Chapter 4

Inside the hospital room, Whitney stayed by Hunter’s side. Her lashes were lowered, and she looked deeply worried.

“Hunter, what if Florentia refuses to delete those reports?”

Hunter tried to reassure her. “Florentia’s not the type to go back on her word. Don’t worry.”

Whitney felt uneasy the moment she heard the trust in Hunter’s voice when he spoke about Florentia.

She forced out a smile.

“Maybe I’m just overthinking things.”

Hunter was confident that Florentia would listen to him.

During their five years of marriage, Florentia had always obeyed him without question. No matter what he asked of her, she had never refused.

But Whitney couldn’t smile at all.

The moment she thought about how Florentia used the deletion of those reports as leverage to snatch away the jewelry set she loved most, she felt sick with anger.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

Whitney answered the call. “Linda? What’s wrong?”

No one knew what the person on the other end said, but Whitney’s face instantly turned pale.

“What did you say?”

The moment the call ended, Whitney burst into tears and threw herself into Hunter’s arms.

“What happened?”

Valda asked anxiously while rubbing her aching lower back.

Hunter looked equally concerned. “What’s going on?”

Whitney tearfully repeated what she just heard from her friend.

“A bunch of gossip accounts are saying I’m having an affair with you. They even posted a lot of photos. Everyone online is attacking me right now.”

She opened her social media and handed the phone to Hunter.

Hunter glanced at the screen and saw that it was exactly as Whitney described.

Those gossip accounts were heavily implying that something improper was going on between him and Whitney. They had even reposted photos from Whitney’s social media.

[You can’t see his face clearly, but it’s obviously Hunter Patel. Hunter was on a business trip in Northport last month, and Whitney’s location tags were also in Northport.]

[This is disgusting. A war correspondent becoming a mistress?]

[Didn’t Hunter and Whitney go viral together yesterday? At this point, the rumors are probably true.]

Not only was Whitney being torn apart online, but Hunter himself had also been nailed to the wall as a cheating scumbag.

Hunter’s face darkened.

In all twenty-eight years of his life, this was the first time he had ever been cursed out this viciously online.

He immediately called his assistant and ordered him to investigate where those gossip accounts got their information.

After looking into it, the assistant called back.

“Mr. Patel, those gossip accounts all got their information from Banana Entertainment. They specialize in celebrity scandals and private gossip.”

“I don’t care what methods you use. Shut them up.”

“We already contacted them, but the news spread too fast…”

Even if Banana Entertainment and the other gossip accounts were silenced, countless people had already reposted everything online.

Hunter and Whitney had no choice but to swallow the humiliation.

Hunter ended the call furiously.

Neither Whitney nor Valda dared to speak after seeing the look on his face. The two women exchanged uneasy glances.

“I told you not to post those things online.”

Hunter took a deep breath, unable to stop himself from blaming Whitney.

Whitney was already furious herself.

She was the real Mrs. Patel, yet because Hunter wanted his grandfather’s shares, she had to stay hidden in the shadows.

She couldn’t even secretly show off their relationship online.

But the more she thought about it, the stranger the whole thing felt.

“Hunter, no one ever dug through my social media before. Why did everything suddenly explode this time? Could it be Florentia…”

She deliberately trailed off, subtly directing suspicion toward Florentia.

Hunter’s headache worsened.

He picked up his phone and checked Florentia’s earlier report.

It had already been deleted.

“Florentia already deleted the report. There’s no reason for her to do this.”

“Then what are we supposed to do now?”

Whitney felt even more frustrated.

Hunter closed his eyes briefly before looking at Whitney, his tone softening.

“I have an idea. Whitney, you’ll have to put up with this for now.”

Half an hour later.

Florentia was enjoying a spa treatment at a beauty salon when she saw the statements Whitney and Hunter had posted online.

She couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

They really had gone all out with their excuse.

According to their statements, Whitney was supposedly dating Hunter’s assistant, Ethan Cole.

Since Whitney occasionally visited Ethan, that was why her IP address often matched Hunter’s.

Just as Florentia settled comfortably with a face mask on, her phone suddenly rang.

The beautician handed her the phone.

The caller ID displayed one word: Honey

How disgusting.

She had been so busy dealing with those two that she forgot to change that nauseating contact name.

Florentia suppressed her disgust and answered the call in her usual gentle voice.

“What’s wrong?”

Hunter’s tone carried obvious suspicion.

“Honey, did you see what’s being said online?”

“Online? I’m getting a spa treatment right now.”

Florentia played dumb.

Hunter’s expression darkened further.

He was stuck in a hospital bed while she was off enjoying a spa day.

Did she already know about his relationship with Whitney? Had she deleted the report on purpose, only to secretly spread the rumors afterward?

“Someone online is spreading rumors about me and Whitney having an inappropriate relationship. You really don’t know anything about it?

“Honey, if you still suspect there’s something between Whitney and me, you could’ve just asked me directly. You don’t have to target Whitney.”

Wow.

Even now, he was still protecting Whitney.

A mocking smile curved across Florentia’s red lips, but her voice sounded hurt and aggrieved.

“I saw it, but I trust you, so I didn’t question you about it. But it seems like you don’t trust me at all. My feelings are hurt now, and I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

Before Hunter could say another word, Florentia swiftly blocked his number and changed his contact name to Bastard Hunter.

“Please add another forty thousand to my membership card. Thanks.”

Florentia leaned back again and handed the beautician the supplementary card Hunter gave her years ago.

When Florentia thought about how reluctant she used to be to spend Hunter’s money, she suddenly felt like a complete idiot.

Anyone who refused to spend a cheating man’s money was a fool.

Not only was she going to spend it now, she was going to spend it proudly.

A bank notification soon appeared on Hunter’s phone.

Forty thousand dollars was charged at a beauty salon.

In the past, Florentia could never bear to spend that much on beauty treatments.

The cards he gave her were usually used to maintain business relationships and buy gifts for the wives of his business partners.

When it came to social circles and business networking, Florentia handled everything flawlessly. She was polished, charming, and effortlessly good with people.

Whitney, on the other hand, hated those kinds of social occasions.

All she ever wanted was to be alone with him.

But today…

Florentia actually spent forty thousand dollars topping up a beauty membership card.

Something felt off.

Hunter immediately tried calling Florentia again.

A robotic voice informed him that the number he was trying to reach was unavailable.

He sent Florentia several messages on Messenger, but she still didn’t reply.

Valda walked back into the room while rubbing her sore lower back.

“Didn’t Florentia go buy jewelry? Why hasn’t she come back after buying it? Is she not coming to take care of you anymore?”

Hunter had always been extremely particular about his quality of life.

He disliked having strangers take care of his daily needs, not even the household staff were allowed to.

He was equally meticulous about food.

Hunter got irritated and tossed his phone aside.

“She had a fight with me.”

“A fight? So now she’s refusing to come take care of you?”