Ex Cried as I Wed a Tycoon

Chapter 130

If things kept spiraling like this, there'd be no way to contain the fallout.

Shirley never doubted Effie-not for a second.

She simply wasn't the type to get between a couple, and even though they hadn't known each other long, Shirley trusted her instincts about Effie's character.

What she couldn't understand was why someone was so determined to drag Effie through the mud.

"Don't worry. The truth will come out," Effie said calmly, her voice steady.

With nothing else to do, Shirley could only return awkwardly to her seat, worry still etched on her face.

But the scandal wasn't dying down-in fact, it was only growing.

In just an hour, the story had shot into the top five trending topics online, and it showed no signs of slowing down.

With Effie staying quiet, whoever was behind the rumors grew bolder, paying off influencers and gossip accounts to fan the flames and spread more fabricated dirt.

Soon, the internet was flooded with nasty comments, calling Effie every degrading name imaginable and branding her a homewrecker. The tide of public opinion turned sharply against her.

Suzan, on the other hand, was positively glowing that day.

She'd started this whole thing on a whim, never expecting it would blow up so spectacularly.

tea with an air of satisfaction, she

you get for flirting

spirits. She hadn't expected there were others who despised Effie as much as

stoke the fire even more, determined to keep the scandal

Lyman see Effie's true colors, she thought. Effie was always

to fight back,

as Luther arrived at the office, he

said, concern etched across

sure she'd never cheat on Mr. Etheridge. There had

phone buzzing nonstop with trending alerts about Effie. He dismissed them without a word, but when he caught sight of a particular

cautiously. "Sir, should we have

like steel. "And have someone pull the security footage. I want to know exactly who thinks they can

trusted Effie. She

seen those doctored photos, anger had flashed

quickly regained his

was orchestrating this smear

to handle

minutes, the trending topic

a well-known blogger posted a video

as fakes-crude Photoshop

footage clearly showed Effie trying to push the other person away, visibly uncomfortable and repeatedly shaking