The Divorce That Brought Us Back novel Chapter 167

Yates's clarification video hadn't generated much heat online initially.

Neither his first video slandering Jasmine nor his follow-up confession admitting it was all a manipulative ploy to win her back got much traction.

Nobody really cared.

But then Felix dropped a comment from his massive account: [A unified response to the recent smear campaign regarding my assistant.]

That single comment blew up instantly.

The comment section was immediately swarmed by internet sleuths.

[I get it now. My wife had a fiancé, but the scumbag ditched her at their engagement party. Heartbroken for my girl.]

[You think you get it? Did you even watch the original video? Not only did the scumbag ditch her at the party, he literally ran off with her sister!]

[Wait, no, you guys are looking at the second video. There was a first one that got deleted. The scumbag ditched the wedding for the sister, and then had the nerve to call the younger sister heartless. It's actually disgusting.]

[Hold on, I actually know the people involved. Let me clarify: The older sister got severely ill, so the guy rushed her to the hospital. And the younger sister went to the hospital too. He didn't abandon the bride just to run off with the sister.]

[Uh... no offense, but I'm genuinely asking... are these sisters orphans with no other family? Why was it the groom's job to rush the sister to the hospital?]

[Wow, you're cold! Who cares about titles? If someone is critically ill right in front of you, isn't it common decency to help get them to a hospital immediately?]

[And here comes the keyboard warrior of justice!]

[Everyone step aside! I'm classmates with the girl in the video! I'm the real insider! Let me tell you what actually happened!]

In less than twenty-four hours, the messy, chaotic love triangle between Yates and Jasmine was completely dug up and exposed by relentless netizens.

Yates, who had willingly taken the fall, successfully earned the unbridled wrath and relentless mocking of thousands of furious internet users.

But the drama also sparked massive debates.

[He loves the older sister, but she's too sickly. He loves the younger sister, but he can't let go of the older one. What's a guy to do? Guess he just has to keep them both.]

[Obviously. Men used to have multiple wives all the time. If I was rich, I'd definitely want my wife and her sister waiting on me.]

[Wait, so taking his sister-in-law to the hospital makes him a scumbag now? You women are hilarious. You constantly complain that men don't care about their in-laws, but when he actually helps a sick relative in an emergency, you crucify him. Impossible to please.]

[Stop shifting the narrative! The point is the scumbag was greedy and trying to play both sides!]

[Wait, what's the actual point here? The point is, these are all rich trust-fund kids acting out a soap opera for clout, and you guys are actually taking it seriously?]

[What? My internet wife is actually loaded? I love her even more now!]

...

The chaotic arguments pushed the video's popularity to entirely new heights.

That evening.

Felix uploaded a brand-new post to his account.

It was a single photograph accompanied by a soft, melodic audio track.

In the photo, Jasmine and Valery sat side by side on a piano bench. Their postures were elegant and straight, and they shared the exact same long, chestnut-brown curls. From the back, it was nearly impossible to tell them apart.

The caption read: [Stay tuned!]

"The venue is incredibly spacious, Mom. I've already consulted her doctors, and they gave us the green light."

"But what if?" Mrs. Smith's tone sharpened with strict authority. "If something goes wrong, can you handle the consequences?"

Jasmine gave her mother a long, quiet look. Then, she turned around, walked right back to the open door of the room, and announced loudly, "Felix, my mom says we have to cancel the piano concert."

Felix and Valery both snapped their heads toward the door.

Jasmine continued, her voice perfectly even. "Even though the doctors said it's completely safe, Mom says the risk is too high and we can't bear the responsibility. So we're calling it off."

Mrs. Smith, who had chased right after Jasmine, froze as she met Valery's utterly crestfallen gaze.

Her heart shattered on the spot.

She was frantic and furious, wanting to scream at Jasmine for being so blunt, but desperate to instantly soothe Valery's crushing disappointment.

In the end, all she could choke out was, "That's not what I meant!"

In the past, Mr. and Mrs. Smith were completely accustomed to dumping all their fears, anger, and blame squarely onto Jasmine's shoulders.

They expected her to absorb it silently and fix everything behind the scenes.

But the very first rule Maloney had explicitly given Jasmine was this: Stop coddling everyone's feelings, and put every single issue entirely out in the open.

Jasmine had initially been terrified she wouldn't have the nerve to do it.

She had even asked Felix to keep an eye on her and hold her accountable.

But now that she was actually doing it, she realized it was far easier than she had ever imagined.