Chapter 2

"What did you say?" I demanded, exasperated.

Richard and I had built our empire from scratch. We had been married for 25 years with a rock-solid relationship. How had I suddenly become a mistress who seduced her way to the top?

"Am I wrong?" Janice snorted, full of righteous indignation.

She pulled out her phone, opened a blurry photo, and held it up to the camera. In the picture, Richard and I were taking a stroll along the beach. Although our faces weren't clear, the woman's silhouette was undeniably mine.

"Look, everyone. She might have changed her clothes, but she can't mask that penniless, low-class vibe. Who is Mr. Castillo? He's the president of a corporate empire.

"The real Mrs. Castillo is an old-money socialite who lives abroad supervising their children's education. She is noble, elegant, and sophisticated. Only a shameless woman like this would dress like a beggar and run over to cause a scene in front of her son."

The stream's live chat erupted into a frenzy.

[Hard evidence! The silhouette is a match.]

[How shameless! Failed to hook the old man, so now she's harassing the son?]

[So, she's that kind of trash! No wonder she looks so cheap. Mr. Castillo probably threw her out on her ear.]

[Go, Janice! Expose this immoral old hag!]

...

Watching the screen flood with insults, I somehow calmed down.

So, in this girl's world, expensive designer labels meant class, while anything simple and comfortable was automatically cheap.

Apparently, if one didn't show their face, they had no shame, and if one believed every rumor they heard, they were simply standing up for what was right.

Brandon really did have terrible taste in women.

"Watch your tongue! Slander carries legal consequences," I warned, eyeing her coldly. "You claim I'm a mistress. Do you have proof? You claim Mrs. Castillo is living abroad. Have you ever even met her?"

Janice faltered, then puffed out her chest defensively. "Of course, I do. Brandon told me himself. His mom holds immense status abroad and wouldn't come back to deal with petty everyday matters.

"As for you... Do I really need proof? One look at you says it all. Sure, you've kept yourself looking decent, but you still give off that cheap, desperate vibe even through the screen. What's wrong? Hit a nerve? Now you're throwing a tantrum?"

Convinced she was standing on the moral high ground, Janice became bolder by the second.

"Guys, women like her are experts at digging in their heels and playing innocent," she said righteously. "So today, on behalf of Brandon and his mother, I'm going to teach this shameless homewrecker a lesson she'll never forget."

She raised her hand to shove me, but I simply stepped aside and caught her wrist, twisting her arm behind her back.

"Ah! This is mayhem!" Janice screamed, taking the chance to throw herself to the floor.

Tears spilled from her eyes right in the next instant.

"Help! This homewrecker is attacking me!" she cried out. "Brandon, help me! Your relative has completely lost it!"

The audience erupted, filling the screen with angry comments and curses.

[Call the police! Immediately!]

[She's insane! Assaulting someone in broad daylight!]

[Don't be scared, Janice. We've got your back!]

[Where the hell is Brandon? His girlfriend is getting attacked, and he's still not here?]

...

Right then, the green room door burst open.

A young man in a trendy hoodie and silver-dyed hair stormed out. It was my son, Brandon Castillo.

"What's going on here? What's all the racket about?" he demanded, clearly irritated at being dragged into the commotion.

Janice immediately burst into tears and threw herself into his arms. "Brandon, you're finally here! This relative of yours...

She pointed at me and complained bitterly, "Not only did she turn up her nose at my money, but she called me a cheap bimbo. And when I pointed out she was Mr. Castillo's mistress, she attacked me! My wrist hurts so badly. I think it's broken..."

Brandon glanced down at her slightly swollen wrist, and his jaw tightened. He snapped his head up and glared in my direction.

But the instant our eyes met, his anger vanished. Confusion flashed across his face, followed by horror.

"Mo..."

Before he could finish the word, Janice's shrill voice cut him off.

"Brandon! What are you waiting for? It's this old hag! She was about to beat me up!" she spluttered, clutching his arm. "Call security and have her thrown out right now. If word gets out about this, it will ruin the Castillo family's reputation!"

But Brandon was frozen solid, his face turning a bizarre shade of pale. He looked down at the woman crying in his arms, then back at me.

I remained expressionless, but I knew that his brain had short-circuited.

He'd never imagined that his mother, who was supposedly living overseas, would suddenly appear here in a cheap-looking outfit from a discount rack.

"Uh... Janice, get up," he stammered, reaching down to help her, though there was little confidence in his voice.

"No," she refused. "I'm not getting up until you throw her out!"

Mistaking his hesitation for concern about family ties, she became even more demanding.

"It's either her or me!" she said, pressing on. "Choose right now. Are you really going to take her side and abandon me, or are you going to throw this piece of trash out?"

The last trace of color drained from Brandon's face.

He knew my temper better than anyone. While I was usually easygoing, that was strictly conditional on nobody crossing the line. Once they did, even Richard had learned to tread carefully around me.

And now, Janice hadn't merely called me broke. She'd called me a mistress and a piece of trash.

Every insult had landed on a landmine.

"So, this is the girlfriend you picked?" I said, looking at Brandon with a humorless smile. "You certainly have poor taste."

He flinched, desperately trying to explain, "Mom, listen to me..."

"Listen to you about what?" Janice cut in, pointing straight at me. "You old hag, who do you think you are? How dare you talk to Brandon like that?"

She looked at Brandon and screamed, "Look at how arrogant she is! If you don't give me a proper explanation right now, we're done!"

The live chat immediately echoed her words.

[Dump him! A spineless loser like him doesn't deserve Janice.]

[Brandon, grow a backbone for once!]

[Throw out the old hag!]

...

Brandon was trapped, glancing between Janice and me. He seemed to understand that there was no way out of this without making a choice.

After taking a deep breath, he suddenly pushed Janice aside and bowed his head to me.

"Mom, I was wrong."