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It had been a small circle of people who knew, but the moment I appeared and spoke, every eye in the room swiveled towards us.
Mrs. Rhodes instantly became flustered. Fiona, mortified, tugged at her mother’s sleeve. “Mom, apologize.”
Mrs. Rhodes stood up. “Chloe, I’m so sorry. You know your Auntie’s mouth, it just has no filter.”
My eyes widened, a look of utter disbelief on my face. “So, you’re saying this is true then?”
Mrs. Rhodes was about to say something when my parents and my fiancé also rushed over. “Chloe, what’s wrong?” My mother took
my arm, her voice gentle. “Whatever it is, let’s talk about it calmly.”
‘Mom, Auntie here says I messed around with men in college, got pregnant, and had an abortion.” I said, my voice filled with feign-
ed horror. “I have absolutely no memory of this! That man must have used some unspeakable means on me!”
At this declaration, my mother’s face instantly darkened. She turned to Mrs. Rhodes. “Mrs. Rhodes, what is the meaning of this? My
daughter’s wedding, and you’re here spreading rumors?”
Mrs. Rhodes offered a placating smile. “I misspoke. I’ve already apologized to Chloe.”
My mother turned back to me, trying to coax me. “Chloe, your Auntie Rhodes just loves to gossip. She’s already apologized to you,
so just let it go.” My father also chimed in from behind me, “Yes, look at you! What’s with this display? All our relatives and friends
are here. No one will believe these baseless rumors.”
It wasn’t just my parents; everyone began to smooth things over. Seeing that the matter was about to be brushed aside, I let tears
well up in my eyes. “No, no, no! Auntie Rhodes described it so vividly, how could it be false? I have no memory of anything like this happening, so it must have been done against my will! That man is a criminal! Auntie Rhodes, please, tell me who this man is! I’m
going to call the police!”
Hearing me threaten to call the police, Mrs. Rhodes, who had been laughing and trying to mediate, instantly lost her smile. She
quickly said, “There’s no such person! Just say I made it all up, alright? Chloe, today’s your wedding day. I was wrong, I shouldn’t
have said those things. Please, have a wonderful wedding. I’ll drink this tea as a toast, as my apology to you. Just pretend I was
spreading rumors, okay?” Mrs. Rhodes raised her teacup and drained it. She looked at me, “Alright now?”
I stared straight at her, as if deeply displeased by her gesture. Mrs. Rhodes felt my displeasure, yet also felt that as an elder, she had given me, the junior, due respect, and I was still being relentless. So she moved to leave, claiming she had spoiled the mood
and shouldn’t stay.
I quickly grabbed her arm. “No, Auntie, you can’t just leave like that.”
Mrs. Rhodes looked at me, exasperated. “I’ve apologized. What more do you want from me? Do you want me to kneel down and
kowtow twice?”
I frowned. “Everyone heard what you just said. Since you claim it was a rumor, then clarify it for me. Right now, you get im on that stage and tell everyone that you were talking nonsense, that you love to gossip, and that everything you said earlier was just your Imagination.”
Athia, Mrs. Rhodes’s face fell. She was already mortified enough having to apologize in front of so many people. Now I
At this, Mrs. Rhodes’s face fell. She was already mortified enough having to apologize in front of so many people. Now I was forci-
ng her to speak on stage. She instantly became displeased. “Chloe Bellwether, I apologized to you to save your face! Are you truly going to pretend that I wasn’t telling the truth? Let bygones be bygones. I offer that advice to you.”
I tightened my grip on her hand. “So you’re saying it’s true then? In that case, tell me who this man is. Otherwise, if you’re just fabri-
cating stories, I’ll sue you for defamation.”
Mrs. Rhodes was successfully provoked. “That man’s name is Nathan Miles! You two were intimate when he was still married, you
haven’t forgotten that, have you?”
I flinched slightly. At the same time, Fiona’s face went from pale to flushed.
