The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep - Chapter 98: Chapter 98
You are reading The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep, Chapter 98: Chapter 98. Read more chapters of The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep.
The next morning, Serena showed up to work like any other day. But the second she walked into the office, she could tell something was off. Everyone was giving her these weird looks.
Serena noticed people huddling together in small groups, whispering and shooting glances her way. Whenever she looked back at them, they'd quickly turn away and act like nothing happened.
This went on all morning, and Serena tried to brush it off. But she had absolutely no clue what was going on.
"You seriously don't know, do you?" One of her colleagues noticed how uncomfortable Serena looked and pulled her aside. The confusion was written all over Serena's face.
"Know what?" Serena asked. She'd been getting this strange vibe since she walked in this morning. At first, she thought maybe she was just being paranoid, but now, it was obvious something really did happen.
Her colleague saw the genuine confusion in Serena's eyes and immediately knew she couldn't be anything like what the rumors were saying. She quietly motioned for Serena to come over to her desk and pulled up the group chat to show her what everyone was talking about.
"Someone's been posting stuff in the group chat since last night, saying you're hooking up with some older guy," her colleague whispered.
She didn't need to explain further. Serena saw the photo right away. It was obviously taken when she went to visit Tiana. She never thought a simple work visit would get twisted into something so dirty.
What made it even more ridiculous was that people were making wild assumptions just because Tiana had a buzz cut in the photo. 'Did they seriously think she was just some random old creep?' Serena thought. Her face darkened.
"I don't know who would do something this nasty, spreading rumors about a girl like that," her colleague said, noticing Serena's face getting darker.
She reached over and patted Serena's back. "Just forget about it. The truth will come out and everyone will know what kind of person you really are."
A guy walking by heard their conversation and looked Serena up and down with a smirk. "Hey, new girl. I thought you had some real skills, but turns out you just slept your way up the ladder."
Before he could finish, Serena stood up. She never believed that crap about the truth coming out itself. If that was how the world worked, innocent people wouldn't get framed all the time.
"Why should I admit to something I didn't do? The person in that photo is family to me. Don't the people making up these lies have families too?" Serena said firmly.
Tiana had taken care of Serena for years, and she'd become like a mother to her. These rumors weren't just attacking Serena. They were going after the woman who'd worked so hard to raise everyone at the orphanage.
'There's no way I'm just going to stand here and let this happen,' Serena thought.
"I hope you all can think for yourselves instead of believing whatever gossip comes your way. Don't let people manipulate you so easily," Serena added.
Nobody expected Serena to fight back like that. She always seemed so sweet and easygoing, but now she wasn't backing down an inch. The guy who'd been talking trash started to feel awkward, but when he saw everyone watching them, he doubled down.
"Who knows if you're telling the truth or just making excuses," he said with a sneer. "Maybe he's your sugar daddy or something. How else did you get this job without any experience?"
The moment he finished speaking, the entire office went dead silent. He turned around and saw Keith standing quietly by the door, his expression unreadable. It looked like he'd been there for a while.
Keith spoke up, his voice cold. "This whole thing has been proven false. The other person in the photo is a woman. Can't you people see that?"
Keith walked over to Serena, noticing her furrowed brow, then turned to face everyone else. "Starting now, anyone spreading rumors in this company will lose their monthly bonus."
Nobody expected Keith to show up so fast. The guy who'd been so confident a second ago suddenly went quiet, and when Keith's eyes landed on him, he started to shake.
"You've been spreading lies and attacking your coworker," Keith said coldly. "I'm giving you until the end of the day to put your resignation letter on my desk."
The man's face went pale, and the whole office fell silent.
Keith and Serena exchanged a quick glance, but with everyone watching, they couldn't say much more. They turned and headed back to the office.
After seeing someone get shut down so publicly, the rumor quickly died out within the company. Keith could control what people said at work, but he couldn't stop outsiders from talking.
Serena walked over to the colleague who'd told her about the post. "Could you send me that link?" she asked gently.
After watching Serena stand up for herself so boldly, her colleague was already impressed. She nodded quickly. "Sure, let's exchange numbers and I'll send it over."
Serena found the original post within minutes. The poster's profile looked clean, but she could tell who it was from the first few comments—Eliza.
Eliza even shared it from her personal account, and it happened exactly one minute after the post went live. There was no way that was a coincidence. She must have been the first person to "discover" this post that was supposedly spreading rumors about Serena.
Serena pressed her lips together and pulled up Eliza's contact info.
Serena: [Want to meet up?]
On the other side, Eliza was smugly watching the rumors spread when she saw the message. She froze for a moment, then immediately understood what had happened.
'Serena figured out I was behind the rumors this fast?' Eliza thought, trying to pretend she hadn't seen the message. But then, another text came through.
Serena: [You don't want me going to Victor about this, do you?]
Since coming back to the country, Serena had never bothered with Eliza's drama. She'd moved on from the whole mess with Victor and Leon, but Eliza just couldn't let it go.
Reading Serena's latest message, Eliza gritted her teeth and finally agreed to meet. 'She wants to see me? Fine,' she thought, running her hand over her growing belly with a cold smile. 'She's asking for this, so she can't blame anyone else.'
They met at a coffee shop that Victor used to frequent. When Serena arrived, Eliza was already there with a steaming cup in front of her. She looked up at Serena with her chin raised. "What do you want? I don't have time to waste chatting with you."
Serena sat down across from her and asked coolly, "You really don't know why I'm here? Those posts you made about me and Ms. Brown—I suggest you delete them now. Otherwise, I'll press criminal charges against you."
When Serena spoke up with such confidence, Eliza wasn't intimidated at all. She let out a mocking laugh and looked Serena up and down, then clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
Serena noticed people huddling together in small groups, whispering and shooting glances her way. Whenever she looked back at them, they'd quickly turn away and act like nothing happened.
This went on all morning, and Serena tried to brush it off. But she had absolutely no clue what was going on.
"You seriously don't know, do you?" One of her colleagues noticed how uncomfortable Serena looked and pulled her aside. The confusion was written all over Serena's face.
"Know what?" Serena asked. She'd been getting this strange vibe since she walked in this morning. At first, she thought maybe she was just being paranoid, but now, it was obvious something really did happen.
Her colleague saw the genuine confusion in Serena's eyes and immediately knew she couldn't be anything like what the rumors were saying. She quietly motioned for Serena to come over to her desk and pulled up the group chat to show her what everyone was talking about.
"Someone's been posting stuff in the group chat since last night, saying you're hooking up with some older guy," her colleague whispered.
She didn't need to explain further. Serena saw the photo right away. It was obviously taken when she went to visit Tiana. She never thought a simple work visit would get twisted into something so dirty.
What made it even more ridiculous was that people were making wild assumptions just because Tiana had a buzz cut in the photo. 'Did they seriously think she was just some random old creep?' Serena thought. Her face darkened.
"I don't know who would do something this nasty, spreading rumors about a girl like that," her colleague said, noticing Serena's face getting darker.
She reached over and patted Serena's back. "Just forget about it. The truth will come out and everyone will know what kind of person you really are."
A guy walking by heard their conversation and looked Serena up and down with a smirk. "Hey, new girl. I thought you had some real skills, but turns out you just slept your way up the ladder."
Before he could finish, Serena stood up. She never believed that crap about the truth coming out itself. If that was how the world worked, innocent people wouldn't get framed all the time.
"Why should I admit to something I didn't do? The person in that photo is family to me. Don't the people making up these lies have families too?" Serena said firmly.
Tiana had taken care of Serena for years, and she'd become like a mother to her. These rumors weren't just attacking Serena. They were going after the woman who'd worked so hard to raise everyone at the orphanage.
'There's no way I'm just going to stand here and let this happen,' Serena thought.
"I hope you all can think for yourselves instead of believing whatever gossip comes your way. Don't let people manipulate you so easily," Serena added.
Nobody expected Serena to fight back like that. She always seemed so sweet and easygoing, but now she wasn't backing down an inch. The guy who'd been talking trash started to feel awkward, but when he saw everyone watching them, he doubled down.
"Who knows if you're telling the truth or just making excuses," he said with a sneer. "Maybe he's your sugar daddy or something. How else did you get this job without any experience?"
The moment he finished speaking, the entire office went dead silent. He turned around and saw Keith standing quietly by the door, his expression unreadable. It looked like he'd been there for a while.
Keith spoke up, his voice cold. "This whole thing has been proven false. The other person in the photo is a woman. Can't you people see that?"
Keith walked over to Serena, noticing her furrowed brow, then turned to face everyone else. "Starting now, anyone spreading rumors in this company will lose their monthly bonus."
Nobody expected Keith to show up so fast. The guy who'd been so confident a second ago suddenly went quiet, and when Keith's eyes landed on him, he started to shake.
"You've been spreading lies and attacking your coworker," Keith said coldly. "I'm giving you until the end of the day to put your resignation letter on my desk."
The man's face went pale, and the whole office fell silent.
Keith and Serena exchanged a quick glance, but with everyone watching, they couldn't say much more. They turned and headed back to the office.
After seeing someone get shut down so publicly, the rumor quickly died out within the company. Keith could control what people said at work, but he couldn't stop outsiders from talking.
Serena walked over to the colleague who'd told her about the post. "Could you send me that link?" she asked gently.
After watching Serena stand up for herself so boldly, her colleague was already impressed. She nodded quickly. "Sure, let's exchange numbers and I'll send it over."
Serena found the original post within minutes. The poster's profile looked clean, but she could tell who it was from the first few comments—Eliza.
Eliza even shared it from her personal account, and it happened exactly one minute after the post went live. There was no way that was a coincidence. She must have been the first person to "discover" this post that was supposedly spreading rumors about Serena.
Serena pressed her lips together and pulled up Eliza's contact info.
Serena: [Want to meet up?]
On the other side, Eliza was smugly watching the rumors spread when she saw the message. She froze for a moment, then immediately understood what had happened.
'Serena figured out I was behind the rumors this fast?' Eliza thought, trying to pretend she hadn't seen the message. But then, another text came through.
Serena: [You don't want me going to Victor about this, do you?]
Since coming back to the country, Serena had never bothered with Eliza's drama. She'd moved on from the whole mess with Victor and Leon, but Eliza just couldn't let it go.
Reading Serena's latest message, Eliza gritted her teeth and finally agreed to meet. 'She wants to see me? Fine,' she thought, running her hand over her growing belly with a cold smile. 'She's asking for this, so she can't blame anyone else.'
They met at a coffee shop that Victor used to frequent. When Serena arrived, Eliza was already there with a steaming cup in front of her. She looked up at Serena with her chin raised. "What do you want? I don't have time to waste chatting with you."
Serena sat down across from her and asked coolly, "You really don't know why I'm here? Those posts you made about me and Ms. Brown—I suggest you delete them now. Otherwise, I'll press criminal charges against you."
When Serena spoke up with such confidence, Eliza wasn't intimidated at all. She let out a mocking laugh and looked Serena up and down, then clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
End of The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep Chapter 98. Continue reading Chapter 99 or return to The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep book page.