Chapter 378
"Cheating scum."
The moment he posted it, the comment caught everyone's attention.
Over the past few days, Willow and the Lancaster family had already been under scrutiny. Charles's account was being closely monitored.
Seeing the IP address on the account confirmed it—this was Charles himself.
Minutes later, the internet exploded again.
"That's Charles Lancaster, right? What's he trying to say? So those two really did cheat during the marriage?"
"He's pissed enough to come out and curse at them. Charles getting exiled abroad by the Lancaster family must have more to the story!"
"Mr. Lancaster looks so respectable, but I never thought he'd do something like stealing his own nephew's wife!"
"I knew something was off. Everyone at Majestic City University knows how good Mr. Lancaster Jr. was to Willow. He even paid for her grandmother's medical bills. How could Willow betray him like that?"
...
In an instant, Willow and Sterling's reputations hit rock bottom.
Some even began suspecting that the supposed cheating footage broadcast during Charles's wedding to the mayor's daughter had also been a setup.
"If Harold Lancaster still has any sense left, he should bring Mr. Lancaster Jr. back and kick Sterling out!"
"The Lancaster Group having someone like that in charge? I'm never buying their products again. Get Sterling out!"
"Willow's no saint either. Mr. Lancaster Jr. treated her so well, and she still cheated. Mr. Lancaster Jr.'s right—they're both cheating scum!"
...
Online emotions escalated rapidly.
Some people even started doxxing Willow's address and Sterling's schedule.
Fortunately, the Brown family and Sterling's protection held strong—no one actually found Willow's home.
However, Majestic City University, where Willow had studied, couldn't escape.
Plenty of outraged bystanders descended on Majestic City University, digging around for anything related to Willow.
When Willow took Luke out for a walk, she nearly ran into those people. Luckily, Luke noticed in time and led her on a detour, avoiding them.
After Willow returned home, Sienna called.
"Willow, what's going on with all those posts online?" Sienna's tone was relatively rational.
Willow knew she must have been harassed by those people, too. "Did someone contact you? I'm sorry, I never expected them to do this."
Sienna said, "I've blocked them all already. Willow, I believe in your character. Everything online is fake, right?"
Willow fell silent for a moment, then told Sienna about that night.
Although Charles had indeed cheated first, and what happened between her and Sterling was an accident, strictly speaking, she had cheated too.
Sienna had been good to her. Sienna deserved to know the truth.
After Willow finished, silence stretched on the other end.
"Ms. Taylor..." Willow felt uneasy.
Sienna's voice finally came through. "I understand. It wasn't your fault. I know you've always been a good person."
Willow felt some relief. "Thank you, Ms. Taylor. I'm sorry. I'll get this online situation handled as soon as possible."
Sienna said, "Do it quickly. Don't let it affect your graduate school enrollment. The university is very sensitive about major negative publicity."
Willow agreed.
After hanging up, not long after, Sienna personally posted on her blog—just one short sentence:
"Willow Spencer is my student, and I believe in her."
Sienna had taught at Majestic City University for many years. Many leaders in the domestic advertising industry were her students. As soon as she spoke out, Willow's academic siblings quickly came forward to speak on her behalf.
Willow silently noted all of this in her heart, deeply grateful to them.
Maria remained oblivious to everything happening online.
Back in the hospital, she'd had nothing to do, cooped up in the ward all day with only her phone for company.
After moving into family housing, Maria had made quite a few old friends, often chatting with them downstairs and enjoying the sun.
Except, she couldn't tell if it was her imagination, but the past couple of days, these old friends had been looking at her strangely.
"Ben, if you've got something to say, just say it. What's with the staring?" Maria finally couldn't hold back.
Ben coughed guiltily. "Nothing, nothing. Just spacing out."
Maria frowned suspiciously, then looked at the others nearby. "What about you? You've all been hemming and hawing for two days. What are you hiding from me?"
The group exchanged glances. After a long while, no one spoke.
They'd all witnessed Maria's character. They also knew she'd had heart surgery and were terrified of accidentally upsetting her.
But someone couldn't resist their curiosity.
"Maria, I heard your granddaughter is marrying the CEO of the Lancaster Group?" someone asked.
Maria noticed the look in their eyes, her heart sinking. "Yes, why?"
The person hesitated. "But... I heard she used to be married to Mr. Lancaster's nephew."
The smile gradually faded from Maria's face. "Is that what you've all been dancing around these past two days? Where'd you hear that?"
The person went quiet.
"I asked where you heard that!" Maria's tone sharpened. "Whatever you're all thinking, my granddaughter isn't that kind of person!"
She continued, "My granddaughter was indeed Charles's ex-wife, but they divorced because that bastard cheated! My granddaughter is innocent!"
Seeing Maria getting agitated, another elderly woman who was close to her hurried over. "Maria, we didn't think anything of it. Calm down—didn't the doctor say you shouldn't get worked up?"
Maria's chest heaved with anger.
Just as Maria was about to say something more, someone muttered quietly, "We don't want to think anything either, but she's remarrying so fast, and her new man is her ex-husband's own uncle. Who knows what really happened..."
At those words, Maria couldn't care less about her health. She stood up in agitation, wanting to set things straight with them, but her other old friends held her back, afraid she'd damage her health in her fury.
"Mrs. Spencer?" Nolan was returning from class when he spotted the elderly folks arguing. He tried to mediate, only to realize one of the main parties was Maria.
He quickly went to support Maria, asking the others, "What happened? Why are you all fighting?"
Someone gave him a brief explanation, then said to the person who'd spoken earlier, "Ian, you went too far just now! Apologize to Maria!"
Ian looked completely indignant. "If she thinks I'm wrong, she can explain! That's what everyone's saying online. I'm just stating facts. What's wrong with that?"
"Nolan, let me go!" Maria was furious.
Nolan's expression turned grave.
There'd been similar gossip around campus the past few days. He just hadn't expected it to spread through the neighborhood too, with people discussing it right to Maria's face.
He pulled Maria behind him, scanning the crowd.
"I know what you're all talking about. Can you hear me out first?"