Above her was a banner displaying a photo of herself and Paul in front of a car. Despite their eyes being pixelated, her intoxicated expression was still unmistakably visible. The glaring headline struck her hard:
“Montgomery Group VP Caught in Car Garage Sex Scandal!”
She casually browsed through several forums; posts about Aurora had already been removed, replaced by newer ones. Overnight, the discussion had exploded to tens of thousands of comments, detailing even which elementary school she attended, yet her contact information was conspicuously absent.
Even so, many recognized her, “I know her; we just had a gathering recently. She was flaunting a Chanel bag, acting all high and mighty. So that’s how she got her bag.”
“I know her too. Back in middle school, she was already off. She’d mess around with boys in the woods; I saw it happen several times.”
“Tsk, isn’t this my ex? She cheated on me when we were together. I’m not surprised to hear she’s still the same, honestly, hearing she’s the other woman doesn’t shock me.”
“I still have a lot of her old photos, DM me if you want them.”
“Slut! Home-wrecker!!”
“You reap what you sow when you break up someone’s marriage!”
The comments were more sensational than any post about Aurora.
Alison had been like this since childhood. Now, seeing those scornful posts chilled her to the bone.
She looked up and noticed everyone staring at her with malevolent eyes. The pride she once felt had vanished; now, she felt as exposed as if stripped bare, with no privacy left.
Had her character been slightly better, she might not have ended up in such a plight. Those she had wronged in the past were now coming forward to malign her, and she had almost instantly become a household name.
She remembered something Aurora had said the day before and suddenly ran towards Aurora’s office, which was much quieter than before. After her cleanup, even today’s breaking news didn’t stir office gossip.
The office was as quiet as ever, filled only with the sounds of mouse clicks and keyboard strokes. Alison abruptly entered, causing everyone to turn their gaze towards her.
Now, treated like a pariah, someone initially wanted to mock her but thought better of it considering Aurora’s presence. Inside the glass-walled room, Aurora held a coffee in one hand and navigated her mouse with the other, her eyes intently focused on the computer screen, oblivious to the noise outside.
Alison, furious, stormed towards Aurora’s office. Seeing the potential for disaster, Heather held her back, “What are you doing?”
“Aurora, get out here!” Alison had barely touched the doorknob when Heather, fearing she might hurt Aurora, quickly restrained her.
“Heather, let go! This is between her and me!”
The commotion outside disturbed Aurora, who slightly lifted her gaze to see the chaotic scene at the door.
“Let her in,” Aurora instructed, releasing her mouse.
“But manager, her emotions are very unstable right now; she might hurt you,” Heather and others tightly held Alison back, not letting her advance an inch.
“She couldn’t hurt me,” Aurora said indifferently, “let her in.”
“Yes, manager.”
Everyone then entered Aurora’s office and showed no signs of leaving. They all stood by her side.
“Why are you all guarding me like this? Go about your business; I’ll be fine,” Aurora’s usually stern face softened into a slight smile.
“Then take care, manager,” they finally left, and by then, Alison’s issue was well known to everyone.
Now, seeing her angrily running towards Aurora and considering the past accusations against Aurora, everyone had an idea.
It was likely Alison who had fabricated that lie, angering Aurora, who was now retaliating in the same manner.
After all, Alison had started the trouble herself. She was just a commoner. How could she compete with the heiress of the Montgomery Group?
Moreover, Aurora had done nothing wrong to her; her dismissal from the company was justified.
Not a single person in the room sympathized with her; instead, everyone felt it was only to be expected.
Once everyone had left, Alison slammed her hands on the table, and Aurora said coolly, “You can slam all you want, but if you break anything in my room, you’ll owe a considerable amount of money.”
“Was it you? You posted those things, didn’t you?” Alison asked coldly.
“Don’t you think it’s rather foolish to ask that now? What does it matter whether it was me or not? Can it change what’s already happened?”
“Aurora, I don’t mind if you target me, but how could you drag Mr. Montgomery into this!” It turned out that was why Alison had come.
Unexpectedly, Alison’s first thought was of Paul, probably fearing the loss of her financial support.
“When you dragged my father down, did you ever think there would be a day like today?” Aurora looked at her calmly, devoid of the arrogance Alison had shown back then.
“The president is still the president, right? If it’s between you and me, and you want me gone, just say so. Was there any need for these schemes?”
Aurora, observing the frantic Alison, leaned back lazily in her chair to relax.
“What I find strange is that you did the same thing to me. When you hung me out to dry online, didn’t you think of these things? What deep grudge do I hold against you? Now you look at me with such a pitiful face as if I’ve done something terrible to you.”
Suddenly, Alison knelt down, baffling everyone. Why had she knelt?
“Aurora, I know I wronged you, but the vice president is innocent. If you want me gone, I’ll leave now. Just retract all the posts and calm this matter, please.”
The woman wasn’t foolish, knowing that without Paul, she would lose everything.
As long as Paul remained, she would continue to have good days. Her calculations were indeed not bad.
“If you had stopped this before, I might have let it go, but now… it’s too late.
Alison, let me teach you one more thing. No man can support you for a lifetime; only you can always stand by yourself,” Aurora said, word by word.