Elara pressed the answer button. "Hello, Mr. Snapp."Her voice was distant and polite, stripping away any hint of late-night intimacy.The man's deep, magnetic voice came through. "I saw the trending news."Elara immediately asked, "How is Dr. Snapp?""He's asleep."Hearing that Tobias wasn't affected by the online rumors, Elara let out a quiet sigh of relief.Theodore added, "I may have slipped him two sleeping pills to make sure he actually got some rest."Elara was baffled by this.She hesitated before asking cautiously, "Was he very angry after reading the accusations online?""What made him shake with rage wasn't the cheating allegations—it was the fact that his past conflict with Harold Judd from four years ago was dragged up again."Now, everyone thinks he was just jealous of a rising talent and deliberately tried to suppress Harold."After leaving Capitol University, guilt and unease had pushed Elara to block out anything related to her former school. Because of that
Tobias had been betrayed by his own student—and he genuinely believed Elara had willingly handed over her research to Harold.It gnawed at him for years. So, when he saw Elara again five years later, his emotions were a tangled mess, stuck like a bone in his throat.Theodore asked, “Do you still have an old copy of your paper?”Elara lifted a hand to cover her stinging eyes."My old laptop was ruined. Someone spilled milk on it, and it never turned back on after it crashed… Later, the housekeeper threw it away as trash."Beau was even younger at the time. While she held him in her arms, he had accidentally knocked over a glass of milk. The liquid had spilled straight onto her laptop's keyboard.Her first instinct had been to pull Beau away, making sure he hadn't been burned. She had soothed him for a long while before he was willing to leave her arms.By the time she had turned back to her laptop, the screen was already blue.Panicked, she had reached out to Harvey for help, ho
Elara's appearance was the first thing to stun netizens. For a moment, countless minds nationwide went blank.Many streamers, who had originally planned to criticize and dissect her actions, found themselves speechless. Some began rubbing their chins, and others leaned closer to their screens while adjusting their glasses.Some live-streaming hosts couldn't suppress their grins as they took in Elara's face.From all five camera angles, Elara was seen to be sitting at a light-wood table. Her coat was still damp from the rain, clearly soaked before she had even arrived. She hadn't even had time to change, and a few strands of wet hair clung to her forehead.She rubbed her hands together, blew warm breath into her palms, and only then did she start typing. She looked like a frozen snowman, but the fire inside her burned unwaveringly.The audience heard her clearly as she reported her situation to the competition officials."Azure Shores where I live just lost power, so I had to relo
Those parents woke up to find their social media accounts completely overrun by an avalanche of criticism from furious netizens."I told you not to rush deleting those apology posts! What do we do now?"The wealthy socialites held an emergency discussion in their private chat group."Even if Elara didn't cheat, it doesn't mean she'll place in the finals! Didn't you see those analysts saying other contestants deliberately held back their scores in the prelims? That's the only reason she ranked first!""Let's just lay low for a few days. When she gets crushed by all those PhD candidates in the finals, people will mock her all over again!"Yesterday, several media outlets wanted to release their interviews with Elara. However, seeing how quickly public opinion shifted, they held back the footage as they were afraid of backlash.Gingham TV, however, took the lead and released Elara's full interview. They even aired a segment featuring Faye's recorded phone call with Elara from the ni
The employees stared at Harvey, and their eyes were wide with confusion. "Mr. Fisher, do you have a cold?""Mr. Fisher, should you see a doctor? You don't look well... Your complexion seems off..."Their concerned remarks only darkened Harvey's already grim expression.Cyrus was about to step forward and scold the employees, but before he could, Harvey had already turned and strode toward the exit.Cyrus quickly caught up, pulling open the car door for him. "Mr. Fisher, I'll make sure every single one of those employees slacking off in the lobby gets written up with a docked pay!"Harvey sat in the car like a walking refrigeration unit. His icy gaze locked onto Cyrus."Oh? And you think announcing to the world that I'm Elara's 'blind as a bat' ex-husband is a good idea?"Cold sweat dripped from Cyrus's forehead. He stood frozen in place, and his lips were trembling."I... I would never think that! It's just... There's a lot of online chatter that's... not exactly in your favor.
Beau sat in front of Niamh, bouncing with excitement."Niamh! You're my only real friend! I never even dreamed that Daddy would take me to watch a race!"He pouted and added, "Compared to that country bumpkin, you're light-years ahead!"Niamh chuckled, unable to suppress the smug lift of her brows. "Do you know your mom is getting trashed online?"Beau corrected her with a scowl. "That woman isn't my mom anymore!"The amusement in Niamh's eyes deepened."Why are people trashing her?" Beau asked curiously."Elara cheated her way to first place in the math competition prelims. The Internet finally caught on—her scores are fake! There's no way she had the ability to win!"Saying that, Niamh opened X, intending to read Beau some of the hate comments about Elara. But the moment she tapped the trending list, she froze.The number one trending topic now was #ElaraJonesExHusband.She clicked on it, scanning the flood of comments, and immediately froze. She kept scrolling—post after p
During this time, Niamh recorded plenty of videos of herself and Beau riding motorcycles, posting them on TikTok.Her account had barely scraped past two thousand followers for five years. She had been posting cool riding clips, but it was always the same group of friends giving her likes over and over.Then, the first time Niamh uploaded a video of her and Beau riding together, everything changed. She went viral that very night.From then on, she frequently took Beau out for rides, and every video of them together effortlessly landed in the million-view traffic pool.Realizing she could turn this into something bigger, Niamh started posting consistently over the past month. Her follower count skyrocketed past a million.Of course, criticism followed. More and more people questioned her content, but Niamh couldn't care less. They were just jealous of her.No one else had the guts to put a five-year-old on a heavy-duty motorcycle.But this past week, she noticed something troubli
"Well, slap me sideways and call it a miracle!" Tobias cursed outright."Dr. Snapp!" Wayne frowned in displeasure."You're just a walking bowl of poison soup filled with bad intentions!"Wayne immediately went silent."Why hasn't the government used your face to test bulletproof vests yet?" Tobias scoffed. "And now you're telling people to withdraw? Your scheming is so loud, it's giving me a headache!"Listen up—Elara is not dropping out! With her skills, she's going to take the gold medal!"Wayne chuckled. "Dr. Snapp, you must not have heard yet. Thanks to numerous requests from the contestants, the finals now have an additional challenge round."The top 20 finalists can challenge each other to head-to-head problem-solving duels."The other students looked at Elara as if they were just waiting for her to embarrass herself."Your prized student winning this challenge round? Not going to happen. A housewife winning gold? Yeah, in her dreams."Elara finally spoke. "Wayne, if I
Rosalie's face twisted with fury. "I did no such thing! What apology letter? There was never any such arrangement!"Merida Jones! You've gone too far!" She glared in Elara's direction, stepping forward as if to confront her.Just then, Xavier pulled out his phone, opened an app, and tapped a button.Suddenly, the control screen at the event console switched to a music player interface, and a rousing march blared through the speakers. The children in the audience instinctively began clapping along to the rhythm.The entire auditorium erupted in lively energy as an AI voice announced through the sound system, "Let's give a warm welcome to Rosalie Fisher! Ms. Fisher, please come up to the stage!"Elara burst into laughter and gently ruffled Xavier's hair."Xav, good job!"Now, with all eyes on her, Rosalie had no choice—if she refused to apologize, there would be no graceful way out.Praise from Elara made Xavier turn to her, his bright eyes shimmering like a sky full of stars. He
The host was clearly more interested in Finnegan and asked, "So, Uncle Finn, have you considered finding a girlfriend?"Finnegan frowned slightly. He didn't want to remain the center of attention and gossip. His gaze swept past the audience and landed precisely on Elara. He saw her lips curve into a warm smile, as if she took pride in his popularity. "Yes, I have."Finnegan answered stiffly, his expression serious, as if delivering a formal report.The mothers in the audience immediately grew excited, many already mentally scanning through eligible unmarried women they knew, eager to introduce them to Finnegan.A flicker of surprise passed through Elara's eyes. Finnegan actually wanted a girlfriend? That was truly unexpected.The next second, Lesley tightly wrapped an arm around Elara's while her gaze toward Finnegan was full of wariness."What's wrong?" Elara asked, somewhat puzzled."I'm protecting our little moon!"Elara chuckled, assuming Lesley had noticed the eager in
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Rosalie asked. She then shoved Harold's shoulder, displeased.She then added unhappily, "How can you side with outsiders instead of rooting for your daughter?"Harold pursed his lips and quickly changed his tune to appease Rosalie. "Paisley could probably win first place. Besides the judges' scores, there's also the audience votes. Paisley's performance had the most people present watching." Rosalie raised her chin proudly. "Paisley will definitely win first place!"She had already spoken to several parents in advance. From what she knew, more than half of the parents had already voted for Paisley.Elara looked down. She then took a pen and placed a check mark next to the title of Merida's performance. Xavier did the same and gave Elara a thumbs-up.Elara smiled in response.Seated behind them, Beau could clearly see the interaction between Elara and Xavier. His expression darkened with resentment.Harvey's voice could be heard. "Why a
Beau was teary-eyed as he shrank back, showing a timid expression."The final performance of this year's gala is a tap dance piece, Spring Awakens, performed by a student from the preschool division's Class 1B—Merida Jones."Elara heard the announcer introduce Merida's performance. She and Xavier immediately sat up straight. The crimson curtain was drawn open, revealing Finnegan as the first to step into the audience's view. He was too eye-catching. Tall and broad-shouldered, he wore black trousers and a black vest, which was left unbuttoned, exposing his tanned chest. The stage lights spilled over his muscles, contouring them.The parents who had been sleepily sitting in the auditorium inadvertently glanced at the stage. Their gazes were fixed in place. They all gasped.Finnegan struck the drum. The audience's eyes were fixed on the lines of Finnegan's arms and pectoral muscles.Many audience members pulled out their phones to record the scene of Finnegan drumming."Wow! Whose
Harvey knitted his brows together tightly. "Beau is your son. How can you be so cold-blooded that you won't even hold him?"Elara retorted, "Do you still remember how you responded when I told you that Beau didn't want to be close to me?"Harvey froze in place. There was a hint of confusion in his eyes.A cold, faint chuckle escaped Elara's throat. It seemed he had long forgotten. The ever-busy president of Fisher Corp had never truly regarded his own family as something that mattered."You said that a son shouldn't rely on his mother, especially since Beau is the heir of Fisher Corp. Instead, I should restrain my emotions and make myself his teacher, not his mother! "I once told you that Ethel always spoke ill of me in front of our son. You said it was the truth, so it wasn't bad-mouthing. You said your mother wasn't wrong, that I was just a country girl with knowledge. "You also said I was extremely lucky to have married into the Fisher family. Otherwise, even if your family
A small whirlwind swept past Lesley as Theodore went ahead and dashed forward. A vein bulged on Harvey's temple upon seeing Theodore suddenly pull six and a half feet before them. Just as he wanted to yell at her, Lesley yelled, "Elara!"She raised her arm high and waved at Elara.Elara looked up at her, her bright eyes curving as she smiled. When Theodore noticed that Elara only had eyes for Lesley, his steps faltered.At that moment, Lesley overtook him, jogging toward Elara. She yelled, "Make way! Everyone make way!"Harvey suddenly appeared with a wheelchair. On it sat Beau. He used the wheelchair to block Theodore's path and even tried to ram into Lesley with it.Theodore stood in the aisle, blocking Harvey's way."This aisle is too small. How could you possibly push a wheelchair through? Take your son and sit at the side."Harvey's face darkened. "Sit at the side? My son won't be able to see the stage! I want to sit with him in the center!"With that, Harvey picked
Paisley stood at the center of the stage and bowed, thanking the audience. Meanwhile, the auditorium erupted in thunderous applause. Several parents who knew Rosalie turned to praise her."Ms. Fisher, you've done such a wonderful job raising her.""Paisley's dancing was beautiful. With her on stage, the whole performance became so pleasing to watch."Parents from the same class chimed in as well. "Rosalie made the right call by having Merida step down from the rehearsals. If Merida had performed, it definitely wouldn't have turned out this well.""Exactly. Rosalie really has great foresight."As they spoke, their glances drifted—intentionally or not—toward Elara.In the microcosm of the school community, parents were sorted by social circles. Even if they acknowledged Elara's competence, to them, she still had no real backing.And without that, she might as well have had nothing. In the world of elite parents at one of Capitol's top schools, Elara stood on shaky ground. Those ho
Rosalie let out a disdainful snort. "Does someone like Elara even deserve to step into the Fisher family's circle?"Her voice turned icy and shrill. "She's only dragging me down!"Luxury brands existed precisely to distinguish those who could afford them from those who couldn't. If commoners could easily buy Louis Vuitton or Hermès, how would the wealthy flaunt their status?Ever since Elara married into the Fisher family, Rosalie felt her own standing had been diminished. Now that Elara had been kicked out, Rosalie wouldn't give her another chance to mingle with high society.Harold lowered his voice. "Put in a good word for me with the Fisher family. Help me become Xavier's tutor."Though Beau had resumed his elite homeschooling, Xavier still attended the same classes—and far outperformed him. Harold had a strong premonition that the Fisher family would focus on cultivating Xavier.Though not Leonard's biological son, Xavier was his sole heir since Leonard had no children of hi
Rosalie took her seat beside Harold and immediately noticed him repeatedly glancing in Elara's direction."What are you looking at?" Her voice turned dangerous.Harold instantly trembled, quickly straightening his posture. "Nothing! I wasn't looking at anything!"Rosalie wouldn't let it go. "You kept staring at Elara! Why were you looking at her?"Flames burned in Rosalie's eyes as Harold hurriedly explained, "I just saw Xavier sitting in her lap and got curious! I never expected that child to be so close with her."He then gossiped with Rosalie, "Do you think if Elara dotes on Xavier like this, she might end up becoming Harvey's aunt?"A mischievous smirk spread across Harold's face."Only vulgar minds would come up with such vulgar thoughts!" Rosalie snapped.As a Fisher family member, her first reaction was utter disgust at such disgraceful speculation. How could she ever hold her head high in Capitol's elite circles if this happened?"How could Leonard possibly do such a t