Chapter 219: Rumors and Insults

Kissing Matthew was like a drug. Once Elizabeth started, she couldn't stop.

Matthew, already a bit tipsy, kissed her back instinctively. The taste of alcohol mingled between them.

The assistant, noticing the situation, discreetly pressed the button to close the door and stepped out of the car to give them privacy.

Elizabeth kissed Matthew a little longer before pulling back to look at his face, still craving more.

She couldn't quite figure out what it was about Matthew that drew her in so much. Just one kiss from him was enough to ignite her desires.

But tonight wasn't the right time. Nola was waiting at home, so Elizabeth didn't linger. She quickly straightened her clothes, opened the car door, and got ready to leave.

Before she left, she couldn't resist pinching Matthew's face.

Matthew seemed genuinely drunk, showing no reaction and letting Elizabeth do as she pleased.

Satisfied, she finally left, instructing the assistant to drive slowly on the way back.

Seeing Matthew off took some time, but Elizabeth was in a good mood, humming a tune as she headed home.

Once the car left the villa area, Matthew, who had been lying in the back seat, slowly sat up and casually adjusted his clothes, showing no signs of drunkenness.

Raymond and Leandro had such low alcohol tolerance that they got drunk after just a few drinks. Anyone who didn't know better would think they had downed several bottles. Matthew felt he had to play along.

Matthew touched his lips, where Elizabeth had kissed him, and couldn't help but smile.

Pretending to be drunk was something he had done many times before; he was quite skilled at it.

Every time he pretended to be drunk, he got to see a very genuine side of Elizabeth. She always took advantage of him. But he liked it!

The assistant couldn't help but glance at him through the rearview mirror. With everything that had been going on with Nova, it had been a while since he had seen Matthew this happy.

If only things could go back to how they used to be.

As they were driving, the assistant's phone suddenly rang.

He answered it directly, and Matthew, in the back seat, heard the conversation and his expression changed immediately. Elizabeth was in trouble.

Elizabeth had just returned to the villa and walked in the door when she heard the news.

Alice handed her the phone, her face twisted with anger.

"I can't believe it! Why are people spreading rumors about you again? Who would dare target you like this? What are they trying to achieve?"

Elizabeth took the phone and glanced at it.

A trending topic was dominating the social media platform, with high engagement and heated discussions.

In short, someone had come forward claiming to be an insider, saying that Elizabeth had climbed to her current position by using men.

This person insisted that Elizabeth had a wealthy backer, which was why she had managed to bring down both the Perez family and the Martin family.

The comment section was a mess, filled with people who didn't know the truth, listing the men often seen around Elizabeth and saying terrible things.

Accusations of seducing Leandro, being involved with Raymond, and having a mysterious boyfriend were everywhere.

There were even claims that she frequently traveled to Silvermist City and had inappropriate relationships with government officials.

Elizabeth saw all this and smiled, but her eyes were cold, showing no hint of amusement.

She held Alice back. "Don't tell Mom about this. I'll have the posts taken down. I know who did this."

Alice was on the verge of tears, stomping her foot in frustration.

"What do they want? These accusations are completely twisted!"

Elizabeth patted her hand to calm her. "Of course, they have to twist the facts; otherwise, how else would they spread rumors about me? It's her usual tactic."

Alice looked at her in surprise. "You really know who did this?"

Elizabeth nodded and started contacting people to take down the posts.

Who else but Emily could pull off something like this?

Spreading rumors was something Emily had done before. She was the only one who knew the men around Elizabeth so well.

Emily had been hiding and apologizing before, but now she dared to confront Elizabeth directly. Did she have some new leverage?

Elizabeth had to think carefully and stay alert.

In fact, the rumors were indeed Emily's doing.

Elizabeth realized this, but Jeremy didn't. When he saw the news, he immediately confronted his sister Lily, who was sitting next to him playing on her phone.

"Can you stop causing trouble? Our family has already hurt Elizabeth enough. Why would you do something like this?"

Lily, chatting with a man, looked up at him in confusion.

"Are you crazy? What did I do to you? Why are you accusing me?"

Jeremy shoved his phone in her face, his expression grim.

Lily took a closer look and couldn't help but laugh. She even seemed pleased.

She pointed at the phone, laughing uncontrollably.

"She deserves it! All the bad things she's done are finally coming to light!"

Jeremy frowned. "If it wasn't you, then who else could it be?"

Lily ignored him and stopped chatting with the man, eager to check the trending topic.

Jeremy thought for a moment and then realized.

Besides Lily, there was one other person who was very good at this—Emily.

Jeremy had already blocked and deleted Emily's contact information, but he quickly unblocked her and called.

Surprisingly, Emily answered quickly, her voice as gentle as ever, showing no sign of anger over their previous fallout.

"What's up, Jeremy? Why are you calling?"

Hearing Emily's voice, Jeremy's anger flared up as he shouted.

"You're the one spreading those rumors online, aren't you? You never change! Even if your life is a mess now, you still want to drag Elizabeth down with you?"