Elara watched the video, the corners of her mouth curling into an uncontrollable smile. Her heart bloomed with delight.
This scene, the more she looked at it, the more perfect it seemed.
But before she could fully appreciate the moment, the next video in the playlist auto-started, and her smile instantly evaporated.
On the screen, in the dimly lit interior of a car, the atmosphere was scorching. Julian and Scarlett were locked in a passionate, desperate kiss, with Scarlett boldly straddling his lap.
*Boom.* Elara felt a metaphorical fuse blow in her brain.
Her vision went dark for a second. Clutching her chest, she swayed, on the verge of fainting.
Was this... was this her reserved, self-controlled son?!
They both acted so proper and professional in their daily lives. How could they be the people in this wild video?!
Once she managed to catch her breath, she clicked on a viciously worded tabloid article. The piece aggressively claimed that Julian and Scarlett had been having a secret affair for ages. It speculated that Scarlett's daughter was actually Julian's, and that they had both cheated on their spouses so they could finally be together.
What absolute garbage!
She knew her son. He would never, ever do something like that.
As a mother, she absolutely refused to let the media drag his name through the mud.
Elara didn't sleep a wink. The second the sun came up, she called her former student, the top-tier lawyer Chatwin Wyatt.
She marched straight into his firm. The professor and her student locked the door and held a confidential meeting that lasted the entire morning.
Through Chatwin's detailed explanation, Elara finally understood the entire timeline—the truth about Scarlett and Yardley, and what had really happened between Scarlett and Julian.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: He Lost Me to His Best Friend