Chapter 229

Chapter 229

Justin was jolted awake by Susan's scolding.

Hearing what she said, memories from years ago slowly began to resurface.

He'd never wanted to remember what happened back then, so he'd selectively forgotten it all. But now, listening to Susan, he seemed to genuinely recall that night.

He had... he really had been drinking. He really had been heartbroken. So he'd chosen Gwen himself.

It's just that after sobering up, he didn't remember his own decision at all. He'd assumed Gwen took advantage of him, crawled into his bed, and thought she was some kind of loose woman.

No... it shouldn't have been like that.

That wasn't how he remembered it...

His assistant picked up the phone Justin had thrown on the floor. When he saw the new message on it, he froze.

Hesitating, he handed the phone to Justin.

"Mr. Sterling... you have a new message. It's about Lynn."

Lynn?

Justin snapped back to attention, carelessly wiping his face before taking the phone.

After reading the new message clearly, he blinked in confusion.

No... that's wrong!

He'd investigated Lynn. Lynn did have a husband abroad, but she'd told him she'd been abused by that husband, which was why she decided to return home.

These photos had to be fake...

Standing to the side, the assistant hesitated several times before deciding to report honestly: "Mr. Sterling, when you asked me to investigate Lynn before, different results came up, but because you've been so busy lately, I haven't had a chance to report them yet."

"What results?" Justin's tone was almost pleading.

Please tell him this was all fake...

But the assistant only said, "It's all true. Lynn's life abroad really was like this. And... her husband only hit her because he was fighting with her lover and accidentally struck her in the process. The local authorities deemed it domestic violence, so he was forced to divorce her."

Ridiculous...

The domestic violence Lynn spoke of was actually this?

How could he be so laughable, so naive as to simply believe Lynn's one-sided story?

She claimed to love him, but when she was enjoying that chaotic life abroad, did she think of him even once?

She probably had nowhere else to go after the divorce, her reputation ruined, so she was forced to return home.

And after coming back, he became her only option.

Justin sat on the floor in disarray, mocking his own stupidity.

He was a fucking idiot. He believed in Lynn's character, thought she was his sacred first love from memory, so he never wanted to think badly of her.

But Lynn was a thousand times, a hundred times more disgusting than he'd imagined!

Justin suddenly reacted, standing up with a pale face. "Hospital... go to the hospital..."

He needed to get tested!

The assistant immediately drove him to the nearest private hospital.

Private hospitals could perform examinations at any time, so Justin's test results came back quickly.

The moment he saw the report, Justin closed his eyes, feeling the world spin.

Leaving the hospital, Justin's face was ashen.

He held the test report, unable to suppress a cold laugh.

'Lynn, you're really something.'

The next day, the internet exploded with scandals about Lynn.

The media outlets that had once praised Justin and Lynn as the perfect couple were mocked mercilessly.

People also recalled how everyone had judged Gwen when the controversy first erupted.

Gwen had been the most innocent victim, yet because of the inexplicable media spin at the time, everyone thought she was the homewrecker.

When the plagiarism incident came to light earlier, most people's impression of Gwen had already improved. Now with this new development, everyone felt sympathy and affection for her.

Liora Atelier went viral again, and the brand flourished.

It was a good outcome.

Gwen didn't know who had exposed this, and after asking Susan, found she didn't know either.

So it was probably Justin himself.

Gwen had thought Justin would hide this out of shame, but he'd gone and exposed it directly.

Something major must have happened to make him want to go down in flames like this.

Gwen stopped following the online discourse.

She watched Charlie and Zachary sitting together playing a four-hand piano piece, finding the scene beautiful.

Zachary studied music and knew some piano, so his studio had always had one.

Gwen photographed their backs and posted it on Facebook.

The caption read: [Us.]

She made sure not to show Zachary's profile, worried that given his special status, the photo might cause him unnecessary trouble.

So only people familiar with them would know who it was.

Susan was the first to notice.

She excitedly teased Gwen about showing off again. Gwen replied with a laugh, then said to Zachary, "By the way, my parents know about us. Have you thought about meeting them?"

Zachary's expression showed rare nervousness. "Can I?"

He'd thought he'd have to wait longer to earn Gwen's approval, so he'd never dared bring it up himself.

But from the moment he confirmed his feelings, he'd been ready to walk into marriage with Gwen.

Gwen smiled. "They said they wanted to meet you, but it was too soon at the time, so I declined."

It had only been a few days since then, but Gwen felt their relationship was stable enough, so meeting wasn't impossible.

After everything she'd been through, she knew life was only a few short decades. No need to overthink things.

Charlie had long sensed something was up between Zachary and his mom. He cleverly found an excuse: "Mommy, I want to play with puzzles."

"The puzzles are outside." Zachary led Charlie out of the piano room, letting him play with puzzles outside.

After closing the door, the soundproof piano room fell quiet.

"Am I ready for this?" Zachary's voice was hoarse. "I'm worried I might not do well somewhere... they..."

"You don't need to worry. My parents are easy to talk to, and they respect my wishes." Gwen walked forward, taking the initiative to hold Zachary's hand. "Don't be too nervous. They really just want to meet you. After all, you know about my past, so I understand their concern."

"I understand." Zachary bent down to hold her. "Thank you, Gwen. Thank you for giving me the chance to be with you."

He said earnestly, "I'll prepare well. I absolutely won't disappoint your parents."

Gwen smiled. "Tomorrow, then?"