Chapter 308 Two Slaps

Chapter 308 Two Slaps

A bar lounge at midnight.

“Oh my God—eighteen guys? Lyra's having way more fun than you."

After dropping Kaitlyn off, Philip had called a few old friends to hang out at the bar. One friend, arriving late, plopped down, glanced at his phone, and let out a shocked whistle.

Philip leaned over and immediately stiffened.

Before the friend could react, Philip snatched the phone. The guy quickly warned, “Hey, that’s my wife’s phone. Don't smash it—I just got it fixed, and I need to give it back to her tonight.”

The guy was Philip's longtime friend, but his wife was Lyra's childhood best friend.

The video playing on the social media post was filmed by Emily.

Eighteen handsome guys took turns feeding peeled grapes to Lyra, who sat on the sofa like a queen. The whole scene looked incredibly suggestive.

Off-screen, Emily’s enthusiastic voice rang out, mingling with cheerful laughter.
Philip's face darkened. He wanted to smash the phone right then and there.

Fortunately, his friend was quick enough to snatch it back.

"Philip, are you crazy? You didn't appreciate Lyra when you had her, and now you're losing it here. When you were holding Kaitlyn, did you think about this moment? And you want to give her a wedding? You've really lost your mind!” With that, the man stood up and left.

After everyone had gone, Philip took out his phone and called William, but no one picked up.

Furious, he threw his phone against the wall. It shattered on impact.

Bouncing out of 'Hidden Feast' restaurant, Emily held each brother's hand, their shadows stretching long under the moonlight, radiating happiness.

The Cole family's car was already waiting at the entrance. After seeing Lyra safely into the vehicle, Sophia got into the one behind.
Joe drove while the kids sat in a row in the back seat.

Back at their place, after putting the children to bed, Sophia finally had time to check her phone.

She had asked someone to look into why Philip was holding a wedding for Kaitlyn. The reason made her laugh out loud—it was because of a promise he'd made to her when they were young.

A legally binding marriage certificate couldn't get her a wedding.

But a promise from his youth was worth more?

Absolutely insane.

Saturday arrived—the day Philip had promised to marry Kaitlyn.
Lyra had booked a suite early in the morning at a hotel across from the lawn hotel where they were holding the wedding, bringing the Sophia's family along to watch the show.

She bought lots of new toys for the kids.

Sophia played with the children on the carpet for a while. After Lyra finished handling some matters and came back, she told the kids not to run around, then got up and walked over to pat her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I've got your back."

"Actually, I'm not worried, Sophia. I think I understand that feeling you talked about... that sense of relief."

She felt like she was letting go of a youthful attachment that had haunted her for years.

In the past, every time Lyra saw Philip, an involuntary joy would rise in her heart. Over time, that lingering joy had become chains wrapped around her heart.

The day Lyra and Philip registered their marriage, she unlocked those shackles with a thorny key.

When she filed for divorce, they loosened a bit. The first time she went to court to submit documents, they loosened more. When she went alone the second time to submit the application, the shackles on her heart completely disappeared.

Now, even watching Philip marry someone else—Her heart remained still and unaffected.
She smiled and said, "Sophia, I'm... free."

Hearing these words after Lyra had let it go, Sophia was genuinely happy for her. She opened her arms and wrapped her in a gentle embrace. "Then congratulations."

The two stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows to watch the show.

The suite’s glass was specially designed—perfectly transparent from the inside, but reflective from the outside. Meaning that they could see everything, but no one could see them.

Philip still cared about his dignity.

There were no members of the Banks family present—only close friends. None of them knew that he was already legally married to Lyra.
Kaitlyn was like an unfulfilled obsession from his youth, something he'd been longing for.

Inside the dressing room, Philip stood before the mirror in a crisp white suit. Philip inexplicably thought of the day he and Lyra registered their marriage. She had worn a very simple white dress, with big wavy hair and light makeup, without a trace of joy about getting married on her face.

He couldn't quite understand his own heart.

Kaitlyn was clearly the woman he'd admired since his youth.

Today he was having a wedding with her, which should be a very happy thing, but he kept feeling like his heart was soaking in vinegar—sour and bitter.

He looked at his silent phone. So what if Lyra changed her number? His number was already stored in her mind; she could call him anytime if she wanted.

Philip had even disabled his call-blocking settings just in case.

He didn't believe that people around him who were still in touch with Lyra wouldn't tell her about the wedding, but a day and night had passed, and his phone still had no messages about her.

“Philip?” Kaitlyn’s gentle voice sounded from outside. “Are you ready? It’s time.”

Compared to her elaborate wedding dress, Philip's outfit was much simpler.

The hotel suite was at a certain distance from the lawn—you could see the scene over there from afar, but couldn't clearly make out people's expressions.

Sophia had custom glasses prepared.

When you put them on, they worked like binoculars. By adjusting the distance and magnification, you could clearly see everyone's expressions across the way.

She and Lyra settled on the sofa, watching Kaitlyn walk out on the red carpet, her arm linked with Philip’s, with friends raising their hands and cheering around them. Both women smiled.

"The show's starting." Lyra clinked glasses with Sophia.

At the hotel entrance, separated from the lawn by a wall—a black car came to a halt. Philip's father Graham Banks and mother Allannah Banks had gotten out of the car, along with Philip's uncle—Brock Banks.

On stage, the officiant—a college classmate of Philip and Kaitlyn's, had just begun speaking when he saw a large group of people emerge.

"Mr. Graham Banks?" he blurted into the microphone.

Philip frowned. He had deliberately sent his parents away on a trip—how could they possibly be here?

But when Philip turned around and saw that Graham and Allannah had really come, an inexplicable panic rose in his heart.

Graham strode forward and slapped him across the face without hesitation, roaring, "You bastard! How dare you do something so disgraceful?"

"You just married Lyra not long ago—haven’t even given her a wedding—and now you’re here humiliating yourself like this?!"

At the same time.

Allannah also slapped Kaitlyn across the face, her eyes furious, “You shameless woman!” she snapped. “Years ago, you took fifty million dollars from the Banks family and disappeared! Now you're back to ruin my son. Ran out of money and came crawling back, is that it?"

"And you even dared to send us a wedding invitation? You think this will get you into the Banks family? I'm telling you right here and now: impossible!"

"Even if I die, you'll never step foot inside the Banks Villa!"

The ceremony hadn't even officially started, and both the bride and groom had been slapped.

But none of this compared to Graham's words: You and Lyra just got married not long ago!

But this wasn't the end. The display screen behind them, which had been showing college photos of Philip and Kaitlyn, began playing video footage of Philip entering Cheryl's apartment that day.

Sophia smiled. This Cheryl clearly wasn't an honest person either.

She was quite skilled at betraying Kaitlyn.