Chapter 3

Jocelyn's POV

Back at the office, I started packing my things.

Out of nowhere, Calvin stormed in, grabbed my wrist, and snarled, "Jocelyn, who gave you the right to spread rumors online that Mandy's a homewrecker? Do you have any idea how important a woman's reputation is? How is she supposed to show her face in public after this?"

I frowned. "What are you even talking about? I know nothing about that."

His face was dark as he shoved his phone in front of me.

That was how I learned that "Beech Heiress Mandy Beech Is a Homewrecker" had shot to number one on the trending list.

Someone had uploaded clips from my wedding with Calvin and lined them up next to shots of him shopping with Mandy on his back.

The comments section on her socials was flooded with people calling her a homewrecker, and it even tanked Beech Group's stock price.

I stared at the wall of trending hashtags and laughed. I said, "This has nothing to do with me. You have to admit the Internet's right, though. Mandy knew you had a girlfriend and still used being your 'buddy' as an excuse to hang all over you. If that's not being a homewrecker, what is?"

"How dare you slander her!"

Calvin's grip on my wrist tightened like a vise. He squeezed so hard he actually yanked my wrist out of its socket.

Pain shot through me so fiercely my whole body shook, but I still refused to back down.

Calvin finally let go as more students and teachers gathered to watch. He let out a cold laugh and calmly made a phone call.

Within minutes, every trending topic about Mandy vanished from the Internet—Calvin had paid to have them all taken down. At the same time, the intimate photos Mandy had taken of me on my wedding night got leaked.

"Sorry for the spectacle, everyone." Calvin tugged at his tie, his icy gaze sweeping over the crowd. "It's true I held a wedding with Jocelyn, but she's promiscuous by nature. On our wedding night, she climbed into my brother's bed and cheated on me.

"I was devastated. That's why I agreed to marry my childhood friend, Mandy Beech. Ms. Beech has never been the other woman—she's my lawfully wedded wife. It's Jocelyn who's eaten up with jealousy and crying wolf."

Calvin's gaze was unwavering, every word firm and absolute.

For a second, I was yanked back to the day I was granted my guaranteed spot in grad school. Rumors had exploded overnight about me being some campus seductress who'd slept with the dean to get my recommendation.

Back then, Calvin had caught the ringleader and beaten him to a pulp. He'd snarled, "Josie earned everything she has through her own hard work. If anyone dares to spread lies about my girlfriend again, I'll make sure they never open their filthy mouth again."

I knew I would never forget the look in his eyes that day for as long as I lived. It was so sure, so stubborn, and so bright—just like it was now.

Only this time, it wasn't for me. I wasn't the one he was trying to protect anymore.

…

Soon, Calvin held an emergency press conference.

He flashed my intimate photos on the big screen in front of every major news outlet, then held up his marriage certificate with Mandy.

"Jocelyn Stanton betrayed me first. Only after that did Mandy and I get married. Mandy is my wife in every legal and moral sense. I won't let anyone smear her as a homewrecker."

Public opinion flipped almost instantly.

Suddenly, Calvin and Mandy became a friends-to-lovers fairytale, childhood sweethearts who had saved each other. And me? I was branded the shameless other woman whose blood everyone was out for.

The university's president came to me. Right there in front of faculty and students, he slapped a dismissal notice across my face.

"Jocelyn Stanton, your immoral conduct has brought severe disgrace to our university. Per the board's unanimous decision, your professorship is revoked. You're fired."

My cheek went numb from the blow, and a hot, stinging pain spread across my face.

Calvin knew better than anyone that teaching was my lifelong dream, yet he'd still chosen to burn my entire life down.

I couldn't even remember how I walked out of the campus. All I remembered were the contemptuous looks from everyone around me, slicing into me like knives.