Chapter 285
Just as Sharon and Wendy were about to leave, a sleek luxury car rolled to a stop beside them.
The door opened, and a tall, lean figure stepped out. His strikingly handsome face, laced with a touch of roguish charm, immediately drew the crowd’s attention.
“Sharon, Wendy, it’s been a while.”
Wendy’s face lit up with surprise. “Xavier? I haven’t seen you in forever! What have you been up to lately?”
“Been busy handling some family business. Took a while, but it’s finally all sorted,” Xavier said, raising an eyebrow with a lazy smile. “Why? Did you and Sharon miss me?”
Wendy laughed. “Of course we did! Without you around, no one’s taken us out for a good meal.”
“Say no more. Tell me what you’re craving, and it’s on me. Oh, right-” Xavier seemed to remember something and reached into the front seat of his car. He pulled out a bouquet of vivid, dewy flowers. “Almost forgot. Congratulations on your divorce, Sharon. Welcome back to freedom.”
Sharon accepted the bouquet calmly and gave him a small smile. “Thanks.”
She hadn’t told Xavier about the divorce, but with Matty living at her place and her chats with Wendy never particularly private, she wasn’t surprised he knew.
Just then, Nate’s sharp, mocking voice cut through the air.
“Well, not even trying to be discreet anymore, huh? No wonder you rushed to get divorced. Your lover couldn’t wait.”
Wendy shot back without hesitation. “Only someone with a filthy mind sees filth in everything. You cheat, and now you assume every man and woman you see together are doing the same. Shameless.”
Nate gave a cold snort. “A man gives a woman flowers, and that’s supposed to be innocent? Why don’t we ask the bystanders what they think?”
Wendy moved forward, ready to argue, but Sharon gently pulled her back.
“Nate,” she said, “I’m divorced now. Whoever I choose to be with, or accept flowers from, is entirely my business. No one has the right to interfere.”
“Divorced?” Nate raised his voice, practically yelling so everyone could hear. “As if! You were messing around even before the divorce! That’s called cheating. Do you even know what that means?!”
“Oh, so you do know cheating’s a bad thing?” Sharon arched her brow. “If you have time to judge others, maybe pay attention to your good buddy. Parading his mistress around town, practically making it public. Even brought her along to the divorce. No shame at all. He acts like he’s proud of it.”
Nate nearly exploded. “Don’t change the subject! The shameless one here is you! You’re the one who cheated! There’s nothing going on between Carter and Kelly—”
Before he could finish, Sharon cut in.
“I take a bouquet of flowers, and you call it cheating. But Carter and Kelly even held a wedding, and you call that nothing? Sure.”
Nate pointed at her, furious. “You-!”
But words failed him.
People nearby had been suspicious earlier. Hearing Nate’s accusations while seeing Sharon accept flowers had stirred doubts. But after hearing her retort and watching Nate flounder, the crowd began casting strange looks at Carter and Kelly.
1/2
A wedding?
That was brazen.
And judging from Nate’s sudden silence, it was probably true.
Sharon didn’t waste another breath on him. She motioned to Wendy and Xavier, and the three of them left together.
Just then, Nate’s phone rang.
“Mr. Hendricks,” the voice on the line said, “we’ve just received news that the livestream you pushed for Sharon? It’s blowing up everywhere. The platform wants to fast-track her as their next flagship creator. Since it originated through your channel, they’re assuming you represent her. Their partnership team is asking when we want to launch official monetization.”
Nate’s grip tightened around the phone, his earlier fury boiling over. Every word poured gasoline on his rage.
“Promote her?” he spat, voice vibrating with malice. “I want her scrubbed from every algorithm. Full platform ban-no appeals, no exceptions. Make sure she never gets so much as a fucking view again.”
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