At my most awkward moment, Jason showed up. His face was cold and a bit ticked off; guess he saw that tweet too.


    "Mr. Foster, need something?" Alice''s face lit up with a smile when she saw Jason, totally different from how she treated me earlier.


    Jason nced at me, then at theputer screen, pointing at the photo. "That''s me."


    Alice was floored. She looked at me, then at Jason, totally in disbelief. I knew what Jason was trying to do, but his words just made me feel even more embarrassed. "What the heck are you talking about?" I shoved Jason out the door.


    As I was leaving, I turned back to the still-stunned Alice and said, "Don''t worry, I''ll resign."


    After closing the door, I looked at Jason. "It''s bad enough I''m humiliated. You wanna trash your rep too?"


    Jason had his hands in hisb coat pockets, his brow furrowed. "Emily, it''s not that hard to figure this out. Just report it to the cops, and they''ll trace the IP address of the rumor." Thinking of a certain possibility, I didn''t have the guts to dig deeper. I lowered my eyes and shook my head gently. "It''s fine. You go back to work. I''ll just take this chance to chill." As I turned, Jason grabbed me and said worriedly, "Shouldn''t you get your foot bandaged?"


    I thought, ''My injury isn''t in my foot but in my heart.''


    "No need."


    "Where you headed? I''ll take you."


    I turned back and gave a faint smile, probably looking worse than crying. "No need, I''m good. I told you, someone with nothing has nothing to fear."


    People in the hallway kept ncing at us. I didn''t want to drag Jason into this mess. "You go back to work. I got stuff to handle."


    After a moment of silence, Jason said, "If you need help, call me anytime."


    Hearing his serious tone, I suddenlyughed. "I probably won''t need it. You make it sound like we''re about to have a gang fight."


    As I walked out of the hospital, more people gave me weird looks. I wanted to escape their stares quickly, but my feet wouldn''t cooperate, so I could only walk slowly, step by step.


    I got a call from Be at the hospital entrance. She was worried about me. I told her I got fired, and she immediatelyforted me. "It''s okay. Your next job will be better."


    She asked me to meet her at the Taekwondo gym.


    So much had happened sincest night, and it all felt like a conspiracy. I was exhausted and needed someone to help me think things through calmly.


    The Taekwondo gym wasn''t far from Grace Hospital. When I got there, Be was nowhere in sight. A bunch of folks in Taekwondo uniforms were practicing, and some were just chilling nearby.Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    I scanned the ce for Be. A few people sitting down noticed me and started whispering. After a bit, they got up and headed my way.


    They looked young, probably early twenties, but had this cocky vibe. "Ma''am, didn''t expect to see you here. What a treat!"


    They must''ve seen that tweet and recognized me. I wasn''t in the mood to argue with these kids; I just wanted to find Be fast.


    One of them grabbed my arm as I tried to leave. "Don''t go. Hang with us for a bit? But a million bucks is steep. Can we get a discount?" He looked young but was pretty cheeky. As soon as he said that, the others cracked up.


    "Watch your mouth," I snapped at them.


    The one holding me pouted and leaned in. "My mouth''s clean. Brushed my teeth this morning. Wanna check?"


    I was about to p him when another hand twisted his ear.


    Be showed up. "How dare you mess with my best friend?"


    "Ouch, Ms. Gray, that hurts!" The guy yelped, tilting his head in pain.


    Be seemed to have some pull with them. As soon as she appeared, the others scattered like they''d seen a ghost.


    Be let go of the guy and kicked him. "Get lost and practice."


    Then Be took me to their resting area and poured me a ss of water. "What happened to your foot? Why are you limping?"


    I told her about following Arthur to his hometown, and she poked my forehead. "Emmy, what were you thinking? Arthur''s a jerk. How could you trust him?"


    I said, "I know, I was dumb."


    "What''s with that tweet?" Be asked again.


    I didn''t say anything, just took out my phone and ced it on the ss table, opening the link Be had sent me.


    "I saw that photo this morning and almost had a heart attack." Be also took out her phone. After looking at it for a while, she got all worked up. "Thements are totally off-topic." Hearing her say that, I opened thements and was shocked too.


    A bunch of people werementing on how hot the guy''s body was. Even I, the main character, didn''t get as much attention as the blurred Ethan.


    "People have an eye for beauty," I said with a bitter smile.


    "The photo''s fake, right? When did you take a pic like this with someone?" Be asked, pointing at the photo.


    I looked at her. "It''s real."


    Be stared at me for a few seconds, then picked up her phone again to look closely. "Who is this guy? And what''s this about a million bucks?"


    I told her about the origin of the photo and the million-dor contract.


    After listening, Be thought for a moment and analyzed, "I don''t think Ethan''s the type to pull something like this. Besides, why would he show he''d been betrayed? He''d have to be nuts." "But I can never see through him." I no longer dared to judge people by intuition, especially someone as mysterious as Ethan.


    Be suddenly patted my shoulder. "I think you should go straight to Ethan and ask him. The photo was on his phone, right? He should know best if he''s involved."


    I should indeed get to the bottom of this, but whether Ethan did it or not, I felt our marriage was already over.


    Be initially wanted toe with me to Skyline International Corporation, but I insisted on facing Ethan alone, so she drove me to the building across from Skyline International Corporation. As I got out of the car, she reminded me, "Talk to him properly."


    I nodded, watched her drive away, and then crossed the street to Skyline International Corporation.


    Just as I crossed the street, a young guy with a camera suddenly appeared in front of me, scrutinizing me closely.


    At this point, I could no longer stop people from giving me strange looks.


    I was about to walk away when he grabbed me, smiling politely. "Hello, I''m a reporter from ''Marriage'' magazine. I saw the news about you and would like to interview you. Can you spare some time?"


    Iughed. "What''s there to interview about? Don''t you think I''m humiliated enough?"


    I limped toward Skyline International Corporation, but the young reporter kept following me. "No, you''ve misunderstood. Every extraordinary experience has a story behind it. I just want to understand your story. Usually, the story behind can influence public opinion and provide an exnation to society."


    I stopped and looked seriously at the persistent reporter. "Don''t waste your time. Someone like me has no story worth digging into. I''ll only waste your energy and your magazine''s space. You should look for more valuable targets." Just as I finished speaking, I was stunned by a sudden p.


    I covered my burning face and looked at the plump woman who had suddenly appeared in front of me. "Why did you hit me?"


    The plump woman, Skye Anderson, was wearing an ill-fitting dress, her waist bulging like a swimming ring. She rolled up her sleeves and angrily said, "I hit you because you''re a homewrecker."


    ''A homewrecker?'' I was even more confused.


    "What? The photo is out, and you still want to deny it? Everyone knows your face now. You''re a slut who sleeps around." Skye''s words were harsh, and she pushed me hard.


    My foot was already hurting, and I lost my bnce, falling to the ground andnding on my tailbone, which hurt so much I couldn''t get up for a while.


    "Everyone,e and see! This is the slut who looks innocent but is actually a whore. Who knows how many men she''s slept with? And she dares to seduce my husband." Skye''s shouting quickly drew a crowd. Many people took out their phones,paring me to the photo.


    "It really is her! She''s so cheap!" All around me were voices insulting and degrading me.


    But I only stared at Skye. "Exin yourself. Who is your husband?"


    Skye pointed at me and said to everyone, "Look, she''s still trying to deny it."


    She held up her phone, showing the photo. "I know my husband''s body best. He has a scar on his waist. Look, isn''t this my husband? Even with the mosaic, I can recognize him. No wonder he hasn''t beening hometely. Turns out he has a mistress outside and spent a million dors on you. You better give me that money today."


    As Skye spoke, she started pulling my hair. The onlookers kept using me, and no one wanted to help. Only the young reporter behind me tried to mediate. "Let''s talk this out. Don''t hit her."


    But Skye was a madwoman, convinced I was the mistress, and was especially vicious toward me.


    As she pulled my hair, I shouted, "He''s not your husband."


    Skye let go and snorted heavily, "He''s not my husband? Then who is he?"


    I couldn''t say he was Ethan.


    "Yeah, tell us. Prove you''re not the mistress."


    "Just admit it. The evidence is right here."


    The onlookers, eager for drama, kept fanning the mes.


    "He''s not your husband." This statement had no persuasive power, but I could only repeat it.


    Skye''s face was full of smugness. "You can''t say who he is, can you? I think you just don''t want to return that million dors. I''ll drag you to the police station today and charge you with fraud." Her usations were getting more and more outrageous. The crowd, standing on the side of justice, kept condemning me.


    I waspletely overwhelmed.


    "That man is me." Suddenly, a deep, maic voice came.