around!"How shameless can she be?After Lucy disappeared, Mia exhaled in relief, turning to Sarah. "Sarah, do you think Lucy's lost her mind?"Sarah pondered for a moment before shaking her head. "From what I know of her, she's not one to back down quietly. Whatever she's planning, it can't be good."...Once away from the booth, Lindsey couldn't contain her curiosity. "Lucy, why were you so nice to Mia today?"Usually,
Lindsey gazed at Lucy with admiration, laying on the flattery. "Oh my god, Lucy, your brother's so sweet! I heard CEOs are super busy, yet he makes time to pick up his sister!"Lucy preened under the praise, smirking proudly. "Well, of course. My brother totally dotes on me. I'm his favorite.""God, Lucy, I'm so jealous! You've got the looks, the family background, and such an amazing brother... I've never even been in a Maserati!" Lindsey gushed, secretly hoping Lucy would offer her a ride. She could already imagine the Instagram photos making her high school friends green with envy.As expected, Lucy scoffed dismissively. "Look at you, acting like you've never seen luxury before. Fine, I'll have my brother give you a ride too!"With that, Lucy strode toward James.“James, what brings you here today?" she called out in an artificially sweet voice, basking in the attention from passing students. Sure, she'd always had a private driver, but James had forced her to keep things low-k
None of the watching students dared intervene. They just stood there, most filming with their phones.Professor Letito had been absent during the earlier incidents, but now he stood face to face with Amy.The scene was deeply ironic. Just days ago, Amy had been the aggressive one, playing the victim while painting Henry as the villain.Now the tables had turned, yet Henry looked at Amy with a mix of sympathy and guilt.Something about that look struck Sarah as odd. This situation seemed more complicated than it appeared.The woman's eyes were filled with despair and resignation, nothing like her previous aggressive behavior.Gone was her hunger for money - she seemed to have accepted her fate.Henry's mother continued, "Henry, she wronged you and the whole family. We won't let someone like her get away with this. Your father and I saw the interview - she took your house, our life savings were in there. We're getting everything back, plus compensation!"The woman remained silent
"Stay away from me. I never want to see your face again!"BANG!The door slammed shut, the sound echoing through Amy's broken heart.Just yesterday they'd been loving and everything had been perfect. How had it all fallen apart in a single night?Thirty minutes later, Dan emerged with his bags. He gave Amy and the child one cold glance before walking away."Dan! How can you be so cruel?" Amy sobbed.She watched him disappear into the distance, never once looking back, not even at his own child.Wiping her tears, she hugged her crying son. She had to stay strong for him.But where could they go now? The world suddenly felt very big and very empty.As they were about to leave, several middle-aged men appeared and escorted them away.Back at Adams University, the reporters had vanished as if the whole scandal had been just a bad dream. Sarah's reputation was restored, the forum threads were cleared, and Professor Letito was back teaching.Sarah walked into school with Mia, who
Amy never imagined her vision of love could shatter so violently. She wondered if the Dan she'd loved had never shown his true nature before, making this moment of brutal honesty almost impossible to bear."Dan, how can you say such things? I was with you even before I married Henry. After that incident... I barely recovered, and now you're saying you don't know whose child this is? Why else would I divorce Henry if not to be with you?" Amy's eyes filled with tears.Only those we love most know exactly where to stick the knife to cause the most pain. She couldn't accept Dan speaking to her this way.Dan continued packing, barely paying attention. "You divorced Henry because three years ago he...""Shut up!" Amy screamed. She couldn't believe Dan would be so callous about such a sensitive matter."Face it, Amy. You did all this to get revenge on Henry for what he did. I was just a tool." Dan sneered.Amy clutched her child, choking back tears. "Say what you want about me, but how
Sarah was still thinking about what Scarlett had said earlier. "What's this about Zachary?" she asked quietly.Scarlett looked uncomfortable. "Steven gave me the video and sent me to help you. I made up that part about Mr. Reynolds.”"Made it up? That was bold." Sarah drew in a sharp breath.Scarlett shrugged it off. "Why do you think Steven got this video? Zachary ordered it. Pretty expensive too - cost a million.”Sarah felt confused by all this, but any mention of Zachary made her reluctant to ask more."Sasa, you should have let me come earlier. A good slap is exactly what someone like her needs!" Scarlett fumed.Mia finally noticed something was wrong. "Sarah, what happened? Did that woman cause more trouble?"Scarlett jumped in eagerly. "Mia, you should have seen how cool I was! I gave her a solid slap..."She retold the story with extra flair, leaving Mia wide-eyed."What?! You had all this excitement without me?" Mia pouted."I didn't know Scarlett was coming." Sara
Faced with this question, Amy hushed him. "Those kinds of powerful people aren't for us to speculate about. In this world, if you want to make money, do more and ask less."Seemingly worried she'd sounded too distant, she quickly added, "Never mind about what those big shots think - how would people like us know? Let's just do our job. Look, this is a hundred thousand! Do you know how much we can buy with this?"Dan ignored her question and pressed on, "But what's that lady's ultimate goal?"This time Amy didn't hold back. "I don't really know all the details. I just know she wants me to insist Sarah's a homewrecker, and she said she'd help with everything else."The video continued with Amy and Dan discussing other private matters, but nothing could match the impact of what had just been revealed.Scarlett turned off her phone screen. "Did everyone record that?"The reporters exchanged glances, looking at Amy with obvious contempt.Amy collapsed to the ground in disbelief. How
Soon, some reporters turned their attention to Sarah.Just then, a luxury car pulled up at the school gates. A woman with big wavy hair and sunglasses stepped out.Sarah was startled. "Scarlett, why are you here?"Scarlett walked straight through the crowd to stand beside Sarah. She stared directly at Amy and sneered, "If I hadn't come, I would've missed seeing the most shameless woman in the world."Amy snapped as if triggered. "Who are you calling shameless? Sarah's the one who steals married men. She's the shameless homewrecker!""Twisting the truth - I'm impressed by your nerve. You have the gall to call yourself an honest, ordinary person? Do you fit that description at all? Oh wait, I suppose you are quite 'ordinary' looking - and not young either."Scarlett flipped her hair dramatically. The reporters chuckled at her comment, while Amy glared at the newcomer furiously. "Who are you? Why are you butting in? I get it - you're Sarah's friend. You must be just as bad as her."
"Never mind if they believe it or not. If we play our parts well, everyone will believe us. The world always sympathizes with the underdog and resents the wealthy. Once we do this, even without proof, her reputation will be ruined," Amy said coldly.The recording fell silent for a moment, with only the rustling of clothes. Some reporters instantly understood what was happening during that gap, though thankfully the recording had been edited to skip over it.Then the man spoke again. "Honey, what about Henry Letito?"Amy replied impatiently, "Who cares about him? He's just a pathetic coward. After I get the money, I'll squeeze more out of him, then leave East Coast for good..."Suddenly, a child's sharp cry came through, and the man blurted out, “My son..."As the recording played, Amy stood frozen in shock. When she heard the child's cry, she snapped back to reality. Before the man in the recording continued, she lunged at Sarah, trying to grab the phone.But Sarah easily stepped
People began digging up previous incidents, using them to paint Sarah as a villain.While Amy cried on the outside, she was laughing inside. She was close to success! Close to getting that five million.With that money, she and Dan could run away, buy a small house somewhere remote, start a small business, and live peacefully for the rest of their lives.The more she thought about it, the harder she forced herself to cry.Meanwhile in the counseling office, Sarah had to hold Mia back from rushing out."Mia, calm down." Sarah had placed psychological exercises in front of her, prepared earlier to help ease her anxiety.Of course Sarah knew what was happening at the school entrance. Scarlett had already called several times, wanting to rush over and slap Amy, but Sarah had talked her down each time.Under Sarah's guidance, Mia reluctantly focused on her exercises. Sarah stroked her head. "I'll handle this."Mia nodded, not mentioning that she'd already begged her brother to deal
At Troy's signal, his men immediately understood. They dragged Dan aside and gave him a brutal beating.After they left, Dan collapsed on the ground, gasping for air, his face and head bloody from the beating.The door was still open when a well-dressed man in a suit walked in, chuckling softly.Dan startled, thinking it was Troy. "Troy, please... Wait, who the hell are you? Get out!"The man smiled faintly. "After that beating, you still haven't learned? I'm here to offer you money. Interested?"Money?Dan sized up the visitor, his eyes fixed on the man's watch. He'd seen it on TV - worth millions, easily enough to clear his debt.His demeanor changed instantly, putting on a fawning smile. "Please, sit down, Sir!”Still covering his bleeding nose, he added, "Let me clean up first."The man found a relatively clean spot to sit, drumming his fingers on the table. "Do something for me. Payment is one million."Dan's eyes widened as he nodded frantically. "Anything, just name it