Chapter 533 The End of Pretenses

    Adeline dared to steal my man? I’ll never let her go!

    The thought lit up Marilyn’s eyes with a twisted gleam.

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    Yes, Lily’s so–called video with another man was fake—but Adeline’s? Adeline’s photos and videos with some random man could be made real.

    She would make sure Adeline was taught a brutal lesson, with every filthy moment captured on camera. Once Adeline became a stinking disgrace, drowning in scandal, she would never again dare topete with her for Victor.

    Lily and Adeline’s duet was the final performance of the night.

    When the chaos on stage finally ended, the audience began to file out.

    But no one left right away.

    As Elsa tried to cover her face and slip away in themotion, people started hurling things at her.

    Fruit peels, scraps of trash, half–finished cups of juice and milk tea, rotten eggs—everything rained down on her like a storm.

    Then someone, apparently inspired, dragged out a whole bucket of swill from a nearby restaurant and dumped it all over her.

    The stench hit instantly, sharp and unbearable even from several yards away.

    “Ahh! You filthy vermin! Get away from me!”

    Elsa, who had never suffered humiliation like this in her life, broke down, screaming hysterically.

    But no one cared. Everyone was consumed by rage at being deceived and made a fool of. They wanted nothing more than to throw her into a cesspit. Her helpless shrieking only fueled their fury, and they pelted her with more and more filth.

    “Elsa, you’re truly disgusting.”

    John’s voice cut through the noise.

    He wanted so badly to exin himself to Lily. He wanted to tell her he wasn’t the rotten

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    Chapter 533 The End of Pretenses

    cucumber she thought he was.

    :

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    That it had all been Elsa’s lies. That the night he’d been drunk, he hadn’t even touched her.

    But James had brought too many bodyguards, and John hadn’t been able to get close.

    He could only watch as James carried Lily backstage. He didn’t chase after them. Instead, step by step, he walked toward the pitiful figure of Elsa, filth dripping from her body like a beaten

    cur.

    The crowd parted instinctively, clearing a path for him. Everyone assumed he was going to settle ounts with the woman who had destroyed him.

    Hearing his voice, Elsa flinched and lifted her face.

    To see him standing there, witnessing her at her lowest, filled her with a rare flicker of panic.

    He was the man she had truly wanted, the one she had desperately longed to possess. She still cared deeply about how she looked in his eyes.

    With trembling hands, she tried to wipe the grime from her face, smoothed back her matted hair, and forced out a choked whisper. “John, it’s not what you think.”

    “You’ve misunderstood me. It was Lily who set me up. Those videos are fake. I never betrayed you. I never carried another man’s child. I—”

    “Elsa, do you really think I’ll believe a single word from you anymore?”

    John’s gaze held no pity, no hesitation–only the cold intensity of a man staring at his worst

    enemy.

    all

    He sneered, his voice cutting sharper with each word. “Lily set you up… Lily ruined

    you ever say. Besides throwing dirt on Lily, what else can you do?”

    you…

    That’s

    “Hah. Fake videos? Don’t insult me. What about the night I saw you with Hudson with my own eyes? Was that fake too?”

    Gasps rippled through the crowd.

    Mr. Jones had personally witnessed Elsa in bed with another man…

    This Elsa–her private life was filthier than anyone had imagined.

    But John didn’t care out of jealousy. He had never loved her.

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    Chapter 533 The End of Pretenses

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    No, what twisted the knife was realizing just how pathetic he had been–hurting Lily, the woman he truly cared for, all because of this vile creature.

    The more he thought about it, the more he hated himself. And his hatred for Elsa grew darker still. His voice turned razor–sharp,ced with murderous chill. “Everything I ever gave you— the gifts, the money transfers–Wayne has already gathered them all into a list.”

    “He’ll send it to you. Pay back every cent, return every item. If you don’t, I won’t hesitate to drag you into court.”

    “John, you can’t do this to me!”

    He had demanded she return the money and gifts once before.

    But she didn’t have the cash. She had already sold off some of the jewelry he gave her to pay for her schemes, and she had sold them cheap. To buy them back would cost far more. She had no way to make up the difference.

    “My time with Hudson was forced! Gabe too–he set me up! But with you, it’s real. My feelings for you are real. You can’t be this heartless…”

    “Real?”

    John actuallyughed at that.

    But hisughter was poisoned, soaked in fury. It carried no warmth, no kindness–only a chill that made every spine in the room stiffen.

    “Your so–called love is what you showed when I was crippled in that car ident, and you abandoned me without hesitation to run off overseas and marry another man?”

    “Your so–called love is what you showed when I finally found someone I truly cared for, and you faked illnesses, spun lies, and schemed endlessly to tear us apart?”

    “Elsa, don’t you dare stain the word love with your filth.”