CHAPTER 143: CHAPTER 143: I FLAUNT MY MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE, THE MISTRESS AND SCUMMY HUSBAND’S RUIN [CLIMAX]

After I finished speaking, I didn’t give Timothy Xavier any room to bargain—I hung up directly.

I tossed my phone onto the sofa, and as the screen went dark, the weight of the room’s darkness pressed down on me.

The night outside was impossibly thick, only the wall clock ticking quietly, each second tormenting me a little more.

I wasn’t the least bit sleepy, so I got up and walked slowly toward the children’s room.

I pushed the door open gently. It was silent inside, only the steady breathing of the two kids.

Sharon and Doris each slept in their own little beds. Moonlight slipped through the curtains and landed right on Doris’s little face.

Her chubby cheeks were flushed in sleep, lips sometimes smacking, having kicked the blanket completely off to one side.

Thinking about all those online curses, my heart felt cut to pieces—tiny stabs of pain flooding through me.

I helped her pull up the covers, my fingertips softly running through her downy hair.

Doris seemed to sense something, her little body shifting, curling up tighter under the comforter, continuing to sleep soundly.

I knelt beside the bed, staring at her sleeping face, and couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

"Doris, Mama won’t let anyone destroy you."

I murmured, my voice soft but steady.

That whole night, I just sat with my two kids, watching as the darkness outside slowly faded away.

Finally, the first gray light crept over the horizon.

The phone’s clock was almost at six.

Just then, my phone vibrated—Timothy Xavier had sent a message.

"I’ve found a solution. Don’t do anything reckless. Wait for me to handle it."

The moment I saw it, the strain of the night in me loosened—just a little.

I quickly picked up my phone and kept refreshing X, watching for any news.

Minute by minute went by. At around six thirty, something finally moved on X.

Serena Sawyer started a livestream in the name of her studio.

In the video, her face was pale—she deliberately showed off her wrist, wrapped layer upon layer with gauze.

Facing the camera, her voice was full of "remorse" and "self-blame": "Hi everyone, I’m Serena Sawyer. I’m really sorry for taking up public resources with these recent rumors. Actually, it was all a misunderstanding—there’s nothing inappropriate between Miss Ellison and President Xavier. The kid is innocent. Everything that happened before was just because I was emotional and didn’t handle things well, leading to misunderstanding. Please leave Miss Ellison and her child alone. Don’t pay attention to me anymore."

In the livestream, Serena clutched a tissue, tears streaming down her pale cheeks, choking so badly her words were nearly unintelligible: "I really... never wanted to hurt anyone."

She didn’t even finish before turning away from the camera, covering her face, leaving everyone with nothing but her thin, pitiful back.

The next second, the barrage of comments flooded the screen like a tidal wave:

"Oh my god, Serena’s crying like this and she’s STILL thinking about others! Her hand is wrapped in gauze—she’s too pitiful."

"She must have been forced by that jerk and his mistress! Serena’s too kind. Bullied to this point, she still covers for her rival and the little bastard."

"Heart aches for Serena! She’s the real victim! Is there anyone going to speak up for her for once?"

In the sea of sympathy and outrage, a comment suddenly appeared with a photo, racking up likes and shooting to the top.

The picture was an uncensored close-up of Doris’s face, with a caption: "Found them! This little bastard’s mom has no decency. The little bastard can’t be any better!"

Staring at those words on the screen, I felt every drop of blood in my body go cold.

So this was Timothy Xavier’s so-called "solution"?!

Letting Serena—the real culprit—stand up as the victim to "clarify", milking all this sympathy, while my Doris is spat on and cursed like this?

Right then, Doris and Sharon ran into my room.

I hurried to put my phone away.

The two kids were completely oblivious to what had happened.

Doris looked at me with innocent big eyes: "Mommy, didn’t you say today you’d take Sharon and me out all day? When are we leaving?"

Sharon was too shy to push, but she was waiting, shoulders full of hope.

My throat ached. I stroked Doris’s upturned little head, and said, "We’re not going out today, all right? Mommy... isn’t feeling well."

Doris’s face got serious, worry in her voice: "Mommy, are you sick?"

"Auntie Ellison, do you need to go to the hospital?"

Sharon looked at me with gentle concern.

My heart warmed at their thoughtfulness. I said to them, "I just need a bit of rest, I’ll be fine soon. I’m sorry, I broke my promise."

Doris said, "Mommy breaks her promise for a reason. Daddy breaks his because of that bad woman. I forgive Mommy, but I don’t forgive Daddy. Even if he says sorry, I don’t want to forgive him!"

Then a hint of grievance slipped into Doris’s voice: "But, why hasn’t Daddy come to say sorry yet?"

Though Doris was stubborn, I could still see—she missed her dad.

How could I tell her that the dad she kept thinking about was with Serena—the woman we just pushed to the center of the storm!

Right then, Doris seemed to catch onto something. She asked softly, "Mommy, does Daddy not want me anymore?"

I comforted her, "No. He... Mommy will make sure he apologizes to you. You two go down and have breakfast with Sharon, all right?"

"Okay."

Doris nodded, half believing, half doubting.

After all, he’s her real dad, and has been with her for four years—no way she could just erase him so easily.

Looking at how important Timothy was to my daughter, then thinking about what he’d done, my chest clogged like it was stuffed with wet cotton—each breath burned with hurt.

And then someone knocked—the door opened, Madam Sinclair walked in.

She said sternly, "Zoe, we can’t wait any longer. I know you don’t want to trouble Julian, but for the children’s sake, you have to get him back! No matter what he’s doing! That venomous Serena will be punished by heaven!"

She finished, handed me her phone, and barked, "Call him. Now!"

I didn’t take the phone, only smiled and replied, "Madam, do you remember I said I had a solution? I’ve already made up my mind."

Then, I opened up my X account and uploaded the marriage certificate of Timothy Xavier and me.

My hand didn’t hesitate even a second as I hit "post."

Then I called Jenna and told her to have all the bots she’d bought last night go wild reposting.

Jenna sounded excited, talking to her contacts while exclaiming, "Zoe, you finally came around! Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this day!"

I hadn’t posted long when my barely-followed account’s followers shot up, and the comment refresh rate exploded.

The people who reacted first were those who, just the day before, had been outraged in Serena’s comments.

They’d clicked into my page expecting more "mistress drama," but the moment they saw those red booklets and the embossed names and date, they were dumbstruck:

"Wait... is that a marriage certificate? You’re telling me Zoe Ellison and Timothy Xavier have BEEN MARRIED? Damn, this woman’s ruthless—Serena still lost!"

"Look, look, the date—it was four years ago!"

"Jesus. Don’t tell me Serena’s the homewrecker? This is shameless! She stole her man, then keeps playing the victim and dumping on the wife!"

"Where are Serena’s brainless fans now? Why aren’t you yapping for her? Come on, come out and bark!"

"Damn it, I backed the wrong person! My idol’s collapse is one-of-a-kind ridiculous."

"Yesterday I was cursing Zoe for being a mistress—turns out that whimpering bitch was the real intruder?"

"Unbelievable! She stole someone’s husband, then proudly flaunts her happiness in public? Have to be the most shameless of the last few thousand years! So disgusting!"

"Somebody help! I DMed Zoe cursing her before—how do I take it back? Need help, it’s urgent!"

The atmosphere on the comment section shifted sharply—visible to the naked eye.

Because of that marriage certificate, people immediately dug up every post since Serena exposed her affair with Timothy, all the "happy couple" shots, and even video of Timothy personally admitting Serena was his woman.

"Guys, that’s cheating, right? Absolute filth. Perfect couple—trash bag and whore! Long may you rot together!"

"Did the scumbag divorce Zoe yet? Or are they not divorced at all? If that’s the case, Serena’s even worse, strutting around like we’re all fools!"

"Worst is, she even used the wife’s kid for drama—she deserves lightning to strike her down! Even if she lost her baby, that bastard should rot in hell!!"

Notifications kept blowing up, and the trending tag morphed from [Zoe Ellison Shameless Mistress] all the way into [The Whole Internet Owes Zoe Ellison an Apology].

Reading the comments—anger, shock, then shame—I felt the rock on my heart finally fall away.

Months worth of grievance and humiliation finally had an outlet. My eyes flushed red.

Madam Sinclair must have understood me—she clasped my hand gently, whispering, "Child, you’ve suffered so much."

I wiped away my tears, shaking my head, voice light but firm: "Serena wanted to stir things up, so I’m granting her wish. But this time, the public opinion will go my way. I will not compromise again."

...

Meanwhile—

Serena was sitting with her mother, smug about how perfectly this move had gone off.

Faye Warren smiled in satisfaction at her daughter: "That ’suicide’ trick was risky, but now, Zoe Ellison and that brat will get what’s coming to them!"

Serena’s tone was razor sharp, "If Zoe wants to play with me, then she and her daughter can burn in hell! Even if I stay out of it, my fans will tear her apart. Let her feel what it’s like to mess with me!"

Faye Warren smirked slyly: "Once Zoe’s reputation is ruined, Timothy will ditch her to save his own image. With how long you’ve accompanied him, if he doesn’t choose you—who can he pick?"

Just then, Serena’s phone rang. She was planning to share her triumph with her agent—

But the agent’s voice was panicked, ordering her to check the internet—now.

Serena’s heart dropped. She grabbed the phone, hands trembling.

When she saw all the influencers reposting Zoe and Timothy’s marriage certificate, her eyes bugged out. Her whole body shook uncontrollably.

The comments flashing by on the screen hammered into her mind:

"Scheming bitch Serena, get out of the industry!"

"Snatching up someone’s husband, then slinging shit on her—how do you sleep at night?"

"How vicious does a woman have to be to pull this kind of evil?!"

Every comment made her body shake all the more.

"Insane! Zoe Ellison must be insane!"

Her face twisted, teeth clenched, "Doesn’t she care about the Ellison Family, doesn’t she care if her mother dies?!"

Faye Warren saw the new direction the internet had taken.

In not even an hour, her daughter had gone from pitiful victim to the most hated woman on the planet.

Faye Warren hissed, "That bitch! She has no intention of letting you survive! I knew she was bad news. As long as she’s happy, she doesn’t care if that old slut lives or dies! With a woman this ruthless, you’re no match for her!"

Serena’s eyes were glued to the IDs—those who’d once cheered her on were now calling her "homewrecker" and "schemer", even her most faithful fans.

She shook her head uncontrollably, her tangled hair plastered to her sweaty face, her sobbing voice dangerous and full of hate: "No! I won’t just disappear like this! I won’t!"

Suddenly she remembered something, frantically scrolling through her contacts, muttering, "I’ll call Timothy! I’ll make him pull the plug on Zoe’s mom! I’ll make Zoe pay. I want her mother dead! I want her dead!"

In that moment, Serena was a lunatic, her eyes swirling with venom, lips curling in a crazed smile—wishing she could rip Zoe apart in person.

How dare she?

How dare that bitch do this to her!

Just as her finger was about to tap the call button, the hospital room door clicked open.

Timothy Xavier stood at the door—cold, tall, his eyes like frozen lakes, zero warmth at all.

His gaze swept over the disaster in the room, finally landing on Serena’s contorted face.

Serena froze, like she’d been hit with a petrification spell.

Her voice broke through the silence, "Timothy, you’re finally here!"

Timothy’s face didn’t change a bit as he barked, "Who told you to meddle? I already said—I would handle it! Why the hell did you go live?"

Serena clenched her hands, looking up with pitiful eyes: "Timothy, I just wanted to help Miss Ellison and Doris... I saw the internet cursing them and just wanted to clarify for them."

She bit her lip. "But I never thought Miss Ellison would be so cruel, do this to us! She’s your wife—never mind being heartless to me, but how could she do this to you? Doesn’t she care about your reputation, or what comes next?"

Timothy’s face was dark as thunder; he spat out each word: "I’d already lined up the connections to clean everything up. This could’ve been fixed completely—everything scrubbed from the internet in an hour! Why did you have to do this?!"

His voice trembled with barely contained rage. Clearly, Serena’s livestream had destroyed all his plans!

Right then, the hospital door burst open again. Sophia clacked in on her heels, her face furious.

The moment she entered she shouted, "Zoe Ellison must be insane! How dare she do this? Doesn’t she care about her mother’s life? Or the Ellison Family?"

Faye Warren saw her chance, immediately piping up, "Exactly, Sophia! She’s not putting Timothy first—hasn’t shown a hint of gratitude! Her mother’s only alive thanks to Timothy’s company’s machines, yet she turns around and ruins Timothy’s name. Evil!"

Sophia didn’t bother talking more—she reached out and grabbed Timothy’s arm, hard and unyielding: "Son, now—right now—have them disconnect the machines! If Zoe doesn’t pay for this, she’ll only get bolder! You two are being crucified by the internet, and as for her—who knows, she and Julian are probably laughing at you behind your back! Are you really willing to let her play you like this?"

Timothy’s expression was stormy, but he didn’t answer right away.

Faye Warren, terrified Timothy would go soft, fanned the flames: "Zoe’s doing this just to drag you and Serena down to hell with her; she’d love nothing more! Then she can just run off with that uncle guy! Since it’s like this, why not let her watch her mother suffocate to death? Timothy, at least teach her a lesson, show some backbone! Or do you actually accept being made a cuckold by Zoe Ellison?"