Chapter 192 The Marriage Certificate Is Fake
While the internet erupted in chaos, Quinley chose to stay above it all.
When the heart is unmoved, what can the wind do?
She left alone and headed to the Brown family cemetery. There was a grave there that belonged to her.
This time, she brought no flowers. Empty-handed, she climbed the steps. The tombstone, weathered by wind and rain, had taken on a weathered, desolate appearance. It sat alone, forgotten and neglected.
Standing before it, Quinley felt profoundly calm.
Though the person buried here wasn't her, it felt like it was—the old, weak version of herself.
"Seeing your own grave—quite surreal, isn't it?"
A voice without warningcame from behind her.
Quinley turned to find David approaching. He reeked of alcohol, that smirk playing at his lips, his eyes clouded with hesitation.
"Maybe," she replied flatly.
David came closer and knelt in front of the tombstone. He pointed at her. "It would've been better if you'd actually died. Then you could've lived in my heart forever. Quinley, I've never loved anyone the way I loved you. Why did you have to leave? Do you really hate me that much?"
"Mr. Brown, let the past remain in the past. You'll meet someone better."
"I won't." David smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Clinging to the past was its own form of punishment.
Quinley didn't spare him another glance. She turned and walked away.
"Alicia won't give up. She'll do whatever it takes to get Zachary. Quinley, you and Zachary have no future."
Quinley's spine stiffened for a moment. Wind howled in her ears, but it couldn't disturb her determination.
"Whether we have a future is for me to decide."
She strode forward with unwavering determination.
David squinted at her retreating figure. In that moment, he finally realized—he'd lost her completely.
---
Back in the hospital room, Zachary was personally overseeing every detail of his counter-move.
When Quinley pushed open the door, he looked up in surprise.
"Quin, you came?"
She held up a bag of fried chicken. "Why wouldn't I?"
"I'm so glad you did." The tension in Zachary's face finally broke into a smile.
Quinley pulled a chair up beside his bed and handed him the food. "Try it. See if it tastes the same. I just waited in line for it—still hot."
Even with disaster impending, she maintained this calm composure. Zachary was deeply moved.
He grabbed a piece of chicken and took a bite. The taste exploded his mouth. "It's delicious. Even better than before."
"Then eat more." Quinley smiled, taking a napkin to dabbed the corner from the corner of his mouth.
"Did you see the livestream?" Zachary finally broke the peaceful moment.
Quinley nodded. "I saw it."
She'd seen it but showed no emotional reaction whatsoever. That unnatural calm made his heart ache.
Zachary grasped her small hand tightly in his. "I've had people handle it. All the livestreams will be terminated soon."
"Don't."
Quinley looked up calmly.
"Why not?"
"Rumors end with the wise, remember?" A sly smile crossed Quinley's face.
In that moment, Zachary felt like his Quinley had truly returned. He was both overjoyed. He pulled her into his arms. "Thank you, Quinny."
"Don't thank me again. We're married. We have to stand on the same side—unless you regret it?"
At that, Zachary shook his head vigorously. "Not one."
He took her face in his hands and kissed her repeatedly.
At Quinley's insistence, Zachary withdrew the shutdown orders for the livestreams.
Sometimes things work in paradoxical ways—when the streams faced shutdown, viewership only increased. Now, with all obstacles removed, interest fizzled out.
Quinley logged into the livestream with a fake profile.
Alicia was quite the actress. She'd been spinning her tale for nearly two hours, fabricating a beautiful love story.
Quinley listened with rapt attention. Zachary couldn't stand it.
"Come on, turn it off."
He tried to close the stream, but Quinley refused.
"Let me listen. She's really good. I'm on the verge of tears." She seemed to have forgotten she was the actual protagonist of this story.
Zachary flicked her forehead lightly. "Your heart is really too big. Aren't you afraid she'll seduce your husband?"
"She can't." Quinley's certainty was absolute.
Zachary felt secretly pleased. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his head in the nook of her neck.
"I'm not going anywhere. No one can take me. I'm staying with my Quinny until we're old and grey."
Zachary had gotten quite good at sweet-talking.
"You're so corny!" Quinley stuck her tongue out at him.
They dissolved into playful banter.
Suddenly, Zachary's phone buzzed.
"Mr. Jennings, we have a problem. Ms. Davis is at the hospital."
Lucas had been closely keeping tabs on the livestream crisis. The moment he got word, he'd called Zachary immediately.
"Let her come." Zachary's response was frosty, just three words.
Then he looked at Quinley. "frightened?"
She shook her head. "No."
A few minutes later, Alicia arrived at Zachary's room with an entourage of influencers and bloggers.
The door burst open. She immediately spotted Quinley.
With feigned shock, she gasped, "Who... who are you? Why do you my spitting image?"
She wanted to take control.
Now there were two identical women in Zachary's room. The livestream went wild.
"Ms. Davis, you don't remember me already?" Quinley was cool as a cucumber, unfazedby the crisis.
"What are you talking about? I'm Quinley. Who are you?"
Alicia had fully committed to her role.
Quinley stared at her steadily, smiling. "How do you prove your identity?"
Just like the other day, Alicia pulled out her driver's license, passport, and even a marriage certificate. She flashedeach document before the cameras, then looked at Quinley with a glint of defiance.
A brawlbetween two women, no matter the form, always attracted a mob.
"It's viral! The views are through the roof!"
The livestream viewership surged. Bloggers exclaimed with each surge.
Zachary remained silent. He was waiting for the decisive moment—the moment to deliver a fatal blow to Alicia.
"Mr. Jennings, is this your wife?" Quinley turned to Zachary and asked sincerely.
As CEO of Apex Global Group, Zachary was one of Rosewood City's most powerful figures—a high-profile figure. The influencers immediately swung their cameras toward him.
Zachary leaned against the bedpost, his expression steely, his sharp gaze fixed on Alicia.
"No."
Alicia immediately dissolved into sobs, sobbing dramatically.
"Honey, we're married! How can you joke about this?"
"Married?" Zachary's lips curved mockingly.
Alicia pulled out the marriage certificate again, opened it, and held it up for everyone to see.
"See for yourself! Isn't this the marriage certificate we got together? How could it be fake?"
The chat went into a frenzy. Quinley remained asunruffled.
She sat there, holding her cup, taking small small draughts, watching the farce unfold as if she were a bystander.
"Fake or not, we can double-checkit easily enough."
At Zachary's slight nod, someone immediately lungedand swipedthe certificate from Alicia's hands.
"What are you doing? Hand it over!"
Alicia lost her cool.
But it was a second too late. A a voice rang out, "Ms. Davis, your certificate is fake."
The person held up their phone, showing the verification results.
"Impossible!No way!" Alicia shook her head wildly.
Suddenly, she leveled a finger atQuinley, her expression turning crazed.
"It's you! You framed me!"