\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
A ripple of confusion spread through the crowd. Whispers and murmurs swelled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy god, a mistress is making a scene here?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is explosive!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The reporters exchanged glances. It was a sensational story, but based solely on her word, they remained somewhat skeptical.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, a sharp female voice cut through from the audience,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s her! I saw her at the general hospital last week!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was brought into the ER covered in blood. Rumor was she\u2019d just had an abortion!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she was crying out for Mr. Pennington!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This testimony seemed to validate Ophelia\u2019s accusation instantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The reporters\u2019 focus shifted dramatically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The earlier doubts about Ophelia\u2019s plagiarism were swiftly overshadowed by a frenzy of judgment aimed at me, the alleged home-wrecker.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was pregnant?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo show up right after an abortion? How shameless.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s using this platform to force the issue,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Microphones were thrust toward\u00a0<\/p>\n
my\u00a0<\/p>\n
face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Sherwood, did you knowingly get involved with a married man?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you targeting Ms. Caldwell out of jealousy?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Facing this unified condemnation, I didn\u2019t defend myself. My eyes were locked on Dominic,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDominic, tell them. Did I seduce you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stood rigid, fists clenched at his sides. A flicker of turmoil passed through his eyes as he\u00a0<\/p>\n
0.00%\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:24\u00a0<\/p>\n
:..\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
looked at me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was guilt in his eyes. I had been deceived.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beside him, Ophelia whispered urgently, \u201cNick, say something!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dominic closed his eyes, drew a deep breath, and then opened them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He avoided my gaze, looking instead at the sea of cameras, and gave a slow nod.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe approached me first, for money.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe deliberately got me drunk to get pregnant, then tried to use it against me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
288 Wouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ophelia\u2019s mouth curved into a smile, but she quickly masked it, maintaining a pained expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Sherwood, we gave you 800,000 dollars. You should be satisfied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis little performance of yours? It\u2019s just about wanting a bigger payout, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I laughed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, Dominic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for finally showing me exactly what you are.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pulled my phone from my pocket and held it up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSince you\u2019ve shown you have no shame, let everyone hear the real story.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned the volume to maximum and held it close to the nearest microphone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Clear audio filled the hall\u2019s sound system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a recording I had made secretly when Ophelia humiliated me at the hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNick kept you around because your innocent look amused him for a while.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNick may want an heir, but he would never jeopardize his relationship with the Caldwell family for a child.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a grandma in a care home, right? The elderly are so fragile, aren\u2019t they? It would be a shame if something disturbed her peace.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
40.04%\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:24\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ophelia\u2019s arrogant voice echoed through the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the recording ended, the venue erupted into uproar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
288 Vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ophelia\u2019s face drained of all color. She never imagined I\u2019d had the presence of mind to get her words on tape.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s doctored! A fake!\u201d she shrieked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I met her panicked gaze calmly, my own eyes turning icy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOphelia, you\u2019re not just a plagiarist and a bully. You have my grandmother\u2019s death on your conscience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDays after you threatened me on that recording, she was gone. What a remarkable coincidence.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:24\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Celebration Cut Short by Mark Twain 6 \u00a0 Chapter 6\u00a0 A ripple of confusion spread through the crowd. Whispers and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-his-secret-vow-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23443\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}