Chapter 2

Two days later.

I slept until I woke naturally.

Sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting dappled patterns on the wooden floor.

An unfamiliar room, but the air carried my familiar perfume.

I sat up and picked up my phone from the nightstand.

After two days off, it was time to see how far this storm had blown.

Deep breath. I pressed the power button.

The phone vibrated once, the screen lit up.

After the familiar startup animation, the signal bars instantly filled.

Then, my phone went crazy.

"Bzz---bzz---bzz---"

Violent vibrations, like it would break free from my hand any second.

On the screen, missed calls, texts, SnapChat, notifications from various apps flooded in like a burst dam.

Hundreds of missed call alerts.

Dozens of unread texts.

I looked at the call list.

At the very top was Ethan.

99 missed calls.

Below were company executives, my friends, and some unknown numbers.

I put the phone on silent and tossed it aside.

Got up and went to the kitchen to make myself a simple breakfast.

Fried egg, toast, a glass of hot milk.

I ate slowly and methodically.

As if the storm that had already turned everything upside down had nothing to do with me.

After breakfast, I washed the dishes.

Only then did I pick up that burning hot phone again.

I ignored all of Ethan's messages.

Instead, I opened the company group chat on SnapChat.

Two days was enough time for many things to ferment.

The group messages had exploded.

The "congratulations" message I'd sent was like a depth charge.

Below it was several minutes of dead silence.

Then, the first to jump out was the company's HR director.

He sent a shocked emoji, then quickly deleted it.

Immediately after, various whispers began appearing.

"Holy shit? What's going on?"

"Did Emma's account get hacked?"

"That's Mr. Brooks in the photo, right?"

"My god, this is too much information."

"Did Lily mess up?"

After the initial shock, public opinion quickly divided.

Some were watching.

Some were secretly enjoying the drama.

Others began taking sides.

A female colleague who was usually close to Lily jumped out saying:

"Everyone stop speculating. I believe Lily isn't that kind of person. There must be some misunderstanding."

Someone immediately echoed:

"Exactly. Mr. Brooks and Emma have such a good relationship, how could this happen?"

"Maybe Emma was just joking."

These weak defenses were quickly drowned by more details.

"Joking? About something like this?"

"Are you blind? Didn't you see Lily's own text? 'Staying at my place tonight.' How could that be fake?"

"I always thought something was off about Lily. Always dressing up, her mind clearly not on work."

"Right. At the last project celebration, she kept blocking drinks for Mr. Brooks, got herself wasted, and Mr. Brooks ended up taking her home."

When someone falls from grace, everyone loves to pile on

Lily's carefully cultivated "perfect secretary" image was torn to shreds in this moment.

As for the other protagonist of the incident, Lily herself finally appeared about half an hour after I sent my message.

She posted a long text in the group.

That text was written tearfully, pitifully.

"Everyone, I'm sorry for using public resources for my personal matter."

"Last night, Mr. Brooks drank a lot at a business dinner to close an important deal. He could barely stand."

"As Mr. Brooks's secretary, I have the responsibility and obligation to ensure his safety, so I took him to a nearby hotel to rest."

"Because he'd drunk so much and gotten his clothes a bit dirty, I took off his suit jacket and covered him with a spare coat from my car---one Emma had left at the office before---so he wouldn't catch cold."

"After I settled him in, I left. I called his home but no one answered."

"In my panic, I remembered Emma's SnapChat and wanted to let her know."

"That message might have been ambiguous and caused a misunderstanding. I really didn't mean it that way."

"I don't know why Emma would send such a message. I'm really scared."

"Mr. Brooks and I are completely innocent, just a normal superior-subordinate relationship. Please don't misunderstand."

"Emma, if you see this message, please, can you come out and explain?"

"I'm a young woman and my reputation is ruined. How can I face people anymore?"

At the end, she even @-ed me.

What a delicate little hypocrite.

This PR piece was written flawlessly.

Portraying herself as a diligent, dutiful, yet innocently wronged victim.

Throwing all the blame onto me.

Saying I "misunderstood," that I was "making a mountain out of a molehill," ruining her reputation as a "young woman."

Once this statement came out, the group's sentiment shifted subtly again.

Some clueless "saints" came out to uphold justice.

"Oh, so that's what happened. I knew there must be a misunderstanding."

"Emma was a bit impulsive this time. Posting to the group without asking clearly really hurt Lily."

"Yeah, how can a young woman continue working at the company after this?"

"Feel so bad for Lily. Hugs."

Watching these messages, the cold smile on my lips grew wider.

Playing the public opinion game?

Lily, you're still too green.

Just then, a call came in.

The name flashing on the screen made my expression turn cold.

Not Ethan.

My mother-in-law.

I let it ring for a long time, only pressing accept in the last second before it would auto-disconnect.

"Hello."

My voice betrayed no emotion.

On the other end, my mother-in-law's shrill, furious roar immediately came through.

"Emma! You finally answer! Have you lost your mind! What do you think you're doing!"