All Chapters of Side Chick Era… Over: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

The righteous indignation that had filled the room came to a sudden halt, all eyes turning toward Xavier.A faint, careless curve played at the corner of Xavier's lips."Is that how it works?" he said. "You believe anything someone says? If I told you this young lady here has made a habit of wrecking other people's relationships, that she's not sick at all and only playing the sympathy card—would you believe that too?"People looked at one another, suddenly unsure, silence creeping into the space where their outrage had been.Xavier continued, unhurried, "If you don't know the full story, maybe don't echo what everyone else is saying. Just because someone looks weak, doesn't mean they're right. And the ones you see as weak… might not be so weak after all."A faint smile tugged at his lips, ambiguous and unreadable. "Funny, isn't it? I've never seen someone so 'helpless' stir up a crowd with just a few tearful sentences."The shift in atmosphere was immediate. Expressions changed.

"Heh. So what if you've got the title of Mrs. Biggs?" Nate sneered, lips curling with disdain. "You think it means anything? Believe it or not, if Kelly so much as whispers that she's scared, Carter would drop everything and show up at her door in the middle of the night."When he comes home—or if he comes home at all—depends entirely on when Kelly wants him gone. These past few weeks, I'm guessing he hasn't been back much, has he? You wanna know where he's been? With Kelly. Taking care of her. And it's just a cold, too, but even that's got him completely on edge."Even your own son's glued to her side, fussing over her, calling you the reason she got sick in the first place. Won't be long now before Kelly replaces you and becomes Theo's new mom."With that, Nate cast a triumphant glance at Sharon, then turned and strutted off like a victorious rooster."This is ridiculous!" Wendy snapped, nearly shaking with anger as she made to go after Nate, but Sharon stopped her with a calm ha

Sharon paused for a moment, then told Julliard everything—just as it had happened, without leaving anything out.He listened in silence, considering her words. When she finished, he lifted his gaze to her."You're right," he said. "That's a possibility. But it's also possible your friend got herself into trouble and doesn't want to worry you, so she's laying low for now. Have you thought about this—what if Carter didn't take her? You're his wife, and yet you stormed in ready to blame him without proof. How will you face him if it turns out he had nothing to do with it?"The question landed heavily. Sharon hesitated.She hadn't thought that far. She had no real evidence—just instinct and suspicion.Julliard saw the change in her expression and knew she wasn't sure."You should head home for now," he said gently. "Let me look into this first. If it wasn't Carter, I'll help you track her down. If it was… I'll do what I can to get your friend out."Sharon looked at him, uncertain. "

"Carter's out of town on business," Kelly said lightly, her smile touched with a faint, weary grace. "That's the only reason I could meet with you today. Otherwise..."She let the words hang in the air awhile, then continued, "Otherwise, he'd never have allowed me to leave the hospital.""Is that why you asked me here? Just to show off?""I heard you and Carter are talking about divorce," Kelly replied. "I don't know if you're really serious or just putting on a show, but it doesn't matter. It won't change a thing."Unlike Nate's blatant arrogance, Kelly's every word and movement carried an unshakable confidence."Between the two of us, he will always choose me first."Sharon listened in silence, then said, "If that's true, why did he marry me, not you?"Kelly gave a small laugh. "Because I let him go. The things you can't have always seem more desirable, don't they? Otherwise, how do you explain the way he treats me now?"Just then, the waiter arrived with their coffee. The ri

"It's my fault. I wasn't careful. I spilled the medicine on you… Can you take it off and give it to me? I'll clean it for you."Sharon stood outside the door, unable to see their expressions.There was a long silence before Carter finally spoke—just two words."No need."His voice was calm and unbothered. No trace of anger, no waves of emotion. Just like always. As if the stained jacket was nothing more than an ordinary piece of clothing."I noticed you've been wearing it a lot lately," Kelly said gently. "You must really like it, don't you? Carter, I stained it, so I should take responsibility. I'll make sure it's cleaned, I promise…"Then her voice changed, as if something struck her mid-thought. A slight tremble edged into her words."Carter… do you hate me now? Is that why you won't give me the jacket?""No."She sniffled a few times. "Really?""Mm.""Then… will you let me take care of it?"The silence this time dragged out even longer.Finally, Carter uttered a single